How to find new Linux wallpapers for Gnome with Wonderwall
The Gnome Desktop project does a great job of providing new wallpapers for users, but they only offer a few images, and users may get sick of them over time. If you’re trying to find some new Linux wallpapers for Gnome, check out Wonderwall. It’s an easy to use desktop manager for Gnome users that make finding, downloading and applying new wallpaper easier than ever.
Note: Wonderwall also may work with other Gnome-based distributions, but it’s not the developer’s intention to support alternative desktops. Use it at your own risk, if you do not use Gnome!
Installing Wonderwall
The Wonderwall application is distributed to Linux users in two ways: a Snap package, and a DEB package for Ubuntu/Debian. To start the installation, open up a terminal window with the Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T keyboard combination. Then, follow the command-line instructions that correspond with the Linux distribution you currently use.
Ubuntu
The Wonderwall app is targeted at Ubuntu users, given that the only alternative way to install the application is with a Snap package — something developed by Ubuntu.
There’s no clear advertisement towards the DEB package, but the developer does link to it underneath the Snap package instructions, so there is some reason to believe that this installation method will be supported in the future.
To get your hands on the latest DEB of Wonderwall, click this link and start the download. Once the DEB package is done downloading, use the CD command to move your terminal session into the “Downloads” folder.
cd ~/Downloads
Inside of the “Downloads” folder, you’ll be able to run the dpkg command to start the installation process for Wonderwall on Ubuntu.
sudo dpkg -i wonderwall_latest_amd64.deb
After the dpkg installation is taken care of, feel free to run apt-install to correct any dependency issues that may have arisen.
sudo apt install -f
Debian
Debian Linux gets support for Wonderwall because they share similarities to Ubuntu (especially the DEB package format.) So, if you’re on Debian and dislike having to install Snap packages, you’re in luck!
To get your hands on the latest DEB of Wonderwall, click this link and allow the package to download. When the download is complete, use the CD command to move the terminal window into your “Downloads” folder.
cd ~/Downloads
Inside of the “Downloads” directory, call in the dpkg command to install the package on the system.
sudo dpkg -i wonderwall_latest_amd64.deb
Finally, finish up the process by running apt-get install. This command will correct any dependency issues that may have arisen.
sudo apt-get install -f
Snap package
Wonderwall is installable through the Snap store, which is nice, as the source code isn’t readily available for download. To install the Snap release of Wonderwall, you need to be running the Snap runtime. Luckily, almost all modern distributions support it, so getting it working is easy. Though, if you need help, check out our in-depth guide all about how to set up Snaps!
Once you’ve taken care of the Snap runtime, you’ll be able to install the Wonderwall app with the snap install command below.
sudo snap install wonderwall
Download new wallpapers with Wonderwall
Wonderwall works pretty well for downloading wallpapers, and it splits everything into categories. If you’d like to download a new wallpaper to the Gnome desktop, start by looking for the “categories” button and click on it.
Note: Wonderwall may contain some NSFW wallpapers, which aren’t appropriate for children or workplace environments. To disable NSFW images in the app, click the gear icon, and check the box next to “Safe search.” It should instantly disable those types of wallpapers.
Once you click the category icon, you’ll see a pop-up window appear. In this pop-up window, there are several different choices of wallpapers to search for, including Animals, Architecture, Artwork, Cars, Cartoons, and much more!
Look through the category pop-up and choose the one that sounds best to you. As soon as you do, it’ll automatically load up a list of different, high-quality wallpaper images to choose from. From there, select the image you like with the mouse, and choose the “Download” button to grab it. You’ll know the download is successful if the Wonderwall app places a blue check-mark box overtop of the wallpaper.
Applying new wallpapers
Applying new wallpapers you’ve downloaded with Wonderwall is a straightforward process that users can do directly inside of the application. To start, download your favorite wallpaper image through the process outlined earlier. Then, find the image in the list and select it with the mouse to reveal a menu.
Inside the menu that your mouse revealed, look for the “Set Wallpaper” option and select it to use the downloaded wallpaper with your Gnome desktop instantly!
