Aerial: Free Open-Source macOS Screen Saver and 4K Video Library
Aerial is a free and open-source Mac screen saver that lets you play videos from Apple's tvOS screensaver. You can browse amazing footage uploaded by the Pixabay community, featuring 712+ Free Screensaver 4K & HD Stock Videos to use in your next project. Over 5.9 million+ high quality stock images, videos and music are shared by our talented community.
Compatibility and Installation
Download Aerial, which is compatible with macOS 10.12 and later (including Tahoe beta and Apple Silicon). Version 3.6.3 (August 12th, 2025) offers preliminary support for macOS Tahoe beta. Note that multi-monitor support is currently still broken in Tahoe beta4. It's recommended to only use third party screensavers on one monitor at a time until it's fixed (again) by Apple.
Core Features and UI Improvements
Aerial 3 refines the UI introduced previously by simplifying it. All options are directly accessible now, and more importantly, you can make multiple selections of things you want to watch. Want to see videos from Iceland and Patagonia? Two clicks will do it now!
Support for storing your videos pretty much anywhere: Thanks to Apple's changes to macOS Monterey, Aerial can now again let you pick where you want to store your cache folder. This includes internal drives, external drives and network shares! If you have multiple users on the same computer, you can finally share the same cache.
New overlays: New overlays are available to be displayed, including support for both Apple Music and Spotify, to see what's currently playing in the background while your screensaver is playing! You can even see the album art!
Third-Party Video Content
Aerial also includes videos from 3rd parties that kindly shared them, and you can add your own! Some of the featured contributors include:
- Josh & Hal: They released a pack of 31 videos shot over the Ventura region in California, as well as new video sets from Monterey, New York and the American Southwest.
- Robin Fourcade: He has kindly shared new videos for everyone to enjoy, taking us on a trip around Europe with some breathtaking views shot in Norway and in France around the Mont Blanc.
Aerial Companion and Wallpaper Mode
Aerial Companion (the app that auto-updates the screensaver) is getting a much needed makeover with a new UI. A big improvement is adding controls to what used to be fairly hidden under an experimental menu: the ability to run Aerial as your Wallpaper! And now, you can control it from Companion. On top of being able to Stop and Restart the wallpaper, you can also pause it, skip a video, or even skip and hide the video, right from the UI.
Available Video Collections
Below is a summary of the diverse video content available through the Aerial screensaver:
| Source/Collection | Featured Locations |
|---|---|
| Classic Apple tvOS | New York, San Francisco, China, and Earth videos from the ISS |
| tvOS 15 / Aerial 3.0 | Patagonia, Grand Canyon, Scotland, and Iceland |
| macOS 26 / Tahoe | India (Goa, Kerala and Uttarakhand), Himalaya |
| Josh & Hal Packs | Ventura region, Monterey, New York, and American Southwest |
| Robin Fourcade | Norway and France (Mont Blanc) |