How to install official desktop background wallpapers in Fedora

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Wallpapers are classy for enhancing the user experience of any operating system. In the case of Fedora, one of its eye-catching features is the wallpapers that ship with it. Every Fedora release has its own set of wallpaper, and these are some of the most awaited components of any of its releases by Fedora users.

Besides creating a new default wallpaper for every release, the Fedora teams have created a repo containing a set of different supplemental wallpapers for each release. These additional wallpapers are not by default installed on Fedora but can easily be set up from the Fedora repositories, which will be covered extensively in this article.

If you have just installed a fresh setup of Fedora, and want to enhance your choices for your desktop wallpaper, then the Fedora wallpapers are worth giving a shot.

In this discussion, we will list the previous and present wallpapers available in the Fedora repositories and the approaches you can implement to have each on your current Fedora installation.

With that said, let’s get started.

Fedora official wallpapers

As earlier said, Fedora releases wallpaper packs for all the supported desktop environments. However, this does not limit you from installing wallpaper from a different release. For instance, if you are running Fedora 36, you can enjoy wallpapers from releases like Fedora 32, 35, and so on.

Now let’s see how we can identify a desktop environment. To do this, launch your terminal using the “Ctrl+Alt+T” keyboard shortcuts and then issue the following command:

echo $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP

The command above will print the name of the desktop environment running on your system; in our case, we are currently running on the GNOME desktop environment.

How to identify and install Fedora official wallpaper packages

The wallpapers are precisely available from the official Fedora repos. The package name of the official wallpapers contains a particular pattern that follows the following syntax:

sudo dnf install f<fedora_version>-backgrounds-<desktop_environment>

For instance, to install the package name for the official Fedora wallpapers for Fedora 36 running on the GNOME desktop:

sudo dnf install f36-backgrounds-gnome

Additionally, the already mentioned additional wallpapers come with every Fedora release. These supplement backgrounds are selected from the community, driven by the Fedora official’s guidelines.

The supplement wallpapers also have an akin pattern to the package name. Its syntax is as follows:

sudo dnf install f<fedora_version>-backgrounds-extras-<desktop_environment>

For example, the GNOME desktop for Fedora 36 supplemental background package will have the following package command name:

sudo dnf install f36-backgrounds-extras-gnome

How to install the official wallpaper packages

Have you decided on the package name for your preferred wallpapers? If yes, launch your terminal and install the package right away. Fedora supports both YUM and DNF. YUM is a package manager that sets up, updates, and removes packages on RPM-based systems. The software automatically computes dependencies and determines what should occur to install packages. On the other side, dandified YUM(DNF) is the next-generation version of the Yellowdog updated, modified (YUM). Thankfully, both share similar installation procedures for a new package.

Installing official wallpaper packages using YUM

In this instance, let us grab Fedora 36 official wallpapers for the GNOME desktop, along with the extras.

sudo yum install f36-backgrounds-gnome f36-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Let us see how we can do the same using the DNF package manager.

How to install official wallpaper packages using DNF

To attain this, you will run the following DNF command to set up the Fedora wallpaper version 36 for the GNOME desktop with the extras.

sudo dnf install f32-backgrounds-gnome f32-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Changing Backgrounds

Now that the backgrounds are set up, it is time to divert our focus and see how we can change the backgrounds to new ones. This section will demonstrate how to change the backgrounds for the GNOME, MATE, Xfce, and Cinnamon desktop environments.

How to change backgrounds on GNOME

To achieve this, right-click on the desktop and select “Change Background.”

Alternatively, there is this option where you can click on “Activities” and use the search bar to search for “settings,” as shown in the snapshot below:

After that, navigate to the “Appearance” section as shown below:

Now let’s see the KDE plasma

How to change backgrounds on the KDE Plasma desktop environment

Right-click on a blank space in the desktop background, and select “Configure Desktop and Wallpaper.” On the flip side, use the keyboard shortcut “Alt+D, Alt+S.”

Let us also see how we can change the background on Cinnamon.

How to change the background on Cinnamon

On the cinnamon desktop, right-click and select “Change Desktop Background.”

Alternatively, you can also look for “background” in the search menu as shown below:

Backgrounds:

Now let’s check out the same on MATE

How to change the background on MATE

On your MATE desktop, right-click on any space and select “Change Desktop Background,” as shown in the snapshot below:

On the contrary, you can use the “Application Finder” to launch “Appearance.” as shown below:

Let us turn our focus and further look at how to install more wallpaper packs on our Fedora machine.

How to install more wallpaper packs on Fedora workstation

Since every Fedora release ships with extra supplements, here is how to install some of them on your current Fedora install. After installing your desired pack, these supplemental packs will also show up in the wallpapers tab in the background chooser in the settings.

Fedora 35 wallpapers

To install the Fedora 35 default wallpaper, execute the following command:

sudo dnf install f35-backgrounds-gnome

To install the Fedora 35 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f35-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 34 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 34 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f34-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 34 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command on your terminal:

sudo dnf install f34-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 33 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 33 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f33-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 33 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f33-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 32 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 32 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f32-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 32 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f32-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 31 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 31 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f31-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 31 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f31-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 30 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 30 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f30-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 30 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f30-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 29 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 29 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f29-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 29 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f29-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 28 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 28 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f28-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 28 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f28-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 27 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 27 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f27-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 27 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f27-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 26 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 26 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f26-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 26 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f26-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 25 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 25 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f25-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 25 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f25-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 24 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 24 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f24-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 24 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f24-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 23 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 23 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f23-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 23 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f23-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 22 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 22 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f22-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 22 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f22-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 21 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 21 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install f21-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 21 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install f21-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 20 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 20 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install heisenbug-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 20 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install heisenbug-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 19 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 19 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install schroedinger-cat-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 19 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install schroedinger-cat-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 18 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 18 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install spherical-cow-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 18 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install spherical-cow-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 17 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 17 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install beefy-miracle-backgrounds-gnome

Fedora 16 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 16 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install verne-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 16 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install verne-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 15 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 15 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install lovelock-backgrounds-stripes-gnome

To install Fedora 15 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install lovelock-backgrounds-gnome

Fedora 14 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 14 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install laughlin-backgrounds-gnome

To install Fedora 14 supplemental wallpapers, run the following command:

sudo dnf install laughlin-backgrounds-extras-gnome

Fedora 13 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 13 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install goddard-backgrounds-gnome

Fedora 12 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 12 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install constantine-backgrounds

Fedora 11 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 11 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install leonidas-backgrounds-lion

Fedora 10 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 10 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install solar-backgrounds

Fedora 9 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 9 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install desktop-backgrounds-waves

Fedora 8 Wallpapers

Run the following command to install Fedora 8 default wallpaper:

sudo dnf install fedorainfinity-backgrounds

Here is a section of our background wallpapers since there are so many that the snapshot could not pick all of them:

Wrapping up!

And there it is! This guide has explicitly demonstrated how to personalize Fedora for a better user experience. Learn What is new in Fedora 36; Otherwise, thanks for sticking around, and keep following FOSSLinux for more.