Your first photo, in three steps.
- Add a picture. Choose Add → Add Photos or Videos, drag a file onto the menu bar icon, or paste a copied image. Try an Example adds a ready-made scene you can edit.
- Find its place. Drag the picture to move it. Drag a corner to resize it while keeping its proportions.
- Make it yours. Open a photo’s Appearance controls to choose a look or adjust its mat, border, shape, shadow or tilt. Copy Appearance reuses that look on another photo. Setups keeps an arrangement before you experiment.
How is Arras different from the macOS Photos widget?
Apple’s Photos widget belongs to the macOS widget gallery. Arras places independent photo windows on the desktop: choose a single file, preserve its aspect ratio, arrange an editable collage, or keep a reference floating above your work.
Apple’s widget guide ↗ · Arras feature documentation ↗
Arras lives in the menu bar. Download and installation →
Getting started
How do I add a single photo widget to my Mac desktop?
Choose Add → Add Photos or Videos, paste a copied image, drag its file onto the menu bar icon, or select an individual picture from Photos. Arras displays the exact photo you choose; you do not need to create an Apple Photos album just for one widget. Try an Example adds an editable scene with bundled sample images.
Your desktop photo keeps its true aspect ratio and its own position and size. Arras lives in the menu bar. Ordinary photo widgets do not require Screen Recording or Accessibility permission.
Which Macs can run the official download?
Download compatibility follows the official packaged executable. See the current requirements on the product page and GitHub release; source-build capability is a separate fact.
Is Arras free and open source?
Yes. Arras is free under the MIT License, with no subscription or account required. GitHub hosts its source and official release files.
Collages, collections & references
Editable collages. Choose Add → Create Collage. Drag the background to move the group, or hover a member’s corner to resize that photo. The boundary refits as members change. Edit Collage adds and removes members; depth and Space pinning apply to the group. See the collage →
Linked collections. A Photos album or Finder folder can supply a slideshow. Arras keeps a managed local snapshot for offline use; downloading cloud-only Photos assets needs permission and a connection.
Can I build a collage and still move or resize each photo?
Yes. Choose Add → Create Collage, then use Edit Collage to add or remove photos, choose a background and spacing, and add captions or labels. Drag the background to move the group. Hover a photo’s corner to resize that photo; the boundary refits as it grows or shrinks.
Photos remain independently editable and can be dragged out. Depth and Space pinning are controlled by the collage. Individual standalone values are preserved for detaching. Remove Collage, Keep Photos removes the group while retaining its photos.
Can I keep a screenshot or PDF page floating above my work?
Yes. Enable Capture Screen Region or Add PDF Page in Preferences → Menu bar, then use that command from Add. Set the resulting widget to floating depth to keep a screenshot or PDF-page reference overlay above application windows. Adjust opacity and resize it while keeping its aspect ratio.
Capture Screen Region runs a one-time interactive screenshot command, rather than continuously recording your screen. macOS may request Screen Recording permission for that command; ordinary photo widgets do not need it.
Appearance & slideshows
Polaroid and Gallery are starting points for a photo’s frame, mat and shadow. Transparent PNG images keep their cutouts; GIF and APNG images can animate. A Space slideshow rotates several images in one widget.
Can a Mac desktop photo widget show my whole photo without cropping?
Yes. Ordinary Arras photo widgets stay uncropped at the source image’s true aspect ratio as you resize: panoramas stay wide and portraits stay tall. A multi-photo Space slideshow with Dynamic sizing follows each image’s proportions. Fixed sizing deliberately crops to one stable frame, and optional shape masks can hide parts of an image.
Can I rotate multiple photos in one Space slideshow widget?
Choose Add → Create Slideshow to combine selected photos, then use Edit Slideshow to reorder, add or remove images. A photo Space slideshow is separate from macOS desktop Spaces and can belong to a collage.
Choose On Click and double-click to advance, or choose an interval and playback order. Dynamic sizing follows each image’s proportions; Fixed sizing intentionally crops to one frame. Rotation waits during an affected move or resize. Linked albums and folders own their source membership; edit those collections at the source.
Controls & limits
Muted local video widgets pause when hidden. Reference Tools adds non-destructive crop, rotation, flips, grayscale, a note and a source link to a reference photo.
Can I save and switch between different desktop setups?
Yes. Save named desktop setups before experimenting, then restore an arrangement when you want it back. A setup includes its stored media and photo/collage arrangement; app-wide preferences are kept separately.
Undo and redo cover arrangement changes such as moving, resizing and collage membership during the current session. Removal recovery keeps the most recent removal until the next one. Export an .arras backup when you want a portable copy with stored media.
Does Arras collect usage statistics?
Arras 2.5.0 sends limited configuration and milestone statistics linked by a random installation UUID. Photos, filenames, paths, layouts, captions and notes are not transmitted. Your photo content stays on your Mac.
Configuration summaries use weekly Wednesday–Tuesday UTC periods. The initial first-launch report can be sent sooner; an app that is closed reports when it next runs and is eligible. These reports are not a live-online-user counter. This version has no in-app statistics opt-out.
Privacy explains the data, identifiers and retention. Website visit and download-request counters are separate and are not joined to the app installation ID.
For the full reviewed behavior contract, read Current shipped features ↗.
Before you open it
How do I install the notarized Arras download?
The current Arras build is notarized by Apple. macOS may ask you to confirm opening an app downloaded from the internet.
Download the Arras DMG using this website’s button or the official yashashwi-s/Arras GitHub Release. Open the DMG and drag Arras into Applications. Open Arras from Applications. Its controls live in your menu bar.
Arras is free and open source, its official releases are published on GitHub, and photos stay locally on your Mac. See Security & Privacy for permissions, connections and limited statistics.
Apple Support: Safely open apps on your Mac ↗Official GitHub release and downloads ↗Arras security and privacy policy ↗
For permissions, network connections, local storage, and download verification, read Security & Privacy →.
Previously called Photo Widget OSX, then Tableau. Saved settings and bundle identity are retained. Browse the source ↗