Olaf Zen for Mac
Your calm, on every screen.
Who cares about the wallpaper when you're away? It matters while you work. Olaf Zen puts one picture across all your monitors, lined up past the bezels, even on a company Mac.
macOS 13 or later · Apple silicon and Intel · No account, no tracking
Set it once. Feel it all day.
A tiny app in your menu bar. No windows in your way, nothing to remember.
One picture across all monitors
macOS can't span a picture over several screens. Olaf Zen can, and it skips the bezels, so a horizon runs straight from one monitor to the next.
Real size
A big 4K screen beside a laptop? Olaf Zen measures each monitor in millimeters, so the picture keeps the same scale on both.
Scenes that follow your desk
Save a scene for the office and one for the laptop alone. Plug in or unplug a monitor, and the right scene comes on by itself.
Light and Dark
Give a scene a second picture for Dark Mode. When your Mac switches, so does your wallpaper.
Or one picture per display
Zoom, move and mirror each picture right on a map of your monitors. What you see in the editor is what lands on the desktop.
Private by design
No account, no internet, no tracking. Your pictures stay where they are: Olaf Zen only remembers where to find them.
Works on company Macs, too.
Many companies lock the wallpaper on their Macs. Other wallpaper apps then change nothing you can see. Olaf Zen shows your picture on top of the company's, at the desktop layer, behind your windows and icons.
- Nothing is changed. Olaf Zen never touches the company's settings. It needs no admin rights.
- One click back. Client meeting or a presentation? Turn Zen Mode off, and the company's look is back.
- Everyone's happy. You get your calm, the company keeps its look.
Install in two minutes
Olaf Zen is free. It isn't in the App Store yet, so your Mac asks you to confirm it once.
Move it to Applications
Open the zip, then drag Olaf Zen into your Applications folder.
Open it, and allow it once
The first time, macOS says it can't check the app. Click Done, then open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to Olaf Zen.
Find it in the menu bar
Click the Olaf Zen icon at the top of your screen, then Scene Gallery to make your first scene.
On a company Mac, IT may block apps from outside the App Store. If "Open Anyway" doesn't show up, that's why, and only your IT team can allow it.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. If you like it, you can buy us a coffee on Ko-fi. That keeps it going.
Does it slow my Mac down?
It's a tiny app with no extras. It looks at your screens every two seconds, so a new monitor or a Space switch gets the right picture at once.
What happens to my pictures?
Nothing. Olaf Zen never copies or uploads them. A scene only remembers where the file is. If you move or delete a picture, the scene tells you it's missing.
Is it OK to use on my work Mac?
Olaf Zen changes nothing your company set, and it needs no admin rights. Still, follow your company's rules: if they say no, the answer is no.
Does it change the lock screen?
On your own Mac, yes: your picture becomes the real wallpaper, so the lock screen follows it. On a company Mac, the lock screen stays the company's.
How do I remove it?
Turn Zen Mode off first: your old wallpaper comes back. Then choose Quit in its menu, and drag Olaf Zen from Applications to the Trash.
Like your calm?
Olaf Zen is free and made by a small team. A coffee helps.