diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e5a781b..230734f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ The site recreates my [blomarchy](https://git.sirblob.co/SirBlob/blomarchy) setu
 ## Features
 
 - **Tiling windows** - every page opens as a window that tiles like Hyprland's dwindle layout, with gradient borders.
-- **Quickshell bar** - app launcher, workspaces, clock, music player, live Discord status, battery details and a theme picker.
+- **Quickshell bar** - app launcher, workspaces, clock, music player, live Discord status, battery details, a theme picker and a wallpaper picker.
 - **Music player** - plays a random song from a YouTube playlist, muted until you unmute it, with seek, skip, repeat, volume and a playlist view.
 - **Floating windows** - Alt + V or the title bar button pops a window out of the tiling layout so it can be dragged and resized.
 - **btop** - a system monitor window with my real GitHub commit graph, repos as processes and some very scientific CPU and caffeine readings.
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ bun run content:setup
 bun run content
 ```
 
-`content:setup` creates a virtual environment in `tools/content/.venv` and installs Textual. Run it once.
+`content:setup` creates a virtual environment in `tools/content/.venv` and installs Textual and Pillow. Run it once.
 
 | Key | Action |
 | --- | --- |
@@ -138,6 +138,15 @@ Show and movie titles are looked up on OMDb with `OMDB_API_KEY` from `.env`; fil
 | `projects/*.json` | Open source, packages, hackathons, research groups and organizations |
 | `music.json` | YouTube links for the music player |
 | `books.json` | Books scraped from Goodreads for the about page |
+| `wallpapers.json` | Wallpapers for the picker, written by `bun run wallpapers` |
 | `desktop.json` | Workspaces, desktop icons, the startup command and the default theme |
 | `themes.json` | Color themes for the site and the content editor |
 | `blog/*.md` | Blog posts |
+
+### Wallpapers
+
+```sh
+bun run wallpapers
+```
+
+Converts every image in `~/dotfiles/wallpapers` into a compressed JPEG in `static/wallpapers/gallery`, with a small thumbnail for the picker, and writes the list to `content/wallpapers.json`. Unchanged wallpapers are skipped, so run it again whenever the dotfiles change. Pass a folder to use a different source, or `--force` to convert everything again.
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 97ebe93..561a64c 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@
 		"preview": "vite preview",
 		"start": "bun --bun vite build && bun ./build/index.js",
 		"content": "tools/content/.venv/bin/python tools/content/app.py",
-		"content:setup": "python3 -m venv tools/content/.venv && tools/content/.venv/bin/pip install -r tools/content/requirements.txt",
+		"wallpapers": "tools/content/.venv/bin/python tools/content/wallpapers.py",
+		"content:setup":"python3 -m venv tools/content/.venv && tools/content/.venv/bin/pip install -r tools/content/requirements.txt",
 		"prepare": "svelte-kit sync || echo ''",
 		"check": "svelte-kit sync && svelte-check --tsconfig ./tsconfig.json",
 		"check:watch": "svelte-kit sync && svelte-check --tsconfig ./tsconfig.json --watch"
diff --git a/src/lib/components/shell/Bar.svelte b/src/lib/components/shell/Bar.svelte
index 3b2051a..6d4a617 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/shell/Bar.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/shell/Bar.svelte
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 	import Clock from './Clock.svelte';
 	import Workspaces from './Workspaces.svelte';
 	import ThemeMenu from './ThemeMenu.svelte';
+	import WallpaperMenu from './WallpaperMenu.svelte';
 	import DiscordStatus from './DiscordStatus.svelte';
 	import Battery from './Battery.svelte';
 	import Music from './Music.svelte';
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@
 		<DiscordStatus />
 		<Battery />
 		<Donate />
+		<WallpaperMenu />
 		<ThemeMenu />
 	</div>
 </header>
diff --git a/src/lib/components/shell/PopupCard.svelte b/src/lib/components/shell/PopupCard.svelte
index ee6f255..3dbb2de 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/shell/PopupCard.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/shell/PopupCard.svelte
@@ -2,7 +2,12 @@
 	import { focusTrap } from '#lib/ui/focusTrap';
 	import type { Snippet } from 'svelte';
 
-	let { title, onclose, children }: { title: string; onclose: () => void; children: Snippet } = $props();
+	let {
+		title,
+		wide = false,
+		onclose,
+		children
+	}: { title: string; wide?: boolean; onclose: () => void; children: Snippet } = $props();
 
 	function handleKeydown(event: KeyboardEvent) {
 		if (event.key === 'Escape') onclose();
@@ -12,7 +17,7 @@
 <svelte:window onkeydown={handleKeydown} />
 
 <button class="backdrop" aria-label="Close {title}" onclick={onclose}></button>
-<div class="popup" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label={title} tabindex="-1" use:focusTrap>
+<div class="popup" class:wide role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-label={title} tabindex="-1" use:focusTrap>
 	<div class="popup-title">{title}</div>
 	<div class="popup-body">
 		{@render children()}
@@ -42,6 +47,10 @@
 		animation: window-pop-in 0.15s ease-out;
 	}
 
+	.popup.wide {
+		width: 560px;
+	}
+
 	.popup-title {
 		padding: 0.4rem 0.6rem;
 		background: var(--background);
@@ -58,7 +67,8 @@
 	}
 
 	@media (max-width: 640px) {
-		.popup {
+		.popup,
+		.popup.wide {
 			position: fixed;
 			top: calc(var(--bar-height) + 6px);
 			right: 8px;
diff --git a/src/lib/components/shell/WallpaperMenu.svelte b/src/lib/components/shell/WallpaperMenu.svelte
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9558480
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/components/shell/WallpaperMenu.svelte
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+<script lang="ts">
+	import Icon from '@iconify/svelte';
+	import { wallpapers } from '#lib/content';
+	import { wallpaperState } from '#lib/theme/wallpaper.svelte';
+	import PopupCard from './PopupCard.svelte';
+
+	let open = $state(false);
+	let search = $state('');
+
+	const filtered = $derived(
+		wallpapers.filter((wallpaper) => wallpaper.name.toLowerCase().includes(search.trim().toLowerCase()))
+	);
+</script>
+
+{#if wallpapers.length}
+	<div class="wallpaper-menu">
+		<button class="tray-button" title="Wallpaper" aria-expanded={open} onclick={() => (open = !open)}>
+			<Icon icon="mdi:image-multiple-outline" width="18" />
+		</button>
+
+		{#if open}
+			<PopupCard title="Wallpapers ({wallpapers.length})" wide onclose={() => (open = false)}>
+				<div class="toolbar">
+					<input class="search" type="search" placeholder="search wallpapers" bind:value={search} />
+					<button class="tool" title="Random wallpaper" onclick={() => wallpaperState.shuffle()}>
+						<Icon icon="mdi:shuffle-variant" width="16" />
+					</button>
+					<button
+						class="tool"
+						class:selected={wallpaperState.currentId === null}
+						title="Use the theme's wallpaper"
+						onclick={() => wallpaperState.set(null)}
+					>
+						<Icon icon="mdi:palette-outline" width="16" />
+						<span>theme</span>
+					</button>
+				</div>
+
+				<div class="grid">
+					{#each filtered as wallpaper (wallpaper.id)}
+						<button
+							class="thumb"
+							class:selected={wallpaper.id === wallpaperState.currentId}
+							title={wallpaper.name}
+							onclick={() => wallpaperState.set(wallpaper.id)}
+						>
+							<img src={wallpaper.thumb} alt={wallpaper.name} loading="lazy" decoding="async" />
+							<span class="name">{wallpaper.name}</span>
+						</button>
+					{:else}
+						<span class="empty muted">No wallpapers match "{search}"</span>
+					{/each}
+				</div>
+			</PopupCard>
+		{/if}
+	</div>
+{/if}
+
+<style>
+	.wallpaper-menu {
+		position: relative;
+	}
+
+	.toolbar {
+		display: flex;
+		gap: 0.35rem;
+		margin-bottom: 0.35rem;
+	}
+
+	.search {
+		flex: 1;
+		min-width: 0;
+		padding: 0.3rem 0.5rem;
+		background: var(--dark-background);
+		border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--foreground) 25%, transparent);
+		color: var(--foreground);
+		font: inherit;
+		font-size: 0.8rem;
+	}
+
+	.search:focus {
+		border-color: var(--accent);
+		outline: none;
+	}
+
+	.tool {
+		display: inline-flex;
+		align-items: center;
+		gap: 0.25rem;
+		padding: 0 0.5rem;
+		background: none;
+		border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--foreground) 25%, transparent);
+		color: var(--foreground);
+		font-size: 0.78rem;
+	}
+
+	.tool:hover,
+	.tool.selected {
+		border-color: var(--accent);
+		color: var(--accent);
+	}
+
+	.grid {
+		display: grid;
+		grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(150px, 1fr));
+		gap: 0.4rem;
+	}
+
+	.thumb {
+		position: relative;
+		aspect-ratio: 16 / 9;
+		padding: 0;
+		overflow: hidden;
+		background: var(--dark-background);
+		border: 2px solid transparent;
+	}
+
+	.thumb:hover {
+		border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 60%, transparent);
+	}
+
+	.thumb.selected {
+		border-color: var(--accent);
+	}
+
+	.thumb img {
+		display: block;
+		width: 100%;
+		height: 100%;
+		object-fit: cover;
+	}
+
+	.name {
+		position: absolute;
+		right: 0;
+		bottom: 0;
+		left: 0;
+		overflow: hidden;
+		padding: 0.1rem 0.35rem;
+		background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--background) 85%, transparent);
+		font-size: 0.68rem;
+		text-align: left;
+		white-space: nowrap;
+		text-overflow: ellipsis;
+		opacity: 0;
+		transition: opacity 0.15s ease;
+	}
+
+	.thumb:hover .name,
+	.thumb:focus-visible .name,
+	.thumb.selected .name {
+		opacity: 1;
+	}
+
+	.empty {
+		grid-column: 1 / -1;
+		padding: 0.5rem;
+		font-size: 0.8rem;
+	}
+
+	@media (max-width: 640px) {
+		.grid {
+			grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(110px, 1fr));
+		}
+	}
+</style>
diff --git a/src/lib/content/index.ts b/src/lib/content/index.ts
index ef505b6..04fc411 100644
--- a/src/lib/content/index.ts
+++ b/src/lib/content/index.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import researchData from '#content/projects/research.json';
 import organizationsData from '#content/projects/organizations.json';
 import tcgDecksData from '#content/tcgDecks.json';
 import booksData from '#content/books.json';
+import wallpapersData from '#content/wallpapers.json';
 import type {
 	AboutContent,
 	BlogSettings,
@@ -25,7 +26,8 @@ import type {
 	ProjectCategory,
 	ProjectCategoryId,
 	ResearchGroup,
-	TcgDeck
+	TcgDeck,
+	Wallpaper
 } from './types';
 
 export type * from './types';
@@ -40,6 +42,7 @@ export const playlist: Playlist = musicData;
 export const researchGroups: ResearchGroup[] = researchData;
 export const tcgDecks: TcgDeck[] = tcgDecksData as TcgDeck[];
 export const books: Book[] = booksData as Book[];
+export const wallpapers: Wallpaper[] = wallpapersData as Wallpaper[];
 
 function featuredFirst(projects: Project[]): Project[] {
 	return [...projects].sort((first, second) => Number(!!second.featured) - Number(!!first.featured));
diff --git a/src/lib/content/types.ts b/src/lib/content/types.ts
index d14188d..f0c6f52 100644
--- a/src/lib/content/types.ts
+++ b/src/lib/content/types.ts
@@ -251,3 +251,10 @@ export interface TcgDeck {
 	name: string;
 	cards: DeckCard[];
 }
+
+export interface Wallpaper {
+	id: string;
+	name: string;
+	image: string;
+	thumb: string;
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/theme/wallpaper.svelte.ts b/src/lib/theme/wallpaper.svelte.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..202cad0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/theme/wallpaper.svelte.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+import { wallpapers, type Wallpaper } from '#lib/content';
+
+const wallpaperStorageKey = 'wallpaper';
+
+function readStoredWallpaperId(): string | null {
+	try {
+		return localStorage.getItem(wallpaperStorageKey);
+	} catch {
+		return null;
+	}
+}
+
+function storeWallpaperId(wallpaperId: string | null) {
+	try {
+		if (wallpaperId) localStorage.setItem(wallpaperStorageKey, wallpaperId);
+		else localStorage.removeItem(wallpaperStorageKey);
+	} catch {}
+}
+
+function findWallpaper(wallpaperId: string | null): Wallpaper | null {
+	return wallpapers.find((wallpaper) => wallpaper.id === wallpaperId) ?? null;
+}
+
+function applyWallpaper(wallpaper: Wallpaper | null) {
+	const rootStyle = document.documentElement.style;
+	if (wallpaper) rootStyle.setProperty('--wallpaper', `url('${wallpaper.image}')`);
+	else rootStyle.removeProperty('--wallpaper');
+}
+
+class WallpaperState {
+	currentId = $state<string | null>(null);
+
+	restore() {
+		const stored = findWallpaper(readStoredWallpaperId());
+		this.currentId = stored?.id ?? null;
+		applyWallpaper(stored);
+	}
+
+	set(wallpaperId: string | null) {
+		const wallpaper = findWallpaper(wallpaperId);
+		this.currentId = wallpaper?.id ?? null;
+		applyWallpaper(wallpaper);
+		storeWallpaperId(this.currentId);
+	}
+
+	shuffle() {
+		const choices = wallpapers.filter((wallpaper) => wallpaper.id !== this.currentId);
+		if (choices.length) this.set(choices[Math.floor(Math.random() * choices.length)].id);
+	}
+}
+
+export const wallpaperState = new WallpaperState();
diff --git a/src/routes/+layout.svelte b/src/routes/+layout.svelte
index d84ccb9..94b54a1 100644
--- a/src/routes/+layout.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/+layout.svelte
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 	import { desktop, profile } from '#lib/content';
 	import { buildThemeStylesheet } from '#lib/theme/stylesheet';
 	import { themeState } from '#lib/theme/theme.svelte';
+	import { wallpaperState } from '#lib/theme/wallpaper.svelte';
 	import { pageWindowId, windowManager } from '#lib/desktop/windows.svelte';
 	import { handleKeybind } from '#lib/desktop/keybinds';
 	import { handleImageClick } from '#lib/desktop/imageViewer';
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@
 
 	onMount(() => {
 		themeState.restore();
+		wallpaperState.restore();
 		const isWideScreen = window.innerWidth >= 768;
 		if (!pageOpen && isWideScreen && desktop.startupCommand) windowManager.openTerminal(desktop.startupCommand, { floating: true });
 		window.addEventListener('click', handleImageClick, true);
diff --git a/tools/content/requirements.txt b/tools/content/requirements.txt
index ac86f2b..fe092a8 100644
--- a/tools/content/requirements.txt
+++ b/tools/content/requirements.txt
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 textual>=8.2,<9
+pillow>=11
diff --git a/tools/content/wallpapers.py b/tools/content/wallpapers.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..223d7d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/content/wallpapers.py
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+import argparse
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from PIL import Image, ImageOps
+
+import jsonfile
+from jsonfile import PROJECT_ROOT
+
+SOURCE_DIR = Path.home() / "dotfiles" / "wallpapers"
+OUTPUT_DIR = PROJECT_ROOT / "static" / "wallpapers" / "gallery"
+THUMB_DIR = OUTPUT_DIR / "thumbs"
+PUBLIC_PATH = "/wallpapers/gallery"
+MANIFEST_FILE = "wallpapers.json"
+IMAGE_EXTENSIONS = {".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp", ".bmp"}
+FULL_SIZE = (2560, 1440)
+THUMB_SIZE = (480, 270)
+FULL_QUALITY = 82
+THUMB_QUALITY = 70
+SMALL_IMAGE_EDGE = 1000
+
+
+def slug_of(path: Path) -> str:
+    return re.sub(r"[^a-z0-9]+", "-", path.stem.lower()).strip("-")
+
+
+def display_name(path: Path) -> str:
+    words = re.sub(r"[_\-]+", " ", path.stem).strip()
+    return re.sub(r"^\d+\s+", "", words).title()
+
+
+def source_images(source_dir: Path) -> list[Path]:
+    return sorted(path for path in source_dir.iterdir() if path.suffix.lower() in IMAGE_EXTENSIONS and path.is_file())
+
+
+def flatten(image: Image.Image) -> Image.Image:
+    image = ImageOps.exif_transpose(image)
+    if image.mode in ("RGBA", "LA", "P"):
+        image = image.convert("RGBA")
+        background = Image.new("RGB", image.size, (0, 0, 0))
+        background.paste(image, mask=image.getchannel("A"))
+        return background
+    return image.convert("RGB")
+
+
+def resample_for(image: Image.Image) -> int:
+    is_pixel_art = max(image.size) <= SMALL_IMAGE_EDGE
+    return Image.Resampling.NEAREST if is_pixel_art else Image.Resampling.LANCZOS
+
+
+def fit_within(image: Image.Image, size: tuple[int, int]) -> Image.Image:
+    scale = min(size[0] / image.width, size[1] / image.height)
+    if scale >= 1 and max(image.size) > SMALL_IMAGE_EDGE:
+        return image
+    target = (max(1, round(image.width * scale)), max(1, round(image.height * scale)))
+    return image.resize(target, resample_for(image))
+
+
+def save_jpeg(image: Image.Image, path: Path, quality: int):
+    path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    image.save(path, "JPEG", quality=quality, optimize=True, progressive=True)
+
+
+def is_up_to_date(source: Path, outputs: list[Path]) -> bool:
+    return all(output.exists() and output.stat().st_mtime >= source.stat().st_mtime for output in outputs)
+
+
+def convert(source: Path, force: bool) -> dict:
+    slug = slug_of(source)
+    full_path = OUTPUT_DIR / f"{slug}.jpg"
+    thumb_path = THUMB_DIR / f"{slug}.jpg"
+
+    if force or not is_up_to_date(source, [full_path, thumb_path]):
+        with Image.open(source) as opened:
+            image = flatten(opened)
+        save_jpeg(fit_within(image, FULL_SIZE), full_path, FULL_QUALITY)
+        save_jpeg(ImageOps.fit(image, THUMB_SIZE, resample_for(image)), thumb_path, THUMB_QUALITY)
+
+    return {
+        "id": slug,
+        "name": display_name(source),
+        "image": f"{PUBLIC_PATH}/{slug}.jpg",
+        "thumb": f"{PUBLIC_PATH}/thumbs/{slug}.jpg",
+    }
+
+
+def remove_stale(kept_slugs: set[str]) -> int:
+    removed = 0
+    for folder in (OUTPUT_DIR, THUMB_DIR):
+        for path in folder.glob("*.jpg"):
+            if path.stem not in kept_slugs:
+                path.unlink()
+                removed += 1
+    return removed
+
+
+def folder_size(folder: Path) -> int:
+    return sum(path.stat().st_size for path in folder.rglob("*") if path.is_file())
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Compress wallpapers from the dotfiles repo into JPEGs for the website")
+    parser.add_argument("source", nargs="?", default=str(SOURCE_DIR), help="folder with the original wallpapers")
+    parser.add_argument("--force", action="store_true", help="convert every wallpaper again")
+    arguments = parser.parse_args()
+
+    source_dir = Path(arguments.source).expanduser()
+    if not source_dir.is_dir():
+        print(f"{source_dir} is not a folder", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    wallpapers = []
+    for source in source_images(source_dir):
+        try:
+            wallpapers.append(convert(source, arguments.force))
+            print(f"ok      {source.name}")
+        except OSError as error:
+            print(f"skipped {source.name}: {error}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+    removed = remove_stale({wallpaper["id"] for wallpaper in wallpapers})
+    jsonfile.save(MANIFEST_FILE, wallpapers)
+
+    original_size = sum(path.stat().st_size for path in source_images(source_dir))
+    compressed_size = folder_size(OUTPUT_DIR)
+    print(f"\n{len(wallpapers)} wallpapers, {removed} stale files removed")
+    print(f"{original_size / 1024 / 1024:.1f} MB -> {compressed_size / 1024 / 1024:.1f} MB (including thumbnails)")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())