README.md

kdynamicwallpaperbuilder

kdynamicwallpaperbuilder is a command line tool designed for creating dynamic wallpapers from a collection of images.

Getting Started

In order to create a dynamic wallpaper, you need to provide a json file with the following structure

[
    {
        "SolarAzimuth": "*",
        "SolarElevation": "*",
        "CrossFade": true,
        "Time": "18:00",
        "FileName": "0.png"
    },
    {
        "SolarAzimuth": 0,
        "SolarElevation": -90,
        "CrossFade": true,
        "Time": "00:00",
        "FileName": "1.png"
    },
    {
        "SolarAzimuth": 90,
        "SolarElevation": 0,
        "CrossFade": true,
        "Time": "06:00",
        "FileName": "2.png"
    },
    {
        "SolarAzimuth": 180,
        "SolarElevation": 90,
        "CrossFade": true,
        "Time": "12:00",
        "FileName": "3.png"
    }
]

It might look like you must provide a lot of data, but don't be scared. Let's break it down.

The SolarAzimuth field and the SolarElevation field specify the position of the Sun when the associated picture was taken. The Time field specifies the time, which is in 24-hour format, when the picture was taken. If the user is not located near the North or the South Pole, the dynamic wallpaper engine will try to show images based on the current position of the Sun; otherwise it will fallback to using time metadata. Note that only the Time field is required, the position of the Sun is optional.

If SolarAzimuth or SolarElevation has a special value of "*", then the position of the Sun will be computed based on GPS coordinates and the time when the picture was taken.

The CrossFade field indicates whether the current image can be blended with the next one. The cross-fading is used to make transitions between images smooth. By default, the CrossFade field is set to true. Last, but not least, the FileName field specifies the file path of the image relative to the metadata json file.

Now that you have prepared all images and a metadata file, it's time pull out big guns. Run the following command

kdynamicwallpaperbuilder path/to/metadata.json

It may take some time before the command completes, so be patient. If everything goes well, you should see a new file in the current working directory wallpaper.heic, which can be used as a dynamic wallpaper.