Tiny glassy shells – round, three-lobed and boat-shaped, patterned with ribs and rows of pores – turn and sink slowly through clear water, sharp in a shallow plane of focus and soft everywhere else.
Tiny glassy shells – round, three-lobed and boat-shaped, patterned with ribs and rows of pores – turn and sink slowly through clear water, sharp in a shallow plane of focus and soft everywhere else.
In the app you can adjust the colours, diatoms, drift speed and focus depth. It runs natively on your Mac, drawn live in real time – no video, never quite the same twice.
Use it on your Mac
- Get SCRNSVRS free from the Mac App Store.
- Select Diatoms in the library.
- Click Set as Screensaver or Set as Wallpaper – or both.
Preview free · macOS Tahoe 26 or laterNeed a hand? Read the setup guide.
Diatoms FAQ
How do I set Diatoms as my screensaver on a Mac?
Install SCRNSVRS free from the Mac App Store, select Diatoms in the library and click Set as Screensaver. macOS starts it whenever your Mac is idle, exactly like a built-in screensaver.
Can I use Diatoms as a live wallpaper?
Yes. Click Set as Wallpaper in SCRNSVRS and Diatoms plays on your desktop behind your windows and icons. You can use it as screensaver and wallpaper at the same time.
Is Diatoms free?
Diatoms is included in SCRNSVRS Unlimited. It's free for your first 7 days; after that Unlimited is $1.99/month or $9.99/year (€1.99/month or €9.99/year) for every screensaver, including new ones. It can also come up in Free this month, when 25 premium screensavers are free for everyone.
Is Diatoms a video loop?
No. Diatoms is rendered live on your Mac with Metal, so it never repeats and stays sharp on any display size. The clip on this page is a screen recording of the real thing.
Will Diatoms slow down my Mac or drain the battery?
No. SCRNSVRS drops to 30 fps on battery and stops rendering when the wallpaper is covered by a full-screen app, so Diatoms costs next to nothing in everyday use.
Which Macs does Diatoms run on?
Diatoms needs macOS Tahoe 26 or later.
