Trying to Build a Wallpaper Engine-like App for GNOME on Wayland

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share a personal project I've been working on and get some feedback from the community.

I'm trying to create something similar to Wallpaper Engine, but fully focused on Wayland and modern GNOME (I’m currently on GNOME 49). The main reason I’m focusing on Wayland is that my daily machine runs it, and I love the benefits it brings: smooth rendering, no limitations on monitor Hz, and better visual integration overall. I want this to be something that anyone can use easily, not just a hacky workaround.

Right now, I’m building this as a GNOME Shell extension using Clutter, GTK, and GStreamer. The goal is to eventually have a full app-like experience where videos or animated wallpapers can play directly on the desktop. I’ve looked at some existing tools, but most are outdated or weren’t built for the latest GNOME versions, so they don’t really work anymore.

Honestly, working on this has been a bit of a struggle. Documentation is scarce, examples are almost nonexistent, and integrating the different systems has been tricky. I’ve even tried using AI to help guide me, but I haven’t been able to get to a fully working solution yet.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has experience with:

• Wayland + GNOME Shell extensions
• Using Clutter.Video or GStreamer for dynamic backgrounds
• Handling multi-monitor setups or optimizing performance for animated wallpapers

Also, if anyone has links to examples, tutorials, or any resources, or even better ideas on how I could approach building this, I would be really grateful if you could share them. Honestly, I haven’t been able to produce even a minimal viable version yet, so any guidance would be amazing.

If you want to see what I’ve been working on so far, here’s the code: Link to code

Any advice, tips, or resources would be really appreciated. I’m hoping to build something modern, visually appealing, and easy for anyone on GNOME Wayland to use.