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Safari allows you to set any image as desktop background right from the browser.

Use Image as Desktop Picture in Safari

Desktop & Screen Saver preference pane will then display it as Safari Desktop Picture.

Safari Desktop Picture

No filename, no location, and if I change it, seems like the picture is lost.
I find it frustrating because, although I frequently change wallpapers, I'd like to keep each of them.
I could as well download the file manually but isn't this what Use As Desktop Picture exists for?

So, the question is:

Where is this image actually stored on my hard drive?
How do I retrieve it?

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Open ~/Library/Safari/.
It is there, called Safari Desktop Picture.jpg (or whatever the extension is).

Safari Desktop Picture location

If you're on Lion, to get to Library folder you may open Finder, select Go from the top menu and hold ⌥ Option. The normally hidden Library menu will reveal itself in the folder list. Open it, and proceed to Safari subfolder.

If you're not on Lion or just prefer the quick way, open Finder, press ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + G to open directory prompt and paste ~/Library/Safari/:

Safari Desktop Picture location

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  • Using the Go To Folder keyboard shortcut on Lion will still work if you type out ~/Library - I think it will tab-complete as expected. No need to specifically use the Go menu plus option key modifier as per above.
    – da4
    Oct 12, 2011 at 17:09
  • I think it is slightly more fun, that's why I included it.
    – Dan
    Oct 12, 2011 at 17:47
  • @da4: Thanks for the comment though. I made an edit.
    – Dan
    Oct 12, 2011 at 17:49
  • I'm running macOS Catalina (10.15.3) and found the image in a slightly different location. Replace the Safari folder with Safari Shared Data. The full path is ~/Library/Safari Shared Data/Safari Desktop Picture.jpg
    – tekniskt
    Feb 4, 2020 at 14:19

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