Aerials Downloader for tvOS's Wallpapers

This Python script downloads Apple's aerial videos from tvOS and macOS, consolidates metadata from multiple sources, and provides localized asset information.

What it does

1. Downloads tvOS 16, tvOS 13, and macOS 26 resource bundles from Apple
2. Parses entries.json from each source
3. Consolidates entries by asset ID, merging metadata from all sources
4. Loads localized asset names, category names, and points of interest from bundled strings files
5. Downloads the actual video files in your preferred quality

A Docker container can serve a cached version of the files with CORS on localhost:5050 — see the docker-compose setup below.

References

• Spreadsheet of available videos
• Aerial project

Running this script

Expected environment variables:

ENV VAR	Description	Default
AERIAL_LANGUAGE	ISO language code for localized asset names (e.g. en, fr, de, ja)	en
VIDEO_QUALITY	Video quality to download	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
BW_LIMIT	Limit video downloads to ~1 MB/s	not set (unlimited)
SKIP_DOWNLOADS	Skip downloading video files	not set

VIDEO_QUALITY options: url-1080-H264, url-1080-HDR, url-1080-SDR, url-4K-HDR, url-4K-SDR

Language codes: The script supports any language code corresponding to a .lproj folder in the resources' TVIdleScreenStrings.bundle (e.g. en, en_AU, fr, de, ja, zh_CN, etc.). Falls back to English if unavailable.

Run:

AERIAL_LANGUAGE=fr VIDEO_QUALITY=url-4K-SDR python downloadAerials.py

Using the consolidated metadata

The script generates a versioned output of the consolidated entries and localized data in the metadata/ folder. This can be used to serve metadata for a custom app or website.

You can pull a file using the githubusercontent domain, e.g.:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/declan-fitzpatrick/aerials/refs/heads/main/metadata/<version>/entries-<language>.json

Running Docker

To serve the consolidated assets with CORS:

1. Run the downloader script above to generate the consolidated data and download videos
2. Start the container:

docker-compose up

The container uses a reverse proxy (see nginx-static Docker Hub) to serve files on localhost:5050 with CORS headers enabled. Visit http://localhost:5050/entries/<version>/entries-<language>.json, or the video files at http://localhost:5050/downloads/<filename>.

Auto-generated Download Qualities

Generated from the latest consolidated metadata. Do not edit manually.

Cityscape

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Dubai Creek	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Dubai Creek Harbor	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Dubai from Above	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Dubai Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Dubai Skyline	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hong Kong Harbor	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hong Kong Horizon	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hong Kong Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hong Kong Skyline	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
London Evening	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
London from Above	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
London Skyline	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
London Thames	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Los Angeles Airport	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Los Angeles Beach	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Los Angeles Hills	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Los Angeles Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Los Angeles Overpass	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Los Angeles Sunset	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
New York from Above	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
New York Midtown	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
New York Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
New York Skyline	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
San Francisco Bay	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
San Francisco Evening	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
San Francisco Fog	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
San Francisco Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
San Francisco Skyline	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
San Francisco’s Ferry Building	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Earth

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Africa	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Antarctica’s Southern Lights	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Australia	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
California	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Caribbean	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Caribbean Islands	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Caribbean Sea	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
China Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
East Asia	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Europe Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Middle East	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
New York	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
New Zealand	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Nile Delta	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
North Africa	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
North America Aurora	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
North Atlantic	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Sahara	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
South Africa	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Southern California	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Southern Europe Night	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
West Africa	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Landscape

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
China Mountain Cliffs	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
China Mountains	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
China Paddy Field	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
China Silhouette	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
China’s Great Wall	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
China’s Great Wall Daylight	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Grand Canyon Evening	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Grand Canyon from Above	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Grand Canyon River Valley	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Grand Canyon Sediment	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Grand Canyon Sunset	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Greenland Coast	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Greenland Evening	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Greenland Glacier	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hawaii Clouds Dark	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hawaii Clouds Light	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hawaii Coastline	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hawaii Ocean	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Hawaii Valley	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Iceland Coast	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Iceland Fjord	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Iceland Fjord from Above	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Iceland Glacier	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Iceland Riverbed	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Iceland Snow Caps	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Liwa Dune Fields	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Liwa Horizon	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Patagonia Lake	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Patagonia Mountain	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Patagonia Range	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Patagonia River	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Scotland Castle	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Scotland Coast	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Scotland Loch	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Yosemite Clouds	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Yosemite from Above	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Yosemite Horizon	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Yosemite Mountains	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Yosemite Silhouette	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Yosemite Snow Caps	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Yosemite Valley	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Goa

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Goa Beaches	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Goa Coast	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Iceland

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Iceland Lake	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Kerala

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Reservoir Day	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Tea Gardens Day	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Tea Gardens from Above	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Tea Gardens Mist	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Monument Valley

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Arizona’s Coal Mine Canyon	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Utah Evening	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Utah’s Cathedral Canyon	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Utah’s Factory Butte	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Utah’s Lake Powell	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Utah’s Monument Valley	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Utah’s Olympia Bar	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Redwoods

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Oregon Coastline	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Oregon Sunset	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Redwoods from Above	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Redwoods River	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Sequoia

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Sequoia Morning	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Sequoia Night	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Sequoia Sunrise	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Sonoma

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Sonoma Clouds	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Sonoma Evening	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Sonoma from Above	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Sonoma Horizon	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Sonoma River	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Superbloom

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
California Wildflowers	-	-	-	-	-	✓
California’s Carrizo Plain	-	-	-	-	-	✓
California’s Temblor Range	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Tahoe

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Tahoe Day	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Tahoe Evening	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Tahoe Morning	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Tahoe Night	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Uttarakhand

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Ghansali from Above	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Himalayan Peaks	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Himalayas Day	-	-	-	-	-	✓
The Ganges	-	-	-	-	-	✓
Through Himalayas	-	-	-	-	-	✓

Underwater

Name	url-1080-H264	url-1080-HDR	url-1080-SDR	url-4K-HDR	url-4K-SDR	url-4K-SDR-240FPS
Alaskan Jellies Dark	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Alaskan Jellies Light	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Barracuda Battery	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Bumpheads	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
California Dolphin Pod	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
California Kelp Forest	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Costa Rica Dolphin Pod	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Cownose Rays	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Gray Reef Sharks	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Humpback Whale	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Jack School	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Kelp Dark	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Palau Coral Colors	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Palau Jellies Blue	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Palau Jellies Dark	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Palau Jellies Light	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Red Sea Coral from Above	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Sea Stars	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Seal Pod	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Tahiti Coast	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Tahiti Waves Mist	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓