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On Ubuntu Desktop using GNOME, a GNOME Shell extension is the simplest way to set Bing’s daily homepage image as your wallpaper automatically. For a one-time change, download the image from Bing and select it in Appearance. If you want more control over saved images or scheduling, a local script can download the image and update GNOME’s wallpaper setting.
Choose the method that fits
| Method | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| GNOME extension | Automatic updates with the least setup | Depends on extension compatibility with your GNOME Shell version |
| Script and systemd timer | Users who want a local archive and control over scheduling | Uses an unofficial Bing metadata endpoint that may change |
| Manual download | Applying one image without background automation | You must download and select a new image yourself |
Bing describes its rotating image as a new homepage image every day. The image returned can vary by market or locale. Microsoft says most daily images can be downloaded from the homepage, though licensing restrictions make some unavailable. Microsoft’s homepage guide explains the download control.
Check that your Ubuntu desktop uses GNOME
These extension and gsettings instructions target GNOME, the default desktop on Ubuntu Desktop. They do not apply unchanged to Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, or other flavors, which use different wallpaper settings.
lsb_release -ds
gnome-shell --version
echo "$XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP"Check the GNOME Shell version before installing an extension: compatibility is version-specific. You can also see Ubuntu’s current release options on its Desktop download page.
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Set up automatic updates with a GNOME extension
For most GNOME users, start with an extension rather than Microsoft’s Windows-oriented Bing Wallpaper product. Microsoft documents the Bing homepage and its wallpaper app, but the cited Microsoft instructions do not provide an Ubuntu installation path.
Daily Bing Wallpaper and Accent Color
The GNOME Extensions listing for Daily Bing Wallpaper and Accent Color currently advertises support for GNOME Shell 48, 49, and 50. It sets the Bing image of the day as the wallpaper and can optionally derive an accent color from it. The listing notes that the extension is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
Bing Wallpaper
The Bing Wallpaper GNOME Shell extension project states that current versions require GNOME 45 or newer. It advertises desktop and lock-screen updates, stored image history, randomization, image information, and optional cleanup of old images. Its listed features and settings may differ from those in other Bing extensions.
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Install and configure the extension
- Open the chosen extension’s page on GNOME Extensions and check that its listed Shell compatibility matches the output of
gnome-shell --version. - Install or enable the extension using the controls available on the page. The exact controls can vary with your browser, GNOME Extensions integration, and extension version.
- Open the extension’s preferences and choose a Bing region or language if that option is available. A market setting affects which image is returned; it is not a universal setting for every reader.
- Choose whether to update the desktop alone or the lock screen as well, then set any available image quality, retention, and cleanup preferences.
- If the wallpaper does not change immediately, use the extension’s refresh control if available, or log out and back in before troubleshooting further.
Extension settings are not identical across projects. Check the preferences of the extension you installed rather than expecting every option listed for another project.
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Apply one Bing image manually
- Open Bing in a browser and find the current homepage image.
- Hover over the image’s headline or credit area and select Download today’s image if that option is available. Some images cannot be downloaded because of licensing restrictions.
- In Ubuntu, open Activities, search for Appearance, and open the panel.
- Click Add Picture…, select the downloaded file, and choose the background behavior you want.
GNOME applies the selected image immediately. You can also right-click an image in Files and choose Set as Background…. See GNOME Help’s background instructions for the graphical options.
Automate downloads with a local script
This option is for GNOME users comfortable with shell commands. It reads Bing image metadata, downloads a local copy, and assigns that file as the background. The community-documented HPImageArchive.aspx endpoint is not established by the cited Microsoft documentation as a supported public API, so Bing can change its format or access behavior.
Install the tools and create a folder for the images and a script:
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sudo apt update
sudo apt install curl jq
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin" "$HOME/Pictures/Bing"
nano "$HOME/.local/bin/bing-wallpaper"Paste this example into the editor. It downloads to a temporary file and moves it into place only after a successful transfer, so a failed download does not replace the current wallpaper:
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
save_dir="$HOME/Pictures/Bing"
mkdir -p "$save_dir"
# Change this market code if you want another Bing locale.
market="en-US"
metadata_url="https://www.bing.com/HPImageArchive.aspx?format=js&idx=0&n=1&mkt=${market}"
metadata="$(curl --fail --silent --show-error --location "$metadata_url")"
url_base="$(jq -r '.images[0].urlbase // empty' <<< "$metadata")"
url="$(jq -r '.images[0].url // empty' <<< "$metadata")"
if [[ -z "$url_base" && -z "$url" ]]; then
echo "Could not obtain Bing image metadata." >&2
exit 1
fi
image_file="$save_dir/bing-$(date +%F).jpg"
tmp_file="$(mktemp "$save_dir/.bing-XXXXXX")"
trap 'rm -f "$tmp_file"' EXIT
# Try the larger variant first when urlbase is provided; otherwise use metadata's URL.
download_url=""
if [[ -n "$url_base" ]]; then
image_url="https://www.bing.com${url_base}_UHD.jpg"
if curl --fail --silent --show-error --location "$image_url" --output "$tmp_file"; then
download_url="$image_url"
else
rm -f "$tmp_file"
tmp_file="$(mktemp "$save_dir/.bing-XXXXXX")"
trap 'rm -f "$tmp_file"' EXIT
fi
fi
if [[ -z "$download_url" ]]; then
if [[ -z "$url" ]]; then
echo "Bing did not provide a fallback image URL." >&2
exit 1
fi
case "$url" in
http://*|https://*) fallback_url="$url" ;;
*) fallback_url="https://www.bing.com${url}" ;;
esac
curl --fail --silent --show-error --location "$fallback_url" --output "$tmp_file"
fi
mv -f "$tmp_file" "$image_file"
trap - EXIT
file_uri="$(python3 -c 'import pathlib,sys; print(pathlib.Path(sys.argv[1]).resolve().as_uri())' "$image_file")"
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri "$file_uri"
if gsettings writable org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri-dark >/dev/null 2>&1; then
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri-dark "$file_uri"
fi
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.background picture-options "zoom"
echo "Wallpaper saved to $image_file"The script tries a _UHD.jpg variant when metadata includes urlbase, then falls back to the metadata-provided image URL if that attempt fails. Bing’s image suffixes and available resolutions are implementation details, not a guaranteed interface; UHD files can be larger than necessary for a lower-resolution display. The script uses Python 3 to encode the local path as a proper file URI, including if the home directory path contains characters that need escaping.
Save the file, then make it executable and test it in your GNOME session:
chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/bing-wallpaper"
"$HOME/.local/bin/bing-wallpaper"GNOME’s background setting uses a local file:// URI, which is why the script downloads the image before applying it. Canonical documents the background picture-uri setting and the dark-mode picture-uri-dark setting. The script changes the dark-mode URI only if that key is writable on the system.
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A user-level systemd timer is generally a better fit for a graphical desktop than cron: it runs as your user and avoids hard-coding a display number such as :0. The timer below runs at 09:00 in the user’s local time, and Persistent=true lets systemd catch up after a missed run when the user manager is active again.
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Create the service and timer files:
mkdir -p "$HOME/.config/systemd/user"
nano "$HOME/.config/systemd/user/bing-wallpaper.service"[Unit]
Description=Set Bing image of the day as the GNOME wallpaper
[Service]
Type=oneshot
ExecStart=%h/.local/bin/bing-wallpaperSave that file, then create the timer:
nano "$HOME/.config/systemd/user/bing-wallpaper.timer"[Unit]
Description=Update Bing wallpaper daily
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 09:00:00
Persistent=true
[Install]
WantedBy=timers.targetEnable the timer, check its schedule, and run the service once immediately to test it:
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now bing-wallpaper.timer
systemctl --user list-timers
systemctl --user start bing-wallpaper.serviceA user service needs access to the graphical session’s settings service. If the script works in a terminal but not under the timer, inspect the service log with journalctl --user -u bing-wallpaper.service. Do not assume that setting DISPLAY=:0 will fix it: the display may differ, and Wayland or multi-user sessions need not use that value.
Troubleshoot a wallpaper that does not update
The extension is missing or will not enable
- Run
gnome-shell --versionand compare it with the extension listing’s supported versions. - Disable other wallpaper-changing extensions temporarily, then retry.
- Review the extension’s own preferences and project information; if it remains incompatible, use the script or manual method.
The image downloads but the desktop does not change
Check that the downloaded file exists and inspect GNOME’s current background setting:
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorstest -f "$HOME/Pictures/Bing/bing-$(date +%F).jpg" && echo "Image exists"
gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri
gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.background picture-optionsAlso check whether dark mode is using a separate image with gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.background picture-uri-dark. If the system is managed, an administrator-enforced background policy may override your choice; Canonical documents policy control of the background URI.
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The timer fails although the script works in a terminal
Read journalctl --user -u bing-wallpaper.service and verify that the timer runs in the same user session where GNOME is open. If Bing is unreachable or the metadata format has changed, the script exits with an error and leaves the previously selected wallpaper in place.
The wrong image appears or the image looks cropped
Change the script’s market value from en-US to the desired Bing market code, if Bing returns that market. For framing, change GNOME’s picture-options value or use the Appearance panel; options such as zoom can crop differently depending on image and display proportions.
You want to control saved images
The script stores one dated file per successful run in ~/Pictures/Bing. To keep a rolling archive of roughly the latest month, add this command after a successful wallpaper update:
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchfind "$HOME/Pictures/Bing" -type f -name '*.jpg' -mtime +30 -deleteRemove that cleanup command if you want to retain the archive. Keeping or sharing downloaded Bing images does not itself establish permission for commercial use or redistribution.
Other options
If one extension does not support your GNOME version, check the other listed extension’s compatibility rather than forcing an incompatible release. A wallpaper manager such as Variety may suit users who want multiple image sources or rotation rules, but it is a different setup from Bing-only daily updates. For the least automation and no extension, the manual Bing download remains an option.
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