Where is desktop background stored in Windows 11?

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I’ve been trying to customize my desktop experience on my Windows 11 PC and enjoy having a variety of wallpapers. However, I’ve run into some confusion about where these desktop background images are actually stored. It’s a bit frustrating because I’d like to access these images directly, maybe to back them up or use them elsewhere. I know that in previous versions of Windows, there were specific locations for system backgrounds, but it’s not immediately clear where to find them in Windows 11. I need a better understanding of the default directories or paths where both system-provided and personalized desktop backgrounds are saved. This knowledge would definitely help me manage my desktop aesthetics more efficiently.

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If you’ve customized your desktop with personal images, the storage location changes slightly:

  1. Open the Settings app and go to ‘Personalization’.
  2. Under ‘Background’, you’ll see options for your current wallpaper.
  3. To find the exact path, open C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Themes and look for a file named ‘TranscodedWallpaper’. This file is essentially a copy of your selected background image.
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To locate your desktop backgrounds in Windows 11, simply follow these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer by pressing ‘Windows + E’.
  2. Navigate to C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper.

In this folder, you’ll find various subfolders like ‘Windows’, ‘Windows Spotlight’, and ‘Themes’, each containing different sets of default wallpapers provided by Windows 11.

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For those, like me, who frequently change and backup their wallpapers, here’s a straightforward method:

  1. I save high-resolution wallpapers in a dedicated folder, typically C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Pictures\Wallpapers. Doing this helps in easily setting them as backgrounds and makes backing them up simpler without delving into system directories.
  2. Third-party wallpaper management tools can also be handy as they keep track of image locations and provide easy access to directories.
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I’ve found that some dynamic backgrounds, particularly those from Windows Spotlight, are saved in less obvious locations. To find these images:

  1. Open the Run command with ‘Windows + R’.
  2. Enter %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets and press Enter.
  3. You’ll see a range of files without extensions. These files are the images used by Windows Spotlight. Copy them to another folder and add ‘.jpg’ extensions to view them.
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