How to Publish a Wallpaper to Steam Workshop
Prepare a Wallpaper Engine project, add accurate metadata and a preview, choose visibility, publish to Steam Workshop, and update it safely.
Reviewed and updated July 2026
Reviewed against the official Wallpaper Engine editor documentation and Steam Workshop rules. Keep a separate backup of every source project because Workshop uploads are not project backups.
Finish and back up the source project
Preview the wallpaper inside Wallpaper Engine at the resolution and performance level you intend to support. Correct broken layers, missing assets, excessive audio, and performance problems before publishing.
Keep the project folder and its source artwork in a separate backup. A Workshop subscription contains the packaged wallpaper, not a reliable editable copy of your source project.
- Use only artwork, audio, fonts, and other assets you created or have permission to distribute.
- Remove private files, temporary exports, and unused large assets from the project.
- Test the finished wallpaper after restarting Wallpaper Engine.
Open Prepare for publishing
Open the project in Wallpaper Editor. In the editor menu, select Workshop and then Prepare for publishing. This opens the publishing form for the current project.
Write accurate Workshop metadata
Use a specific title that identifies the subject or visual style. The description should explain what the wallpaper contains, whether it includes audio or interactive behavior, and any controls users should know about.
Choose the closest genre and the correct age rating. Accurate metadata helps people find suitable wallpapers and reduces the chance of moderation or filtering problems. Avoid keyword stuffing and claims you cannot support.
- Title: clear subject plus a useful distinguishing detail.
- Description: content, behavior, controls, credits, and required notices.
- Genre and tags: only categories that genuinely apply.
- Age rating: assess the actual visible and audible content.
Choose an honest age rating and preview
Choose the age rating that matches the finished wallpaper. If the artwork or audio contains mature material, do not hide it behind a broad or misleading category.
Use a readable preview that represents the actual wallpaper. The built-in publishing flow can capture or import a preview. Check the current limits shown in the application because accepted dimensions and file sizes can change.
Check the Workshop rules before upload
Read the current Workshop agreement and community rules shown during publication. Steam and Wallpaper Engine can change policy details, so the live rules are authoritative.
Do not publish another creator's work without permission. Credit does not replace a license, and public availability does not automatically grant redistribution rights.
- Confirm you have the rights to every included asset.
- Avoid malicious scripts, deceptive previews, spam, and duplicate uploads.
- Use visibility controls honestly for testing, friends, or public release.
Steam Workshop legal agreement
Publish and verify the Workshop page
Publish the item, then open its Steam Workshop page. Confirm that the preview, title, description, visibility, tags, and subscription behavior are correct.
If the item is private or friends-only, test with the intended account or audience before announcing it. Public Workshop pages can take a short time to finish processing.
Update an existing wallpaper safely
Open the same source project and use the publishing flow again. Wallpaper Engine associates that project with its Workshop item and updates the existing page instead of creating a new item.
Do not rebuild the project from an unrelated folder if preserving the existing Workshop item matters. Keep versioned backups before a major update so you can recover the previous source if something goes wrong.