THE DESKTOP RAINMAKER GUIDE

Make yourself
at home.

A few simple controls.
A scene that feels like yours.

This guide describes the current pre-release Mac app.

Your first session.

  1. 01

    Choose a scene

    Open the visual-style selector and choose Rain or Confetti. With Rain selected, choose Drizzle, Steady rain, Windy rain, Storm or Changing weather.

  2. 02

    Set your time

    Enter a duration greater than zero and up to 1,440 minutes. Decimals work too. Choose Infinity when you want the session to continue until you stop it.

  3. 03

    Choose what runs

    Switch Visuals on for the selected scene. Turn Keep Awake on if you want to prevent automatic idle sleep during the session. Either activity can run on its own.

  4. 04

    Press Start

    Adjust Density, Size, Motion Speed and Cursor Wind while the session runs. Changes to these controls, the visual style, weather, Visuals or Keep Awake do not restart the timer.

  5. 05

    Tuck the controls away

    Press Collapse to use the compact panel. Drag the dotted handle to move it. You can still use Start, Pause/Resume, Stop, Keep Awake, Visuals and the style selector. Rain also keeps its weather selector.

  6. 06

    Pause or finish

    Pause hides the effects, pauses the countdown and releases Keep Awake. Resume continues the remaining time. Stop clears the session. To choose a new duration for an active session, stop it, change the time and start again.

Keep Awake with a clear desktop

  1. Turn Visuals off.
  2. Turn Keep Awake on.
  3. Choose a duration or Infinity, then press Start.

If a session is already running, change either switch without restarting its timer. To hide visuals while keeping the Mac awake, use Visuals off; Pause also pauses Keep Awake.

Let the pointer move the scene

  1. Choose Rain or Confetti and press Start.
  2. Move the pointer through the effects.
  3. Adjust Cursor Wind to change how strongly the scene responds.

Wind is created by movement, then fades when you stop. Its clearing is temporary. Turn Visuals off whenever you want the entire desktop clear.

Make a clear zone for your work

  1. In the expanded panel, find Clear zone and choose Rectangle or Circle. In the compact panel, open the Rain or Confetti style menu, then choose Clear zone → Draw Rectangle or Draw Circle.
  2. Drag on the display to draw your area. Drag inside the outline to move it, or drag its handles to resize. A circle keeps its round shape.
  3. Choose Done to save and enable the zone. The dotted outline and editor disappear, while Rain or Confetti moves around the clear area.
  4. Use the Clear zone switch to turn a saved zone off or on. Choose Adjust zone to move or resize it. The options menu lets you draw a different shape or choose Remove Clear Zone.

Cancel or Escape preserves your previous zone. One zone is saved on one display; it stays in its screen position rather than following an app window. Clear zone controls do not restart the session timer. No Screen Recording permission is needed for this feature.

Bend your desktop through the drops

  1. Choose Rain and turn on Live glass refraction.
  2. Approve the macOS Screen Recording request. If asked, enable the exact app in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, then reopen it.
  3. Start a visible Rain session and look for the live capture indicator.

On older macOS versions, the permission is named Screen Recording. Rain also works with refraction off. No audio is captured, and desktop frames stay in memory on your Mac.

Choose a gentler scene

  1. Try Drizzle or Steady rain.
  2. Lower Density, Size or Motion Speed until the scene suits you.
  3. Turn Lightning reflections off if you prefer no storm flashes.

macOS Reduce Motion also suppresses lightning reflections. It does not stop every moving particle. Turn Visuals off whenever you want a completely clear desktop.

Move or hide the controls

  1. Drag the dotted handle to move the panel.
  2. Use the dedicated Collapse or Expand button to change its size.
  3. Use Hide Controls in the app or menu-bar menu when you want the panel out of view; choose Show Controls to bring it back.

Closing the main panel quits the app and stops the session. Use Hide Controls when you want the session to keep running.

Need another hand?

Find practical answers in the FAQ, or visit support.