Windows 10 Saving Spotlight Images

The most aesthetic part of windows 10 is the spotlight images on login screen. Few of them were really too mind blowing that I wanted to save and keep it as a wallpaper! So, here’s the hack on how to do it-

Navigate to the following folder (or just copy the path below and paste it into the File Explorer address bar):

%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.ContentDeliveryManager_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\Assets

Note that the %userprofile% part of that path automatically jumps you to the user folder for the currently logged in user (by default at C:\Users\<username> ). In the folder, you’re going to see a whole bunch of files with long, meaningless file names and no extensions. Some of these are the image files you’re looking for; many are not.

Instead of working with these files directly in the Assets folder, you’re going to copy them somewhere else. Just create a new folder anywhere you like, select all files in the Assets folder (Ctrl+A is the quickest way), and then copy them to the new folder. When you do this, Windows will warn you that some of the files may be harmful to your computer. This is just because you’re moving them from a system folder and Windows doesn’t recognize the file types (since no extensions are assigned). Click OK to finish copying the files.

In the new folder with the copied files, you’re now going to rename all the files to include a JPG extension. The easiest way to do that is with the Command Prompt. In the File Explorer window, with your new folder showing, click File > Open Command Prompt, and then choose “Open command prompt as administrator” to open the Command Prompt at your current location.

At the Command Prompt, type (or copy and paste) the following command and hit Enter:

ren *.* *.jpg

This command renames all files in the directory to their current name plus the .jpg extension. Exit the Command Prompt and refresh the folder you’re working with (F5). As you can see, some of the files now have thumbnails. Those are the actual image files. You can go ahead and delete everything that doesn’t have a thumbnail to get it out of the way.

Of the actual image files that are left, you’ll see a few types. Some of the smallest files are just image assets that might be used for things like app icons or displays. You can just get rid of those, too. The portrait-oriented images may be interesting to you for use on a smartphone. And the widescreen images are the actual lock screen images you’re after. Put them into a folder with your other wallpapers and you’re good to go!