Few days ago System76 unveiled by posting the official release of version 1.0.0 of COSMIC, its long-awaited desktop environment developed from scratch. After three years of work, this release comes alongside the alpha image of Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS, materializing the definitive break of the distribution with its old GNOME base and betting everything on a modern architecture written in Peace.
This move is not just an aesthetic change; it represents a complete rewrite of the user experience and of the composer (based on Wayland), promising performance, security and modularity that could hardly be achieved by dragging legacy code from other environments.
This year, System76 turned twenty. For twenty years we have been distributing Linux computers. For seven years we have been developing the Pop!_OS Linux distribution…
Today is a special day, not only because it marks the culmination of over three years of work, but even more so because System76 has created a complete desktop environment for the open-source community. We are proud of this contribution to the open-source ecosystem. COSMIC is based on the philosophy that the best open-source projects allow you not only to use them, but also to develop with them. COSMIC is modular and composable. It's the Pop!_OS experience in its own way, and it can be adapted by anyone who wants to create their own unique Linux user experience.
Rust and Wayland: The foundations of the new era
Undoubtedly, one of the defining characteristics of COSMIC is its technological foundation. Being written in PeaceThe environment guarantees secure memory management and high performance, eliminating many of the classic vulnerabilities and stability problems of Linux desktops.
The graphic heart is cosmic-comp, a Wayland-based compositing server that comes with support for advanced features such as VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)crucial to avoid the tearing in video games and smooth video playback.
Window Management: Tiling, Floating, and Stacked
COSMIC It stands out for its flexibility in workflowThe user is not forced to choose between a tiling window manager or a traditional floating one; the system allows both and introduces an interesting hybrid.
The system Auto-Tiling (automatic tiling) organizes the windows into a logical grid when opened, but the big innovation is the "Stacking"This feature lets you group windows from different applications, just like tabs in a web browser. You can drag one window on top of another to create a stack, optimizing screen space without losing order.
In addition, the multi-screen experience has been improved:
- Persistence: Each monitor remembers its settings and the windows it had. If you disconnect a screen, the windows migrate; if you reconnect it, they return to their original positions.
- Work Spaces: They can be vertical or horizontal and move freely between monitors.
Native Application Ecosystem
System76 has not only created the shell, but has also rewritten the core applications to follow COSMIC's design and performance guidelines. Among the new native utilities are:
- COSMIC Archives: A file manager with gallery mode support.
- COSMIC Terminal: GPU-accelerated rendering.
- COSMIC Store: A unified software center.
- Text Editor and Multimedia Player: The latter uses Vulkan for rendering and VAAPI for efficient video decoding.
Personalization and the new "Launcher"
The panel system and docks It allows for complex configurations: you can have a top and bottom bar, a side dock, or any combination, adjusting margins, transparency, and behavior separately for each virtual desktop.
For fast navigation, the Launcher (activated with the Super/Windows key) acts as the command center. It not only launches applications, but also allows you to search for files, perform quick mathematical calculations, and execute terminal commands, all without taking your hands off the keyboard.
Availability
Currently, the main way to test COSMIC 1.0.0 is Downloading the ISO de Pop!_OS 24.04 LTSHowever, given its modular design, the environment is already being packaged for other major distributions. Its imminent arrival in the repositories of Fedora, NixOS, Arch Linux, openSUSE, Serpent OS, Redox and CachyOS.