Pop!_OS has a strong following, and one reason is its COSMIC desktop. Not being familiar with either, I decided to take a look at COSMIC and see what all the fuss was about. Can he make me give up? Xfce is where I go?
What is COSMIC desktop?
A new spin on the Linux desktop
COSMIC desktop is a Linux desktop computer developed by System 76A Denver-based manufacturer of Linux computers. COSMIC is the default desktop of the flagship Pop!_OS distro based on Ubuntu.
Besides the custom desktop, there are several interesting technical ideas that COSMIC is built on. It uses Wayland is a graphical windowing standard designed to replace X11 A standard that is ubiquitous on Unix-like systems and has changed little since 1987.
Another technical feature of the desktop is that it is written in Rust. Desktops and window managers are usually written in C. Rust, like C, is a compiled language, meaning that compiled programs are fast, but Rust is memory-safe.. This means that fewer crashes due to memory errors should occur.
COSMIC is also designed to be more robust against security breaches such as installation of keyloggers. This is a unique feature of Wayland, although it makes it difficult to launch some applications, such as screenshot tools. Some Linux users have complained about it on RedditHe claims that Wayland’s security model is “paranoid”.
Based on COSMIC Qt toolkit. Pop!_OS’s desktop, like the parent Ubuntu, was originally a modified version of GNOME, but System76 decided to create its own desktop. It conflicts with the upstream development of GNOME.
Where can I get COSMIC?
You don’t have to use Pop!_OS
Although Wayland is the default desktop for Pop!_OS, you don’t need to use Pop!_OS to get it. You can do it Download custom spins of Fedora with COSMIC, as well as install on major distros like Arch Linux and OpenSUSE.
The route I took was to download the stock ISO of Pop!_OS and install it in a VirtualBox virtual machine. I was able to boot into a live environment using COSMIC. I could probably just use it, but since I’ve never installed Pop!_OS before, I wanted to see the average user’s experience installing and using it.
The installer was nice enough. As much as Linux distros try to make installing Linux easier, you still need to know a bit about your machine, such as how its drives are organized. This is not a Linux problem; it’s just an operating system installation problem.
First impressions of COSMIC
Nice despite the occasional disappearing panel
COSMIC was a pleasure to use. Performance felt a bit sluggish on my machine, but that was mostly due to running in a virtual machine. The recommended configuration for Pop!_OS is 4 GB of RAMis the same as Windows 11 minimum requirements. After stacking the video RAM and enabling 3D acceleration in VirtualBox, COSMIC ran much better.
I adopted the dark theme because the installer showed it as default.
Despite its quirks, the system looks attractive. During installation, you are given a choice between Windows or Mac to set up your desktop. I chose the latter.
When the system came out, the aesthetics were pleasing. I felt mostly comfortable. I had a weird problem with the panels disappearing periodically, forcing me to log out and back in to get them back on. Since I changed the graphics settings for VirtualBox, COSMIC works more reliably.
COSMIC appears to be keyboard-oriented, which will appeal to power users. Pressing “Super” or the Windows key will open the Launcher menu, where you can search for items such as programs.
Included programs
Personal editor, file manager, terminal, etc
Many of the apps that come with COSMIC appear to be standard, at least with Pop!_OS. There is familiar Mozilla Firefox and LibreOffice productivity.
There are also some special programs like COSMIC Files, a file manager, and COSMIC Editor. Since I spend most of my time on Linux in the terminal, this was the first thing I tried. As with GNOME, COSMIC has developed its own software. The terminal was attractive.
Window management
Although the windows are stacked as standard, it is possible to tile them. You can drag a window to the edge or corner of the screen to create a tile, then click another window to display it side by side. This is useful when working when comparing one document to another, such as a word processing document and web page, or writing code in an editor and needing to have documentation for a language or library handy.
while I’m a bit skeptical about tiling window managersthese are the situations where tiled windows come in handy. You can use any mode that makes sense for the job you’re working on.
Is COSMIC for you?
Debian/Ubuntu is good for power users, but usable for non-geeks
System76 targets its systems at power users, and its software follows suit. I found the desktop pleasant enough to use. It’s something I can easily imagine using as a daily driver, assuming the issues with the disappearing panels are resolved. This helps me become familiar with the wider Debian/Ubuntu ecosystem that Pop!_OS is based on.
For less sophisticated users, the comprehensive desktop is still simple enough to use.
An exciting newcomer to the Linux desktop scene
Based on some new technologies in the Linux world, namely Wayland and Rust, it will make COSMIC a desktop environment to watch on Pop!_OS or elsewhere.
