COSMIC Desktop: File manager, clipboard and in-depth tiling

The COSMIC desktop environment has become one of the most talked-about offerings in the recent Linux landscape, and much of that fame is due to its file manager, clipboard system and well-integrated appletsIn addition to its meticulous tiling, System76 is stepping on the gas with constant updates that, while not always bringing major visual changes, do refine those details that make all the difference in everyday use.

If you're interested in knowing how far COSMIC has come as a standalone desktop environment, how its performance is File manager, how well does the clipboard work, what improvements come with versions 1.0.3, 1.0.4 and 1.0.6 And how you can even install it on Ubuntu 24.04 with its risks and particularities, here is an extensive guide explained in plain English, without beating around the bush.

COSMIC Desktop: what it is and where it's headed

COSMIC was born as a very deep customization of GNOME within Pop!_OS, but System76 decided to take the leap and rewrite it from scratch as a A completely independent desktop environment developed in Rustwith its own technology stack and without depending on GTK or Qt for the interface.

Instead of the usual libraries, COSMIC uses a Iced-based toolkitThis gives it a very particular look and feel compared to GNOME, KDE Plasma, or Xfce. This decision also means that the visual integration of GTK/Qt applications isn't perfect, although the team has added options so that at least part of the color palette adapts to the desktop theme.

In addition to the environment itself, System76 has been building a small ecosystem of native apps: file manager, terminal (COSMIC Term), text editor, media player, screenshot tool, and its own software store, COSMIC Store in Pop!_OS. Not all of these components are available in all packages for other distros, but the goal is to offer a fairly complete out-of-the-box experience.

In terms of design, it will be familiar to those coming from GNOME: top bar, optional bottom dock, overview mode with vertically arranged desktops, and a simple application launcherThe difference lies in the high level of customization: moving panels to other edges, adding or removing applets, adjusting sizes and opacities, or even activating a very powerful mosaic mode with a couple of clicks.

Recent evolution: from COSMIC Epoch 1 to versions 1.0.3, 1.0.4 and 1.0.6

Following the release of "COSMIC Epoch 1", System76 has released a series of maintenance versions (1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4 and 1.0.6) focused primarily on Improve stability, graphics performance, and user experience in everyday use of the desk.

In the initial revisions, a strong emphasis was placed on the visual aspect and window management. One of the most noticeable new features was the Widespread application of smooth edges with rounded corners to all windows, both to native COSMIC systems and to those using X11 through XWayland or pure Wayland clients.

Along with that, the following were added configurable shadows even in tile modeThis allows users to choose between a flatter or more textured look, adjusting intensity and style directly from the Appearance panel. It's not just cosmetic: it helps to better differentiate windows in complex layouts.

At its core, the compose server improved its relationship with legacy X11 applications, enabling Correct activation of windows that reside on other virtual desktops when you click on their icons in the system tray. Additionally, switching between desktops has become smoother, with looping scrolling using the mouse wheel and improved touchpad responsiveness when navigating thumbnails.

COSMIC 1.0.6: Applets, compositor, and desktop polishing

The update COSMIC 1.0.6Released shortly after 1.0.5, it's a modest version in terms of headlines, but it brings very important changes under the hood. Applets, Wayland composer, file manager, clipboard, notifications, terminal, and configurator.

In the status area, applets now use their proprietary socket-activated daemon to manage the StatusNotifierWatcher protocolThis results in a more robust indicator area, with less chance of background app icons disappearing or getting visually stuck on the panel.

The COSMIC composer has also received an update by incorporating a more recent version of Smithay, the library on which its Wayland implementation is basedThanks to this, damage tracking is improved, optimizing rendering and potentially reducing the consumption of graphics resources, something that is especially noticeable on systems with more limited hardware.

Another small but interesting adjustment is the availability for customers of wl_fixes protocol, which expands compatibility and corrects particular behaviors of certain Wayland applications, reducing glitches and strange behaviors that some programs in this ecosystem still carry.

In parallel, the component xdg-desktop-portal-cosmic It is now able to pull alternative backgrounds from cosmic-wallpapers when needed, so that acceptable visual consistency is maintained in desktop dialogs and portals even when the main background provided by the theme is missing.

COSMIC File Manager: Tabs, Performance, and Practical Improvements

COSMIC's file manager has progressed well and has become a key part of the user experience. For one thing, it had already been added in versions prior to 1.0.6. tabs to open multiple directories in the same window, making it easier to work with multiple paths without filling the desktop with floating windows.

The address bar has become much more useful, as it supports the Direct entry of network routes and offers autocomplete with Tab and Shift-TabThis detail, which may seem minor, greatly speeds up navigation when working frequently with shared folders or long paths.

The option to preserve creation and modification dates when copying filesThis is something many users appreciate when it comes to preserving the context of old documents or backups. In addition, a confirmation dialog box was added before emptying the Recycle Bin to minimize accidental deletions.

With the arrival of COSMIC 1.0.4, the file manager gained strength in the area of performance when copying and extracting files, especially in heavy operationsIn addition, path auto-completion stopped showing hidden files, significantly improving the experience of typing in the location bar.

Version 1.0.6 corrects some very specific but annoying bugs: for example, it fixed a bug that prevented Extract password-protected ZIP files using the Enter keyThe "Save" button was disabled when the name field is empty, names in GVFS-managed resources were corrected, and a context menu with "Move to" and "Copy to" options was added.

Another very practical point is the Improved support for pasting images, videos, and text from the clipboard directly in the file manager, making the workflow with multimedia content and snippets from other applications more natural.

Clipboard in COSMIC: strengths, limitations and the case of the applet

Clipboard support in COSMIC has been strengthened version after version, with much more robust integration across the desktop and a clear focus on Improve the management of different types of content when pastingThis is key when mixing images, text, and files between Wayland and X11 applications.

In version 1.0.6, in addition to the improvements within the file manager itself, work has also been done to ensure that Copying and pasting multimedia content between apps is less prone to errorsThis is especially relevant in mixed environments where modern Wayland applications coexist with traditional X11 tools.

However, not everything is perfect. A real-world example of the current limitations can be found in the COSMIC clipboard management applet available for Pop!_OS. A user who tried to use it encountered a rather clear error: The compositor did not support the Wayland protocol zwlr_data_control_manager_v1 version 1, a fundamental requirement for that applet.

That error message makes it clear that, at least in certain combinations of system and composer version, the The clipboard applet cannot function because the corresponding data control protocol is missing.In practice, this forces one to opt for external alternatives or wait for the composer to integrate the appropriate support.

For now, many users in COSMIC continue to rely on classic solutions such as external clipboard managers that are integrated via generic applets or indicators, while the ecosystem itself finishes settling and the Wayland support is fully implemented across all components.

Notifications, applets, and other desktop details

COSMIC's notification system has also been receiving small improvements that add up. One of the most interesting is that now the Notifications accept URLs with the file:// scheme in the app_icon field.This allows applications to use custom icons from the local file system without necessarily relying on installed icon themes.

The panel applets have gained stability with the switch to the standalone daemon for StatusNotifierWatcher, as we mentioned earlier, and visual and interaction behaviors in the system tray have been refined. The possibility of Configure the top bar and bottom dock by adding or removing items It allows the user to decide which indicators they are really interested in seeing.

However, when using COSMIC outside of Pop!_OS, for example on Ubuntu, errors may appear empty spaces or icons in the indicators area This happens when using the App Indicator applet. Certain services attempt to display icons that, due to the system's configuration, cannot be rendered correctly. The practical solution is usually to edit the panel and remove the applet if it's causing significant problems.

Regarding the overall appearance, many users point out that the COSMIC's appearance is more reminiscent of desks from a few years ago. than the more modern and polished designs of GNOME or KDE. The visual theme, the style of the native applications, and, above all, the integration with third-party software, still have a way to go to reach the refinement of the more established environments.

The positive aspect is that the desktop already offers everything you need as standard: status bar, panel, network manager, notifications, wallpaper, and basic applets, avoiding the "odyssey" of setting everything up by hand that many pure Tiling Window Managers like i3, Sway or Niri have.

Tiling Window Manager in COSMIC: power without complications

One of the most frequently mentioned strengths by those who have tried it is the COSMIC's tiling is probably one of the best tiling experiences on a traditional desktop.Unlike i3 or Sway managers, here you don't have to build the environment from scratch: everything comes pre-assembled and ready to use.

By activating tiling mode, windows are automatically arranged in a tiled pattern, following a behavior similar to classic window managers like i3 or Sway, but without forcing you to give up bar, dock, notifications and all the other conveniences of a complete desktopFor those who want to try the world of mosaics without having to edit configuration files directly, it's a very appealing option.

Users accustomed to Niri, for example, highlight that COSMIC offers a very pleasant experience, although It does not yet achieve the extreme flexibility of the latter when it comes to "building" customized workspaces. and quickly reorganize breads according to the work context.

It is also highly valued that it is possible Jump between screens using the same keyboard shortcut continuously, as if it were a single wide canvasThis seemingly small detail makes working with multiple monitors feel quite natural.

However, the possibility of to define more precisely the behavior of the mosaic, choosing, for example, patterns closer to Niri oa Sway with regard to the positioning and automatic resizing of windows.

Native applications: terminal, editor, player, and store

COSMIC's ecosystem of proprietary applications is still under construction, and opinions are more divided here. The terminal, for example, COSMIC Term is built on AlacrittyThis gives it good performance and solid behavior, but some users have not yet found a direct way to change the emulator from the desktop configuration file.

In recent versions, the terminal has received interesting improvements: the following have been added: Configurable hotkeys to adapt behavior to user preferencesas well as usability details such as automatically hiding the cursor when scrolling in a terminal without focus, improving visual cleanliness in configurations with multiple open windows.

The way the terminal manages credentials has also been strengthened, loading Passwords are stored in memory only when the administration page is opened and deleted upon closing.This is always a plus in terms of security. Text selection has been refined, allowing you to select blocks with click and Shift, as in other established emulators.

The native text editor is still in an early stage (pre-alpha in the tests mentioned), although with the arrival of COSMIC 1.0.6 it already offers features such as Drag and drop tabs to rearrange documentssomething that many users consider essential nowadays.

On the multimedia front, COSMIC Player has received some welcome minor tweaks, such as the ability to Automatically play the next file when the current one finishes.This allows you to listen to playlists without constant intervention. The player has also improved the experience by muting the audio while scrubbing the progress bar and by displaying preview thumbnails.

The COSMIC Store app store, available primarily on Pop!_OS, has been gaining features, including one deep cleaning option to delete user data from Flatpak apps when uninstalling themand performance improvements in AppStream metadata management. However, not everyone is happy: some criticize the fact that many apps are installed there only as Flatpak, resulting in extra weight, uneven integration, and cases where a simple application can end up failing despite carrying a good number of dependencies.

System configuration, accessibility, and settings tool

The COSMIC settings application follows a similar approach to GNOME, which makes it quite intuitive for those who already come from that environmentFrom there you can control panels, the status bar, keyboard shortcuts, appearance, accessibility, and many other aspects of the desktop.

Recent versions have added one quick search within the settings toolSimply start typing in any section and a search bar will appear to locate the desired option, which is very useful when the number of sections starts to grow.

Accessibility has also gained importance. Now it's possible Activate the screen reader with the shortcut Super+Alt+S And the out-of-the-box (OOBE) setup experience is designed to work correctly with multiple monitors and with the screen reader active from the first boot, making life easier for visually impaired users.

In COSMIC 1.0.4, relevant adjustments were made to the welcome panel and fingerprint loginReliability was improved, and options related to system suspension were expanded, allowing alternatives to `systemctl suspend`. The handling of the `SSH_AUTH_SOCK` session variable was also refined to avoid problems detected in distributions such as NixOS.

In COSMIC Settings, an early failure behavior was also introduced when a connection to the secret service cannot be established, preventing Repeated errors continue to plague the system in the background.These are subtle changes, but they bring stability.

Installing COSMIC Desktop on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and derivatives

If COSMIC appeals to you but you don't want to abandon your main distro, there is a possibility of Install the desktop environment on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and derivatives using a community PPAHowever, it's important to understand the fine print: this is not an official System76 method, it involves risks, and it may damage sensitive parts of the system.

The repository in question is maintained by a community developer (hepp3n) and is specifically intended for Ubuntu 24.04 “Noble” and distributions based on that seriesUsing it on older or different versions is not a good idea. Furthermore, COSMIC is a Wayland-based desktop environment, so your hardware should be compatible with this technology.

This PPA not only includes the desktop itself and its apps, but also Alternative versions of critical components such as Mesa, Wayland/Xwayland, llvm-toolchain-20, and the Rust compilerIn some clean installations, it doesn't replace all of these packages, but it can, depending on your system, your mix of repositories, and future updates.

Therefore, before launching into a trial, the wisest thing to do is to make a full system backup using tools like Timeshift or equivalent, or directly test COSMIC in a virtual machine. Adding a PPA that touches low-level components in an LTS means accepting a somewhat less predictable environment.

The installation itself is done from the terminal, adding the PPA, updating indexes, and installing the cosmic-session package, with or without recommendations depending on how many GNOME dependencies you want to include. During the process, you will be asked for the login manager (GDM3, cosmic-greeter, etc.)And you can choose to stick with the original if you plan to switch frequently with GNOME.

Once installed, simply log out or restart, select the "COSMIC" session in the display manager selector, and log in as usual. Your files and applications will still be there. COSMIC is added as an additional desktop environment, without creating a parallel system.

Using and uninstalling COSMIC on Ubuntu: integration and rollback

When using COSMIC on Ubuntu, you'll notice that many of its native apps come pre-packaged: file manager, terminal, editor, screenshots, etc.Some components, such as the COSMIC Store, are missing in some cases, which actually avoids potential conflicts with Ubuntu's own package management.

The visual integration with GTK and Qt apps isn't perfect, although you can go to Settings > Desktop > Appearance and Enable the option to apply the current theme to GNOME applicationsso that they adopt some of COSMIC's color palette. It's not magic, but it helps make everything look less Frankenstein-like.

Snap packages can exhibit unusual behavior, such as Icons that are pinned to the dock but don't open the application correctlyThat doesn't mean Snaps don't work; it's just a good idea to launch them from the applications menu or launcher if you notice that pinning is behaving strangely.

If you decide to undo the experiment, simply removing cosmic-session is not enough. The recommended method is to use PPA-Purge on COSMIC's PPAwhich is responsible not only for removing packages but also for downgrading any library that has been updated from the PPA to the official Ubuntu versions.

In case ppa-purge fails or cannot complete its task, there is always the less elegant option of Manually remove all packages related to COSMIC and restart, although this may leave you with library versions from the PPA, so it is preferable that ppa-purge works correctly.

It should be borne in mind that System76 does not officially support the Ubuntu PPAIf errors appear related to that specific installation, the appropriate thing to do is to report them to the PPA maintainer or in its repository, not to the main project as if it were an official package.

With all of the above, COSMIC positions itself as a very promising desktop environment, with truly comfortable tiling, a file manager that is improving at a good pace, and clipboard and applet support that is being strengthened version after version, although it still has room for visual improvement and integration with third-party apps; if you feel like tinkering with a modern environment, written in Rust and highly configurable, it can be a great option, as long as you keep in mind its current limitations and take the necessary precautions when installing it outside of Pop!_OS.