System76, the developer behind the Linux distribution Pop!_OS, has officially released the desktop environment COSMIC 1.9.0. The new release is available in the distribution kit Pop!_OS 24.04 and is expected to be included soon in Fedora, NixOS, Arch Linux, openSUSE, Aeyrin OS, Redox, and CachyOS. The code for COSMIC is written in Rust and distributed under the GPLv3 (applications) and MPL-2.0 (libraries) licenses.
COSMIC is designed as a universal project that is not tied to a specific distribution and adheres to Freedesktop specifications. The interface in COSMIC is built using the Iced library, which utilizes safe types, modular architecture, reactive programming, and a declarative interface construction familiar to developers who know the Elm programming language. Multiple rendering engines are supported, including Vulkan, Metal, DX12, OpenGL 2.1+, and OpenGL ES 2.0+. Developers can take advantage of a set of widgets, create asynchronous handlers, and utilize adaptive layout for interface elements based on window and screen size.
Aside from using the Rust language, COSMIC features hybrid mosaic window layout modes and stacked window pinning, which allows users to group windows similarly to browser tabs when used with virtual desktops. The project is also working on a composite server called cosmic-comp based on Wayland.
Notable changes in COSMIC 1.9.0 include the implementation of the COSMIC Viewer, an image viewer with built-in editing tools such as cropping and rotation. The release of the on-screen keyboard COSMIC OSK has also been announced, which supports input from touch screens or gamepads. Additionally, the design of the COSMIC Store application manager has been revamped to include the developer’s name.