System76, the company behind the Linux distribution Pop!_OS, has released the COSMIC desktop environment version 1.0.3 and announced the availability of the previously released update 1.0.2. Packages for COSMIC 1.0.3 are available in the Pop!_OS 24.04 distribution and will soon be available in Fedora, NixOS, Arch Linux, openSUSE, Serpent OS, Redox, and CachyOS. <\/p>\n
COSMIC develops as a universal project, independent of any specific distribution and compliant with Freedesktop specifications. The interface in COSMIC is built using the Iced library, which employs safe types, a modular architecture, and a reactive programming model, offering an architecture familiar to developers acquainted with the declarative interface building language Elm. Several rendering engines are provided, supporting Vulkan, Metal, DX12, OpenGL 2.1+, and OpenGL ES 2.0+. Developers are offered a ready-to-use widget set, the ability to create asynchronous handlers, and utilize adaptive layout of interface elements depending on window and screen size. <\/p>\n
In addition to using the Rust language, COSMIC features hybrid mosaic window layout modes and stack window docking (grouping windows similar to tabs in a browser), which can be activated in conjunction with virtual desktops. The project is also developing the composite server cosmic-comp based on Wayland. <\/p>\n
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Key changes in releases 1.0.1, 1.0.2, and 1.0.3: <\/p>\n
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Support for rounded corners has been implemented for all windows, not just for COSMIC applications. Shadow display for windows has also been added, including in tiled layouts. A section has been added to the appearance settings to choose the style of window corners and shadows: 'Settings > Desktop > Appearance > Window shadow and corners'.\n
The composite server implements window activation for X11 clients running through XWayland, allowing indicators in the system tray to switch focus to windows in other virtual desktops. The icon size for X11 applications has been adjusted to the set scaling level.\n
The file manager has added the ability to open multiple directories in separate tabs. An option for preserving file creation and modification times when copying has been added. Network paths can now be input in the panel. Path input can be auto-completed by pressing the Tab or Shift-Tab keys. A confirmation dialog for the emptying of the trash has been added.\n
In the multimedia player cosmic-player, sound has been muted when displaying thumbnails that correspond to the selected position on the scroll bar.\n
The configurator now features a quick search activation function \u2014 starting to type on the keyboard brings up the search line in any section of the configurator. Support for applying themes in RON (Rusty Object Notation) format has been added via the command-line interface. A subsection with settings for accessibility options has been added to the key combination configuration page. The Super+Alt+S combination for activating the screen reader has been introduced. Touchpad click simulation is enabled by default. VPN<\/a>-for connections requiring two-factor authentication.\n
![\"COSMIC](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/b4801d2b0cd7cf91d96b45b7d95333ee.png\")
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