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https://9to5linux.com/system76-launches-first-stable-release-of-cosmic-desktop-and-pop_os-24-04-lts [9to5linux.com]

Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS is based on the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS operating system series and it’s powered by the Linux 6.17 kernel series.

Linux hardware vendor System76 launched today the first stable release of the Rust-based COSMIC desktop environment, along with the stable release of the Ubuntu-based Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS Linux distribution.

Based on the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) operating system series, Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS ships with the brand-new COSMIC desktop environment written in the Rust programming language, designed and developed by System76 for all GNU/Linux distributions.

Previous Pop!_OS releases used a version of the COSMIC desktop that was based on the GNOME desktop environment. However, System76 wanted to create a new desktop environment from scratch while keeping the same familiar interface and user experience built for efficiency and fun.

This means that some GNOME apps have been replaced by COSMIC apps, including COSMIC Files instead of Nautilus (Files), COSMIC Terminal instead of GNOME Terminal, COSMIC Text Editor instead of GNOME Text Editor, and COSMIC Media Player instead of Totem (Video Player).

Also, the Pop!_Shop graphical package manager used in previous Pop!_OS releases has now been replaced by a new app called COSMIC Store. On top of that, COSMIC ships with a built-in screenshot tool and a Welcome app to make it easier to set up your COSMIC/Pop!_OS Linux desktop experience.

COSMIC Launcher lets users launch and navigate apps quickly and efficiently with features like web search, calculator, and file search. Moreover, COSMIC supports both dual-panel and single-panel layouts, feature-rich workspaces, intuitive window tiling and stacking, multi-monitor setups, and new theming options.

“This year, System76 turned twenty. For twenty years, we have shipped Linux computers. For seven years, we’ve built the Pop!_OS Linux distribution. Three years ago, it became clear we had reached the limit of our current potential and had to create something new. Today, we break through that limit with the release of Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS with the COSMIC desktop environment,” said System76 CEO Carl Richell.

The best part about COSMIC is that it’s not only available for Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS users, but also for many other distributions, including Arch Linux, openSUSE Tumbleweed, NixOS, Fedora Linux, AerynOS, as well as BSD and Redox OS platforms.

Under the hood, Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS is powered by the Linux 6.17 kernel series and ships with the Mesa 25.1.5 open-source graphics stack. You can download 64-bit and ARM64 live ISO images for Intel/AMD or NVIDIA systems right now from the official website.

= Links in article:

https://9to5linux.com/ubuntu-24-04-3-lts-is-now-available-for-download-powered-by-linux-kernel-6-14 [9to5linux.com]
https://9to5linux.com/gnome-49-2-released-with-improved-handling-of-tiled-monitors-and-sticky-keys [9to5linux.com]
https://9to5linux.com/linux-kernel-6-17-officially-released-this-is-whats-new [9to5linux.com]
https://system76.com/pop/download/ [system76.com]

= Related article:

COSMIC Desktop reaches first stable release
https://www.osnews.com/story/144011/cosmic-desktop-reaches-first-stable-release/ [osnews.com]

System76, creator of Pop!_OS and prominent Linux OEM, has just announced the release of Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS – normally not something I particularly care about, but in this case, it comes with the first stable release of COSMIC Desktop [system76.com]. COSMIC is a brand new desktop environment by System76, written in Rust, and after quite some time in development, it’s now out in the wild as a stable release.

Today is special not only in that it’s the culmination of over three years of work, but even more so in that System76 has built a complete desktop environment for the open source community. We’re proud of this contribution to the open source ecosystem. COSMIC is built on the ethos that the best open source projects enable people to not only use them, but to build with them. COSMIC is modular and composable. It’s the flagship experience for Pop!_OS in its own way, and can be adapted by anyone that wants to build their own unique user experience for Linux.
        ↫ Carl Richell [system76.com]

You don’t need to run Pop!_OS to try out COSMIC, as it’s already available on a variety of other distributions [system76.com] (although it may take a bit for this stable version to land in the respective repositories).

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