COSMIC Desktop 1.0.7: A Minor Update with Major Polish for Linux Users

System76 has rolled out COSMIC Desktop 1.0.7, a maintenance release that may be small in version number but delivers a suite of thoughtful refinements aimed at enhancing usability, stability, and performance. As part of the COSMIC project’s rapid iteration cycle, this update continues to refine the desktop environment’s core experience, addressing pain points and introducing subtle but impactful features that make daily workflows smoother.

Workspaces Overview Gets a Productivity Boost

One of the most notable additions in this release is the new “action on typing” configuration in Workspaces Overview. Users can now choose whether typing input should automatically trigger the launcher or open the app library. This setting is tucked neatly into the Settings menu, offering flexibility for power users who want to streamline their multitasking habits. Whether you prefer quick app searches or a broader app library view, COSMIC now adapts to your workflow.

Stability and Crash Fixes That Matter

System76 has tackled several stability issues head-on. Full-screening windows, a common task for multitaskers and media consumers, no longer cause the system to panic—a fix that should bring peace of mind to users who frequently toggle between maximized and tiled layouts. Additionally, a crash related to uncleared tiling placeholders has been resolved, ensuring smoother transitions when organizing your workspace.

Multimonitor users will appreciate fixes to cursor-follow-focus behavior, which now works consistently across multiple displays. Keyboard shortcut handling for non-Latin layouts has also been restored, making COSMIC more accessible to a global audience.

Refined Applets for Better Audio and Settings Control

COSMIC’s applets have received targeted improvements. Volume adjustments now respect your selected audio route, eliminating the frustrating behavior where changing the volume would unexpectedly switch your output device. Applets that request access to cosmic-settings now correctly focus the settings window, reducing confusion and improving the overall user experience.

Settings Enhancements for Power Users

The Settings app has been fine-tuned with several under-the-hood improvements. Volume and mute handling now consider only active audio routes, preventing unwanted behavior when multiple devices are connected. WPA3 network visibility has been enhanced, making it easier to connect to modern, secure Wi-Fi networks. Automatic theme switching, a favorite feature for many, now works reliably after system suspend or time changes.

Language reordering has been improved to set the system language via AccountsService, ensuring consistency across the desktop environment. The Appearance page now includes a reset option after importing a theme, giving users more control over their visual setup. These theme-switching fixes also extend to cosmic-settings-daemon, ensuring a cohesive experience across the system.

Files App: Smarter Navigation and Management

The Files app, COSMIC’s file manager, has received several quality-of-life updates. It now respects the Path key in desktop entries, ensuring that shortcuts and launchers behave as expected. The type-to-select buffer is cleared when changing locations, preventing accidental file selections. New “Move to” and “Copy to” options have been added to the Edit menu, streamlining file management tasks.

A new setting allows users to toggle the Recents feature, giving you control over how your file history is displayed. Additionally, an updated compio-driver resolves compilation issues on musl-based systems, broadening COSMIC’s compatibility.

COSMIC Store and Terminal: Performance and Usability Upgrades

The COSMIC Store, the hub for discovering and installing applications, now uses disk caching for Explore results. This means near-instant startup times after the first run, making app discovery faster and more enjoyable. For terminal enthusiasts, the Terminal app now supports tab drag-and-drop, allowing you to reorganize your terminal sessions with ease—a small but significant boost for productivity.

Rolling Out to Rolling-Release Distros

As with previous COSMIC updates, version 1.0.7 is expected to land first in the repositories of rolling-release distributions such as Arch Linux, openSUSE Tumbleweed, CachyOS, and others. This ensures that users of these distros can quickly benefit from the latest improvements and fixes.

Looking Ahead

While COSMIC Desktop 1.0.7 is a maintenance release, its collection of refinements and fixes demonstrates System76’s commitment to delivering a polished, user-friendly desktop experience. By addressing both major pain points and subtle usability issues, COSMIC continues to evolve into a compelling choice for Linux users seeking a modern, efficient, and customizable desktop environment.

For those eager to dive into the details, the full changelog is available on GitHub.

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