COSMIC, System76’s still-in-development desktop environment, is shaping up to be one of the most exciting FOSS projects in recent years. Even though it’s still in the Alpha stage (with hopes for a first Beta release by the end of the month), it’s already caused much excitement in the open-source community.
Several Linux distributions have already announced plans to launch their own versions based on COSMIC, and the list keeps growing. One of the latest to join the party is Arch-based Garuda, which just released its updated “Broadwing” version a few days ago.
Today, Garuda announced that it’s adding a COSMIC-based edition to its extensive lineup, which includes Cinnamon, KDE, GNOME, Xfce, Hyprland, i3, Sway, and more. Of course, since COSMIC is still in an Alpha state, users can expect the occasional bug or hiccup. But if you’re a Linux user who loves a bit of adventure, this release is worth checking out.
The announcement explicitly states that Garuda COSMIC is essentially a minimalist layer on top of Garuda Linux, incorporating the early-stage COSMIC desktop environment.
In light of this, if you stumble upon desktop environment issues, the Garuda team encourages you to report them directly to the COSMIC developers. Since Garuda only packages the COSMIC software, they cannot fix every bug you might find.
Lastly, once again, if you need a rock-solid workstation for everyday tasks, this might not yet be your go-to system—unless you feel like living life on the bleeding edge. Those eager to jump in can grab the ISO from the community/cosmic directory on Garuda’s build server.
For more information, see the announcement.
