One of the features most loved by people who care about visual polish is about to happen. The upcoming Frosted Glass effect for the COSMIC Desktop is around the corner, as new screenshots show user controls integrated into the Appearance settings.
We told you about this back in late January, but it looks like things are almost ready now. System76 CEO Carl Richell previewed it on his X account, with recent screenshots revealing a dedicated “Frosted Glass” section under Settings > Desktop > Appearance, indicating the feature is now integrated inside COSMIC’s configuration interface rather than remaining experimental.
From the screenshots provided, it is clear that the new controls allow users to enable or disable the effect across panels, applets, system interface elements, and windows. This flexibility lets users choose where the effect applies, rather than adopting a single visual style.
COSMIC includes two sliders to customize the effect: Frost thickness adjusts its strength, and Glass opacity controls transparency. Users can choose a subtle or more pronounced glass-like appearance. According to Richell:
“The effect is subtle by default but can get very glassy if that’s your thing.”
Moreover, he clarified that the Frosted Glass effect is implemented in cosmic-comp, COSMIC’s Wayland compositor, and libcosmic, not iced-rs, as the implementation uses the standard Wayland background effect protocol.
This approach embeds the effect directly inside COSMIC’s desktop stack, rather than as a superficial theme. It enables system-level controls and steady application across the desktop shell. Users who prefer a simpler desktop can disable the effect.
Richell also announced upcoming battery percentage support. Backend development is complete, and the user interface will be added later with applet settings.
Currently, System76 has not announced a release date for the Frosted Glass feature, but given that it’s nearly finished, we don’t expect to have to wait long for it to be included in some of the upcoming COSMIC releases.
Image credits: Carl Richell
