System76's COSMIC desktop is moving fast. Just 13 days after releasing version 1.8, the team shipped COSMIC Epoch 1.9 on September 23, 2026, adding two new first-party applications and a redesigned app store. The pace suggests the team is operating in a rapid iteration mode that's unusual for a desktop environment project.
COSMIC Viewer: A Native Image Viewer, Finally
The headline addition is COSMIC Viewer, a native image viewer that supports a wide range of formats and includes built-in basic editing capabilities. Until now, COSMIC lacked a first-party image viewer, which was a notable gap for a desktop claiming to be a complete environment. COSMIC Viewer fills that gap with a clean Rust-native implementation that fits the visual language of the rest of the desktop.
The second new app is COSMIC OSK, an on-screen keyboard designed for both touch and gamepad input. This is particularly significant for COSMIC's ambitions: Pop!_OS, the distro from System76 that ships COSMIC by default, has been expanding toward tablet and touchscreen use cases. A native, first-class on-screen keyboard that works above the lock screen makes COSMIC meaningfully more viable as a tablet desktop. The lock screen can now display the OSK on top of it directly, which is a prerequisite for touch-only login flows.
Settings and Store Updates
The Settings app picks up several useful additions: the About page now shows the installed COSMIC version, there are new configuration options for the on-screen keyboard, WireGuard-related issues are resolved, and you can now opt to display the day of the week in the clock. Small things, but the kind of polish that accumulates into a usable system.
The COSMIC Store receives a visual redesign that adds developer attribution — each application or applet now shows who made it. This is a trust signal that matters as third-party COSMIC applets proliferate. Users can see at a glance whether they're installing something from a known project or an unknown contributor.
systemd-homed and Files Fixes
COSMIC Greeter gains optional support for systemd-homed, systemd's system for portable, encrypted home directories. This is a niche but important feature for security-conscious users who want their home directory encrypted at rest and tied to user authentication rather than full-disk encryption.
COSMIC Files gets several reliability fixes: drag-selection behavior is corrected, Windows .exe files now display proper icons, sorting preferences persist across file dialogs, and Shift-based context menus work correctly. The compositor also gains support for showing layer-shell applications — including the new on-screen keyboard — on top of the lock screen.
COSMIC 1.9 is available on GitHub and ships with Pop!_OS builds. Given System76's current release cadence, version 1.10 is presumably a week or two away.