Install Cosmonic Desktop on Linux

This guide installs Cosmonic Desktop on Linux.

Download and install

Download links are provided with your invitation. Pick the build for your distribution and CPU:

• Ubuntu / Debian: install the .deb—sudo apt install ./cosmonic-desktop-<version>-<arch>.deb.
• RHEL / Fedora: install the .rpm—sudo dnf install ./cosmonic-desktop-<version>-<arch>.rpm.
• Any distribution (portable): download the AppImage, make it executable (chmod +x), and put it somewhere convenient like ~/.local/bin. No root required.

What gets installed

• The Cosmonic Desktop app, which bundles the cosmonicd daemon and the native tray in its resources.
• The daemon runs as a systemd user service, configured for you: .deb/.rpm installs enable it at install time (including lingering, so workloads keep running even while you're logged out), and AppImage installs are configured by the app on first run.

Workload specs and the image cache live in $XDG_DATA_HOME/cosmonic (default ~/.local/share/cosmonic). On .deb/.rpm installs, cosmonicd is on your PATH—run cosmonicd paths to print the resolved state and socket locations.

GNOME users: no tray icon?

GNOME renders tray icons only with the AppIndicator extension enabled—see Troubleshooting.

Verify

Launch the app. The status bar should show the local host running with a live badge within a few seconds. If it reports disconnected instead, the app can't reach the daemon—see Troubleshooting.

Next steps

Run your first workload in the Quickstart.