Getting started with COSMIC desktop tiling

A complete guide to COSMIC's window management features, from basic tiling to advanced window stacks.

Tired of windows cluttering your screen and hiding behind each other? In this video from Learn Linux TV, you’ll learn how the COSMIC desktop’s tiling system puts every application front and center, making your workflow feel effortless once you get the hang of it.

Jay delivers a comprehensive tutorial on COSMIC’s tiling features, starting with the foundational concept of dynamic workspaces before diving into tiling itself. He explains how enabling tiling per workspace gives you flexibility, and how switching the default behavior to tiled mode applies it globally across all workspaces.

The tutorial covers a wealth of keyboard shortcuts that make tiling click, including Super + arrows for switching focus, Super + Shift + arrows for moving windows, and Super + G to toggle individual windows between tiled and floating mode.

Jay introduces window stacks, a standout feature that lets you combine multiple applications into a single tile as tabs, similar to how tabs work in a browser. He also shares practical tips like auto-hiding the dock to maximize screen real estate, pinning workspaces to keep them available, and using the numbered workspace panel indicator to stay oriented. For vim users, he highlights that COSMIC supports hjkl navigation out of the box.

Key takeaways

• Tiling is per workspace by default – Enable or disable it on individual workspaces for flexibility, or switch the default behavior to tiled mode so every new workspace starts that way automatically.
• Window stacks are a game changer – Combine multiple apps into tabbed tiles using Super + S, giving you the benefits of tiling even when you have more applications open than screen space.
• Floating mode isn’t all or nothing – Use Super + G to toggle individual windows into floating mode while the rest stay tiled, perfect for apps like calculators that look odd when stretched full screen.

Once tiling becomes muscle memory, you’ll wonder how you managed without it. Jay’s bottom-up approach makes COSMIC’s tiling features approachable for beginners while still covering enough depth to satisfy experienced Linux users.

More from Learn Linux TV

• youtube.com/learnlinuxtv
• Linux tips | Linux how-to’s | Linux installation guides
• Pop!_OS 24.04 review: Was the two-year wait for COSMIC Desktop worth it?
• System76’s COSMIC desktop: A hands-on tour of Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS
• 10 tips to learn Linux easier and faster