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Pop Shell vs COSMIC: catalog facts
Pop Shell	COSMIC
Best for: GNOME users who want keyboard-driven auto-tiling without leaving GNOME	Best for: Use System76's desktop environment with configurable workspaces and window tiling
Free Free to use; the source is published on GitHub by System76.	Free Free and open source. Hosting, hardware and any external services are separate.
Linux	Linux
Automatic tiling inside a regular GNOME session Keyboard-driven window navigation All 3 strengths for Pop Shell Automatic tiling inside a regular GNOME session Keyboard-driven window navigation Backed by System76 and shipped with Pop!_OS	Combines desktop panels with workspace controls Supports tiling and floating workflows
Works only with GNOME Shell Development follows the GNOME version used by Pop!_OS	Requires a distribution and graphics stack that support the current COSMIC release.
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License not stated
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Offline features available	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Pop Shell github.com/pop-os/shell Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for COSMIC github.com/pop-os/cosmic-epoch Catalog checked September 22, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.