COSMIC Desktop Configuration

Complete backup and documentation for COSMIC Desktop Environment on CachyOS.

System: CachyOS + COSMIC Desktop (Wayland)
Last Updated: April 10, 2026

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Repository Structure

cosmic-config/
├── README.md                    # This file
├── install.sh                   # Complete fresh install (packages + configs)
├── restore-configs.sh           # Restore configs only
├── sync-configs.sh              # Sync configs from system to repo
│
├── docs/                        # All documentation
│   ├── COSMIC_SETUP_GUIDE.md   # Complete setup guide (30 min install)
│   ├── TERMINAL_SETUP_GUIDE.md # Terminal setup (Ghostty, Bash, Tmux)
│   ├── BUTTON_CONFIG_REFERENCE.md  # Configure buttons (screenshot, pause, lock, etc.)
│   ├── ADDITIONAL_CONFIGS.md   # Battery management, qBittorrent fixes
│   ├── LAZYGIT_GUIDE.md        # Git made easy with lazygit
│   ├── RCLONE_GUIDE.md         # Mount Google Drive with rclone
│   ├── SNAPSHOT_GUIDE.md       # Btrfs snapshot management with Snapper
│   ├── SDDM_THEME_GUIDE.md     # Change SDDM login screen themes
│   └── QUICK_REFERENCE.md      # Quick lookup card
│
├── config-backups/              # COSMIC configuration backups
│   ├── cosmic_shortcuts.ron    # Custom keybindings
│   ├── cosmic_keyboard_config  # Keyboard repeat settings
│   ├── shortcuts_custom        # (copy for restoration)
│   ├── xkb_config             # (copy for restoration)
│   ├── ghostty-config         # Ghostty terminal config
│   ├── bashrc                 # Bash shell config
│   ├── bash_profile           # Bash profile
│   └── tmux.conf              # Tmux multiplexer config
│
├── scripts/                     # Utility scripts
│   ├── screenshot              # Screenshot tool (grim+slurp+swappy)
│   ├── setup-rclone.sh         # Automated Google Drive setup with rclone
│   └── snapshot-manager.sh     # Btrfs snapshot management with Snapper
│
├── autostart/                   # Autostart applications
│   ├── copyq.desktop           # Clipboard manager
│   └── qbittorrent-autostart.desktop  # Torrent client
│
└── system/                      # System-level configs
    └── sddm.conf               # Display manager (Honkai Star Rail theme)

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Quick Start

Fresh Install (Complete Setup)

# 1. Clone repository
git clone <your-repo-url> ~/cosmic-config
cd ~/cosmic-config

# 2. Run complete installation script
./install.sh

# 3. Log out and back in
# 4. Done! Your COSMIC desktop is fully configured

Restore Configs Only (Packages Already Installed)

cd ~/cosmic-config
./restore-configs.sh

Backup Current Configs

cd ~/cosmic-config
./sync-configs.sh
git add .
git commit -m "Update configs"
git push

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Documentation

COSMIC Setup Guide

Complete guide from fresh install to fully configured system in ~30 minutes.

Includes:

• Step-by-step installation
• All keybindings reference
• Installed applications
• Troubleshooting

Terminal Setup Guide

Complete terminal configuration with Ghostty, Bash, and Tmux.

Includes:

• Ghostty terminal emulator setup
• Bash aliases and customization
• Tmux session management
• Integration with COSMIC Desktop
• Workflow examples

Button Configuration Reference

How to configure special buttons in COSMIC Desktop.

Covers:

• Screenshot (Print Screen)
• Media controls (Pause, Play, Next, Previous)
• Lock screen (End key)
• Volume & brightness controls
• Finding key names with wev
• Complete working examples

Additional Configurations

System optimizations and fixes.

Includes:

• Battery management (TLP - limit charging to 80%)
• qBittorrent port forwarding fix
• Git repository organization

Lazygit Guide

Complete guide to using lazygit - git made easy with a terminal UI.

Rclone Guide

Mount Google Drive(s) on your desktop with rclone.

Includes:

• Automated setup script
• Multiple Google Drive accounts
• Autostart configuration
• Performance optimization
• Troubleshooting

Snapshot Guide

Manage system snapshots with Snapper on Btrfs.

Includes:

• Snapshot creation and management
• Pin important snapshots
• Restore system to previous state
• Automatic snapshots before updates
• Disk space management
• Snapshot limit configuration (10 max)

SDDM Theme Guide

Change SDDM login screen themes.

Includes:

• Install new themes with qylock
• Switch between installed themes
• Customize theme settings
• Troubleshooting theme issues
• SDDM vs lockscreen differences

Quick Reference

One-page quick lookup for keybindings and commands. Print this!

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Essential Keybindings

Applications

Key	Action
Super+T	Terminal
Super+B	Browser (Brave)
Super+F	File Manager (Dolphin)
Super+K	VS Code
Super+Space	Launcher
Super+C	Clipboard Manager

System

Key	Action
Print Screen	Screenshot
End	Lock Screen
Pause	Play/Pause Media
Super+Escape	Logout
Super+Delete	Shutdown

Window Management

• Super+Arrow Keys - Tile window to edges
• Super+W - Overview mode (all windows/workspaces)
• Super+S - Stack windows as tabs
• Alt+Tab - Switch windows

Workspaces

• Super+1,2,3... - Switch to workspace
• Super+Shift+1,2,3... - Move window to workspace

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Configuration Files

COSMIC Keybindings

Location: ~/.config/cosmic/com.system76.CosmicSettings.Shortcuts/v1/custom
Backup: config-backups/shortcuts_custom

Custom keyboard shortcuts for applications and system actions.

Keyboard Settings

Location: ~/.config/cosmic/com.system76.CosmicComp/v1/xkb_config
Backup: config-backups/xkb_config

Optimized keyboard repeat rate (200ms delay, 50 rate).

Screenshot Script

Location: ~/.local/bin/screenshot
Backup: scripts/screenshot

Backup screenshot tool using grim, slurp, and swappy.

Autostart Applications

Location: ~/.config/autostart/
Backup: autostart/

• CopyQ: Clipboard manager with persistent history
• qBittorrent: Starts minimized to tray

SDDM Theme

Location: /etc/sddm.conf
Backup: system/sddm.conf

Display manager with Honkai: Star Rail theme.

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Quick Commands

Restart COSMIC

cosmic-comp --replace &
killall cosmic-settings-daemon && cosmic-settings-daemon &

Test Screenshot

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland flameshot gui

Test Media Control

playerctl play-pause

Check Clipboard

copyq toggle

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Installed Applications

Development

• Docker & docker-compose
• VS Code
• Obsidian
• lazygit

Terminal

• Ghostty (GPU-accelerated terminal)
• Bash (customized shell)
• Tmux (session multiplexer)

System Tools

• CopyQ (clipboard manager)
• qBittorrent (torrent client)
• Flameshot (screenshots)
• playerctl (media control)

Desktop

• cosmic-term (terminal)
• Ghostty (alternative terminal)
• Dolphin (file manager)
• Brave (browser - Flatpak)
• cosmic-edit (text editor)

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Quick Troubleshooting

Keybindings Not Working

killall cosmic-settings-daemon && cosmic-settings-daemon &

Screenshot Not Working

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland flameshot gui

CopyQ Not Starting

copyq &
copyq config autostart true

Docker Permission Denied

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in

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Backup & Restore

Create Backup Archive

cd ~/cosmic-config
tar -czf cosmic-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).tar.gz \
  config-backups/ scripts/ autostart/ system/ docs/ *.md *.sh

Restore from Archive

tar -xzf cosmic-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.tar.gz
cd cosmic-config
./restore-configs.sh

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System Summary

OS: CachyOS
DE: COSMIC (Wayland)
DM: SDDM (Honkai: Star Rail theme)
Terminal: Ghostty + cosmic-term
Shell: Bash (customized)
Multiplexer: Tmux
File Manager: Dolphin
Browser: Brave (Flatpak)
Clipboard: CopyQ
Screenshots: Flameshot + grim/slurp/swappy

Setup Time: ~30 minutes
Custom Keybindings: 14 shortcuts
Keyboard Response: Optimized (200ms delay, 50 rate)

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Useful Links

• COSMIC Desktop
• CachyOS
• lazygit
• Flameshot
• CopyQ

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For detailed documentation, see the docs/ folder.