How to install Cockpit on Pop!_OS for easier system maintenance
Jack Wallen shows you how to install Cockpit on the desktop Linux distribution Pop!_OS and why you might want to.
Pop!_OS is my primary operating system. I use it every day for most of my productivity. I was doing some chores the other day and I thought, “I really should do something to make this a little more efficient.”
It’s not that I don’t mind using the command line or working with different tools for different tasks. But some days I would much rather do everything under one roof. Even better, I have to deal with other machines that could benefit from a more efficient solution.
SEE: 40+ Open Source and Linux Terms You Need to Know (TechRepublic Premium)
Then it dawned on me. Why don’t I just do this? There’s obviously one tool that’s perfect for the job. This tool is Cockpit and it makes Linux administration tasks much easier.
Although some consider Cockpit more of a server solution, there’s absolutely no reason it can’t be used on a desktop machine. In fact, I wholeheartedly support the use of Cockpit on both servers and desktops. Why wouldn’t you want a single location to manage things like updates, users, networks, services, logs, storage and more?
If you want to try your hand at using a web-based GUI to manage your desktop operating system, Cockpit is the way to go. Let me show you how to install it on Pop!_OS.
What you need to install Cockpit on Pop!_OS
The only things you need for this are a running instance of Pop!_OS and a user with sudo privileges. That’s it.
How to install Cockpit on Pop!_OS
Let’s upgrade first to make sure everything is up to date. To do this, log into your Pop!_OS system, open a terminal window and enter the commands:
sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get upgrade -y
If the kernel is updated in the process, be sure to reboot for the changes to take effect.
Okay, now that the system is updated, let’s install Cockpit with the command:
sudo apt-get install cockpit -y
When the installation is complete, you need to activate Cockpit using systemctl as follows:
sudo systemctl enable --now cockpit.socket
Everything should work.
How to access the cockpit
Open your default web browser and point it to http://localhost:9090. You could also use your desktop’s IP address if you want, but since you’re on the computer, localhost will do. You will see the cockpit login window (Figure A).
Figure A
Once you’ve logged in, you’ll see a warning that you need to enable admin access (Figure B), click this warning and enter your user password when prompted to elevate your privileges.
Figure B
Congratulations, you’ve made managing your Pop!_OS desktop a little easier. I’m surprised Linux desktop distros don’t install Cockpit by default and make the Cockpit dashboard easily accessible from the desktop menu. Although this will probably never happen, installing Cockpit is fairly easy.
Enjoy simplified management of your favorite Linux distribution.
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