3 Michael Stapelberg <michael+i3@stapelberg.de>
8 i3 - an improved dynamic, tiling window manager
12 i3 [-a] [-c configfile] [-C] [-d <loglevel>] [-v] [-V]
20 Specifies an alternate configuration file path.
23 Check the configuration file for validity and exit.
26 Specifies the debug loglevel. To see the most output, use -d all.
29 Display version number (and date of the last commit).
38 i3 was created because wmii, our favorite window manager at the time, didn’t
39 provide some features we wanted (multi-monitor done right, for example), had
40 some bugs, didn’t progress since quite some time and wasn’t easy to hack at all
41 (source code comments/documentation completely lacking). Still, we think the
42 wmii developers and contributors did a great job. Thank you for inspiring us to
45 Please be aware that i3 is primarily targeted at advanced users and developers.
47 === IMPORTANT NOTE TO nVidia BINARY DRIVER USERS
49 If you are using the nVidia binary graphics driver (also known as 'blob')
50 you need to use the +--force-xinerama+ flag (in your .xsession) when starting
53 ----------------------------------------------
54 exec i3 --force-xinerama -V >>~/.i3/i3log 2>&1
55 ----------------------------------------------
57 See also docs/multi-monitor for the full explanation.
62 A client is X11-speak for a window.
65 Your workspace is managed using a table. You can move windows around and create
66 new columns (move a client to the right) or rows (move it to the bottom)
69 By "snapping" a client in a specific direction, you increase its colspan/rowspan.
72 A container contains a variable number of clients. Each cell of the table is a
75 Containers can be used in various modes. The default mode is called "default"
76 and just resizes each client equally so that it fits.
79 A workspace is a set of clients (technically speaking, it’s just a table).
80 Other window managers call this "Virtual Desktops".
82 In i3, each workspace is assigned to a specific virtual screen. By default,
83 screen 1 has workspace 1, screen 2 has workspace 2 and so on… However, when you
84 create a new workspace (by simply switching to it), it’ll be assigned the
85 screen you are currently on.
88 Using XRandR, you can have an X11 screen spanning multiple real monitors.
89 Furthermore, you can set them up in cloning mode or with positions (monitor 1
90 is left of monitor 2).
92 i3 uses the RandR API to query which outputs are available and which screens
93 are connected to these outputs.
97 Here is a short overview of the default keybindings:
100 Direction keys (left, down, up, right). They are on your homerow (see the mark
101 on your "j" key). Alternatively, you can use the cursor keys.
104 Focus window in <direction>.
107 Focus container in <direction>.
109 Mod1+Shift+<direction>::
110 Move window to <direction>.
112 Mod3+Shift+<direction>::
113 Move container to <direction>.
115 Mod1+Control+<direction>::
116 Snap container to <direction>.
119 Switch to workspace <number>.
121 Mod1+Shift+<number>::
122 Move window to workspace <number>.
125 Toggle fullscreen mode.
128 Enable stacking layout for the current container.
131 Enable default layout for the current container.
134 Toggle tiling/floating for the current window.
137 Select the first tiling window if the current window is floating and vice-versa.
140 Kills the current window. This is equivalent to "clicking on the close button",
141 meaning a polite request to the application to close this window. For example,
142 Firefox will save its session upon such a request. If the application does not
143 support that, the window will be killed and it depends on the application what
147 Restarts i3 in place (without losing any windows, but at this time, the layout
148 and placement of windows is not retained).
155 === \~/.i3/config (or ~/.config/i3/config)
157 When starting, i3 looks for configuration files in the following order:
159 1. ~/.config/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/i3/config if set)
160 2. /etc/xdg/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/i3/config if set)
164 You can specify a custom path using the -c option.
166 .Sample configuration
167 -------------------------------------------------------------
168 font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
170 # Start terminal (Mod1+Enter)
171 bind Mod1+36 exec /usr/bin/urxvt
173 # Start dmenu (Mod1+v)
174 bind Mod1+55 exec /usr/bin/dmenu_run
176 # Kill current client (Mod1+Shift+q)
177 bind Mod1+Shift+24 kill
180 bind Mod1+73 exec /home/michael/toggle_beamer.sh
183 bind Mod1+68 exec /usr/bin/i3lock
185 # Restart i3 inplace (Mod1+Shift+r)
186 bind Mod1+Shift+27 restart
188 # Exit i3 (Mod1+Shift+e)
189 bind Mod1+Shift+26 exit
192 bind Mod1+97 exec sudo sh -c "echo up > /proc/acpi/ibm/brightness"
193 bind Mod1+103 exec sudo sh -c "echo down > /proc/acpi/ibm/brightness"
195 # Fullscreen (Mod1+f)
204 # Toggle tiling/floating of the current window (Mod1+Shift+Space)
207 # Go into the tiling layer / floating layer, depending on whether
208 # the current window is tiling / floating (Mod1+t)
209 bind Mod1+28 focus ft
211 # Focus (Mod1+j/k/l/;)
217 # Focus Container (Mod3+j/k/l/;)
223 # Snap (Mod1+Control+j/k/l/;)
224 bind Mod1+Control+44 sh
225 bind Mod1+Control+45 sj
226 bind Mod1+Control+46 sk
227 bind Mod1+Control+47 sl
229 # Move (Mod1+Shift+j/k/l/;)
230 bind Mod1+Shift+44 mh
231 bind Mod1+Shift+45 mj
232 bind Mod1+Shift+46 mk
233 bind Mod1+Shift+47 ml
235 # Move Container (Mod3+Shift+j/k/l/;)
236 bind Mod3+Shift+44 wcmh
237 bind Mod3+Shift+45 wcmj
238 bind Mod3+Shift+46 wcmk
239 bind Mod3+Shift+47 wcml
250 -------------------------------------------------------------
254 This file is where you should configure your locales and start i3. It is run by
255 your login manager (xdm, slim, gdm, …) as soon as you login.
258 -------------------------------------------------------------
259 # Disable DPMS turning off the screen
266 # Enable zapping (C-A-<Bksp> kills X)
267 setxkbmap -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp
269 # Enforce correct locales from the beginning
271 export LC_CTYPE=de_DE.UTF-8
272 export LC_TIME=de_DE.UTF-8
273 export LC_NUMERIC=de_DE.UTF-8
274 export LC_MONETARY=de_DE.UTF-8
276 export LC_PAPER=de_DE.UTF-8
277 export LC_NAME=de_DE.UTF-8
278 export LC_ADDRESS=de_DE.UTF-8
279 export LC_TELEPHONE=de_DE.UTF-8
280 export LC_MEASUREMENT=de_DE.UTF-8
281 export LC_IDENTIFICATION=de_DE.UTF-8
283 # Use XToolkit in java applications
284 export AWT_TOOLKIT=XToolkit
286 # Set background color
287 xsetroot -solid "#333333"
289 # Enable core dumps in case something goes wrong
292 # Start i3 and log to ~/.i3/logfile
293 echo "Starting at $(date)" >> ~/.i3/logfile
294 exec /usr/bin/i3 -V -d all >> ~/.i3/logfile
295 -------------------------------------------------------------
299 There is still lot of work to do. Please check our bugtracker for up-to-date
300 information about tasks which are still not finished.
304 You should have a copy of the userguide (featuring nice screenshots/graphics
305 which is why this is not integrated into this manpage), the debugging guide,
306 and the "how to hack" guide. If you are building from source, run:
309 You can also access these documents online at http://i3.zekjur.net/
311 i3-input(1), i3-msg(1), i3-wsbar(1)
315 Michael Stapelberg and contributors