i3 User’s Guide
===============
Michael Stapelberg <michael+i3@stapelberg.de>
-September 2011
+January 2012
This document contains all the information you need to configure and use the i3
window manager. If it does not, please contact us on IRC (preferred) or post your
i3 stores all information about the X11 outputs, workspaces and layout of the
windows on them in a tree. The root node is the X11 root window, followed by
the X11 outputs, then dock areas and a content container, then workspaces and
-finally the windows themselve. In previous versions of i3 we had multiple lists
+finally the windows themselves. In previous versions of i3 we had multiple lists
(of outputs, workspaces) and a table for each workspace. That approach turned
out to be complicated to use (snapping), understand and implement.
*Examples*:
--------------------------------
# Fullscreen
-bindsym mod+f f
+bindsym mod+f fullscreen
# Restart
bindsym mod+Shift+r restart
When holding the floating modifier, you can resize a floating window by
pressing the right mouse button on it and moving around while holding it. If
-you hold the shift button as well, the resize will be proportional.
+you hold the shift button as well, the resize will be proportional (the aspect
+ratio will be preserved).
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------
To get the class and instance, you can use +xprop+. After clicking on the
window, you will see the following output:
-*xwininfo*:
+*xprop*:
-----------------------------------
WM_CLASS(STRING) = "irssi", "URxvt"
-----------------------------------
*Syntax*:
-------------------
-exec command
-exec_always command
+exec [--no-startup-id] command
+exec_always [--no-startup-id] command
-------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------
-exec i3status | i3bar -d
+exec chromium
exec_always ~/my_script.sh
+
+# Execute the terminal emulator urxvt, which is not yet startup-notification aware.
+exec --no-startup-id urxvt
--------------------------------
+The flag --no-startup-id is explained in <<exec>>.
+
[[workspace_screen]]
=== Automatically putting workspaces on specific screens
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------
-workspace <number> output <output>
+workspace <workspace> output <output>
----------------------------------
The 'output' is the name of the RandR output you attach your screen to. On a
laptop, you might have VGA1 and LVDS1 as output names. You can see the
available outputs by running +xrandr --current+.
+If you use named workspaces, they must be quoted:
+
*Examples*:
---------------------------
workspace 1 output LVDS1
workspace 5 output VGA1
+workspace "2: vim" output VGA1
---------------------------
=== Changing colors
used to paint it. If you use a color other than black for your terminals, you
most likely want to set the client background color to the same color as your
terminal program's background color to avoid black gaps between the rendered
-area of the termianal and the i3 border.
+area of the terminal and the i3 border.
Colors are in HTML hex format (#rrggbb), see the following example:
(to display a workspace bar), and to control i3.
The IPC socket is enabled by default and will be created in
-+/tmp/i3-%u/ipc-socket.%p+ where +%u+ is your UNIX username and +%p+ is the PID
-of i3.
++/tmp/i3-%u.XXXXXX/ipc-socket.%p+ where +%u+ is your UNIX username, +%p+ is
+the PID of i3 and XXXXXX is a string of random characters from the portable
+filename character set (see mkdtemp(3)).
You can override the default path through the environment-variable +I3SOCK+ or
by specifying the +ipc-socket+ directive. This is discouraged, though, since i3
-does the right thing by default.
+does the right thing by default. If you decide to change it, it is strongly
+recommended to set this to a location in your home directory so that no other
+user can create that directory.
*Examples*:
----------------------------
-ipc-socket /tmp/i3-ipc.sock
+ipc-socket ~/.i3/i3-ipc.sock
----------------------------
You can then use the +i3-msg+ application to perform any command listed in
Also note that your output names are not descriptive (like +HDMI1+) when using
Xinerama, instead they are counted up, starting at 0: +xinerama-0+, +xinerama-1+, …
+=== Automatic back-and-forth when switching to the current workspace
+
+This configuration directive enables automatic +workspace back_and_forth+ (see
+<<back_and_forth>>) when switching to the workspace that is currently focused.
+
+For instance: Assume you are on workspace "1: www" and switch to "2: IM" using
+mod+2 because somebody sent you a message. You don’t need to remember where you
+came from now, you can just press mod+2 again to switch back to "1: www".
+
+*Syntax*:
+--------------------------------------
+workspace_auto_back_and_forth <yes|no>
+--------------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+---------------------------------
+workspace_auto_back_and_forth yes
+---------------------------------
+
+== Configuring i3bar
+
+The bar at the bottom of your monitor is drawn by a separate process called
+i3bar. Having this part of "the i3 user interface" in a separate process has
+several advantages:
+
+1. It is a modular approach. If you don’t need a workspace bar at all, or if
+ you prefer a different one (dzen2, xmobar, maybe even gnome-panel?), you can
+ just remove the i3bar configuration and start your favorite bar instead.
+2. It follows the UNIX philosophy of "Make each program do one thing well".
+ While i3 manages your windows well, i3bar is good at displaying a bar on
+ each monitor (unless you configure it otherwise).
+3. It leads to two separate, clean codebases. If you want to understand i3, you
+ don’t need to bother with the details of i3bar and vice versa.
+
+That said, i3bar is configured in the same configuration file as i3. This is
+because it is tightly coupled with i3 (in contrary to i3lock or i3status which
+are useful for people using other window managers). Therefore, it makes no
+sense to use a different configuration place when we already have a good
+configuration infrastructure in place.
+
+Configuring your workspace bar starts with opening a +bar+ block. You can have
+multiple bar blocks to use different settings for different outputs (monitors):
+
+*Example*:
+---------------------------
+bar {
+ status_command i3status
+}
+---------------------------
+
+=== i3bar command
+
+By default i3 will just pass +i3bar+ and let your shell handle the execution,
+searching your +$PATH+ for a correct version.
+If you have a different +i3bar+ somewhere or the binary is not in your +$PATH+ you can
+tell i3 what to execute.
+
+The specified command will be passed to +sh -c+, so you can use globbing and
+have to have correct quoting etc.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------
+i3bar_command command
+----------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------------------------------
+bar {
+ i3bar_command /home/user/bin/i3bar
+}
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+[[status_command]]
+=== Statusline command
+
+i3bar can run a program and display every line of its +stdout+ output on the
+right hand side of the bar. This is useful to display system information like
+your current IP address, battery status or date/time.
+
+The specified command will be passed to +sh -c+, so you can use globbing and
+have to have correct quoting etc.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------
+status_command command
+----------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------------------------------
+bar {
+ status_command i3status --config ~/.i3status.conf
+}
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+=== Display mode
+
+You can have i3bar either be visible permanently at one edge of the screen
+(+dock+ mode) or make it show up when you press your modifier key (+hide+
+mode). The modifier key can be configured using the +modifier+ option.
+
+The hide mode maximizes screen space that can be used for actual windows. Also,
+i3bar sends the +SIGSTOP+ and +SIGCONT+ signals to the statusline process to
+save battery power.
+
+The default is dock mode; in hide mode, the default modifier is Mod4 (usually
+the windows key).
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------
+mode <dock|hide>
+modifier <Modifier>
+----------------
+
+*Example*:
+----------------
+bar {
+ mode hide
+ modifier Mod1
+}
+----------------
+
+Available modifiers are Mod1-Mod5, Shift, Control (see +xmodmap(1)+).
+
+[[i3bar_position]]
+=== Position
+
+This option determines in which edge of the screen i3bar should show up.
+
+The default is bottom.
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------------
+position <top|bottom>
+---------------------
+
+*Example*:
+---------------------
+bar {
+ position top
+}
+---------------------
+
+=== Output(s)
+
+You can restrict i3bar to one or more outputs (monitors). The default is to
+handle all outputs. Restricting the outputs is useful for using different
+options for different outputs by using multiple 'bar' blocks.
+
+To make a particular i3bar instance handle multiple outputs, specify the output
+directive multiple times.
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------
+output <output>
+---------------
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------------
+# big monitor: everything
+bar {
+ # The display is connected either via HDMI or via DisplayPort
+ output HDMI2
+ output DP2
+ status_command i3status
+}
+
+# laptop monitor: bright colors and i3status with less modules.
+bar {
+ output LVDS1
+ status_command i3status --config ~/.i3status-small.conf
+ colors {
+ background #000000
+ statusline #ffffff
+ }
+}
+-------------------------------
+
+=== Tray output
+
+i3bar by default provides a system tray area where programs such as
+NetworkManager, VLC, Pidgin, etc. can place little icons.
+
+You can configure on which output (monitor) the icons should be displayed or
+you can turn off the functionality entirely.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------
+tray_output <none|output>
+-------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------
+# disable system tray
+bar {
+ tray_output none
+}
+
+# show tray icons on the big monitor
+bar {
+ tray_output HDMI2
+}
+-------------------------
+
+=== Font
+
+Specifies the font (again, X core font, not Xft, just like in i3) to be used in
+the bar.
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------------
+font <font>
+---------------------
+
+*Example*:
+--------------------------------------------------------------
+bar {
+ font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
+}
+--------------------------------------------------------------
+
+=== Workspace buttons
+
+Specifies whether workspace buttons should be shown or not. This is useful if
+you want to display a statusline-only bar containing additional information.
+
+The default is to show workspace buttons.
+
+*Syntax*:
+--------------------------
+workspace_buttons <yes|no>
+--------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+--------------------
+bar {
+ workspace_buttons no
+}
+--------------------
+
+=== Colors
+
+As with i3, colors are in HTML hex format (#rrggbb). The following colors can
+be configured at the moment:
+
+background::
+ Background color of the bar.
+statusline::
+ Text color to be used for the statusline.
+focused_workspace::
+ Text color/background color for a workspace button when the workspace
+ has focus.
+active_workspace::
+ Text color/background color for a workspace button when the workspace
+ is active (visible) on some output, but the focus is on another one.
+ You can only tell this apart from the focused workspace when you are
+ using multiple monitors.
+inactive_workspace::
+ Text color/background color for a workspace button when the workspace
+ does not have focus and is not active (visible) on any output. This
+ will be the case for most workspaces.
+urgent_workspace::
+ Text color/background color for workspaces which contain at least one
+ window with the urgency hint set.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------------------
+colors {
+ background <color>
+ statusline <color>
+
+ colorclass <foreground> <background>
+}
+----------------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+--------------------------------------
+bar {
+ colors {
+ background #000000
+ statusline #ffffff
+
+ focused_workspace #ffffff #285577
+ active_workspace #ffffff #333333
+ inactive_workspace #888888 #222222
+ urgent_workspace #ffffff #900000
+ }
+}
+--------------------------------------
+
== List of commands
Commands are what you bind to specific keypresses. You can also issue commands
the following keybinding:
*Example*:
--------------------------------------------
-bindsym mod+x move workspace 3; workspace 3
--------------------------------------------
+--------------------------------------------------------
+bindsym mod+x move container to workspace 3; workspace 3
+--------------------------------------------------------
[[command_criteria]]
Compares the X11 window ID, which you can get via +xwininfo+ for example.
title::
Compares the X11 window title (_NET_WM_NAME or WM_NAME as fallback).
-mark::
+con_mark::
Compares the mark set for this container, see <<vim_like_marks>>.
con_id::
Compares the i3-internal container ID, which you can get via the IPC
regular expressions (PCRE). See +pcresyntax(3)+ or +perldoc perlre+ for
information on how to use them.
+[[exec]]
+
+=== Executing applications (exec)
+
+What good is a window manager if you can’t actually start any applications?
+The exec command starts an application by passing the command you specify to a
+shell. This implies that you can use globbing (wildcards) and programs will be
+searched in your $PATH.
+
+*Syntax*:
+------------------------------
+exec [--no-startup-id] command
+------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+------------------------------
+# Start the GIMP
+bindsym mod+g exec gimp
+
+# Start the terminal emulator urxvt which is not yet startup-notification-aware
+bindsym mod+Return exec --no-startup-id urxvt
+------------------------------
+
+The +--no-startup-id+ parameter disables startup-notification support for this
+particular exec command. With startup-notification, i3 can make sure that a
+window appears on the workspace on which you used the exec command. Also, it
+will change the X11 cursor to +watch+ (a clock) while the application is
+launching. So, if an application is not startup-notification aware (most GTK
+and Qt using applications seem to be, though), you will end up with a watch
+cursor for 60 seconds.
+
=== Splitting containers
The split command makes the current window a split container. Split containers
=== Focusing/Moving containers
-To change the focus, use the focus command: +focus left+, +focus right+, +focus down+ and +focus up+.
+To change the focus, use the focus command: +focus left+, +focus right+, +focus
+down+ and +focus up+.
There are a few special parameters you can use for the focus command:
Sets focus to the last focused tiling container.
mode_toggle::
Toggles between floating/tiling containers.
+output::
+ Followed by a direction or an output name, this will focus the
+ corresponding output.
For moving, use +move left+, +move right+, +move down+ and +move up+.
+*Syntax*:
+-----------------------------------
+focus <left|right|down|up>
+focus <parent|child|floating|tiling|mode_toggle>
+focus output <<left|right|down|up>|output>
+move <left|right|down|up> [<px> px]
+-----------------------------------
+
+Note that the amount of pixels you can specify for the +move+ command is only
+relevant for floating containers. The default amount is 10 pixels.
+
*Examples*:
----------------------
-# Focus clients on the left, bottom, top, right:
+# Focus container on the left, bottom, top, right:
bindsym mod+j focus left
bindsym mod+k focus down
bindsym mod+l focus up
# Focus last floating/tiling container
bindsym mod+g focus mode_toggle
-# Move client to the left, bottom, top, right:
+# Focus the output right to the current one
+bindsym mod+x focus output right
+
+# Focus the big output
+bindsym mod+x focus output HDMI-2
+
+# Move container to the left, bottom, top, right:
bindsym mod+j move left
bindsym mod+k move down
bindsym mod+l move up
bindsym mod+semicolon move right
+
+# Move container, but make floating containers
+# move more than the default
+bindsym mod+j move left 20 px
----------------------
=== Changing (named) workspaces/moving to workspaces
To change to a specific workspace, use the +workspace+ command, followed by the
number or name of the workspace. To move containers to specific workspaces, use
-+move workspace+.
++move container to workspace+.
You can also switch to the next and previous workspace with the commands
+workspace next+ and +workspace prev+, which is handy, for example, if you have
workspace 1, 3, 4 and 9 and you want to cycle through them with a single key
-combination.
+combination. To restrict those to the current output, use +workspace
+next_on_output+ and +workspace prev_on_output+. Similarly, you can use +move
+container to workspace next+ and +move container to workspace prev+ to move a
+container to the next/previous workspace.
+
+[[back_and_forth]]
+To switch back to the previously focused workspace, use +workspace
+back_and_forth+.
To move a container to another xrandr output such as +LVDS1+ or +VGA1+, you can
use the +move output+ command followed by the name of the target output. You
may also use +left+, +right+, +up+, +down+ instead of the xrandr output name to
-move to the the next output in the specified direction.
+move to the next output in the specified direction.
*Examples*:
-------------------------
bindsym mod+2 workspace 2
...
-bindsym mod+Shift+1 move workspace 1
-bindsym mod+Shift+2 move workspace 2
+bindsym mod+Shift+1 move container to workspace 1
+bindsym mod+Shift+2 move container to workspace 2
...
+
+# switch between the current and the previously focused one
+bindsym mod+b workspace back_and_forth
-------------------------
==== Named workspaces
Direction can be one of +up+, +down+, +left+ or +right+. The optional pixel
argument specifies by how many pixels a *floating container* should be grown or
-shrinked (the default is 10 pixels). The ppt argument means percentage points
+shrunk (the default is 10 pixels). The ppt argument means percentage points
and specifies by how many percentage points a *tiling container* should be
-grown or shrinked (the default is 10 percentage points).
+grown or shrunk (the default is 10 percentage points).
I recommend using the resize command inside a so called +mode+:
bindsym mod+Shift+e exit
----------------------------
+=== Scratchpad
+
+There are two commands to use any existing window as scratchpad window. +move
+scratchpad+ will move a window to the scratchpad workspace. This will make it
+invisible until you show it again. There is no way to open that workspace.
+Instead, when using +scratchpad show+, the window will be shown again, as a
+floating window, centered on your current workspace (using +scratchpad show+ on
+a visible scratchpad window will make it hidden again, so you can have a
+keybinding to toggle).
+
+As the name indicates, this is useful for having a window with your favorite
+editor always at hand. However, you can also use this for other permanently
+running applications which you don’t want to see all the time: Your music
+player, alsamixer, maybe even your mail client…?
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------
+move scratchpad
+
+scratchpad show
+---------------
+
+*Examples*:
+------------------------------------------------
+# Make the currently focused window a scratchpad
+bindsym mod+Shift+minus move scratchpad
+
+# Show the first scratchpad window
+bindsym mod+minus scratchpad show
+
+# Show the sup-mail scratchpad window, if any.
+bindsym mod4+s [title="^Sup ::"] scratchpad show
+------------------------------------------------
+
[[multi_monitor]]
== Multiple monitors
this task. It was written in C with the goal of using as few syscalls as
possible to reduce the time your CPU is woken up from sleep states. Because
i3status only spits out text, you need to combine it with some other tool, like
-i3bar. Use a pipe to connect them: +i3status | i3bar -d+.
+i3bar. See <<status_command>> for how to display i3status in i3bar.
Regardless of which application you use to display the status line, you
want to make sure that it registers as a dock window using EWMH hints. i3 will
position the window either at the top or at the bottom of the screen, depending
-on which hint the application sets. With i3bar, you can use +-d+ or +-dbottom+
-for positioning it at the bottom and +-dtop+ to position it at the top of the
-screen.
+on which hint the application sets. With i3bar, you can configure its position,
+see <<i3bar_position>>.
=== Giving presentations (multi-monitor)
projects / i3 / i3 / blobdiff