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.
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*:
--------------------------------
*Syntax*:
-------------------
-exec command
-exec_always command
+exec [--no-startup-id] command
+exec_always [--no-startup-id] command
-------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------
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
}
---------------------------
+=== 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
+}
+-------------------------------------------------
+
=== Statusline command
i3bar can run a program and display every line of its +stdout+ output on the
*Example*:
-------------------------------------------------
-status_command i3status --config ~/.i3status.conf
+bar {
+ status_command i3status --config ~/.i3status.conf
+}
-------------------------------------------------
=== Display mode
*Example*:
----------------
-mode hide
+bar {
+ mode hide
+}
----------------
=== Position
*Example*:
---------------------
-position top
+bar {
+ position top
+}
---------------------
=== Output(s)
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>
-------------------------------
# big monitor: everything
bar {
- output HDMI2
- status_command i3status
+ # 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
- }
+ output LVDS1
+ status_command i3status --config ~/.i3status-small.conf
+ colors {
+ background #000000
+ statusline #ffffff
+ }
}
-------------------------------
*Example*:
-------------------------
# disable system tray
-tray_output none
+bar {
+ tray_output none
+}
# show tray icons on the big monitor
-tray_output HDMI2
+bar {
+ tray_output HDMI2
+}
-------------------------
=== Font
*Example*:
--------------------------------------------------------------
-font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
+bar {
+ font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
+}
--------------------------------------------------------------
=== Workspace buttons
*Example*:
--------------------
-workspace_buttons no
+bar {
+ workspace_buttons no
+}
--------------------
=== Colors
Background color of the bar.
statusline::
Text color to be used for the statusline.
-focused_workspace_text/focused_workspace_bg::
+focused_workspace::
Text color/background color for a workspace button when the workspace
has focus.
-active_workspace_text/active_workspace_bg::
+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/inactive_workspace_bg::
+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/urgent_workspace_bar::
+urgent_workspace::
Text color/background color for workspaces which contain at least one
window with the urgency hint set.
*Example*:
--------------------------------------
-colors {
- background #000000
- statusline #ffffff
-
- focused_workspace #ffffff #285577
- active_workspace #888888 #222222
- inactive_workspace #888888 #222222
- urgent_workspace #ffffff #900000
+bar {
+ colors {
+ background #000000
+ statusline #ffffff
+
+ focused_workspace #ffffff #285577
+ active_workspace #ffffff #333333
+ inactive_workspace #888888 #222222
+ urgent_workspace #ffffff #900000
+ }
}
--------------------------------------
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
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>
+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:
+# 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
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+:
projects / i3 / i3 / blobdiff