press +$mod+f+.
There is also a global fullscreen mode in i3 in which the client will span all
-available outputs (the command is +fullscreen global+).
+available outputs (the command is +fullscreen toggle global+).
=== Opening other applications
=== Exiting i3
To cleanly exit i3 without killing your X server, you can use +$mod+Shift+e+.
+By default, a dialog will ask you to confirm if you really want to quit.
=== Floating
You can toggle floating mode for a window by pressing +$mod+Shift+Space+. By
dragging the window’s titlebar with your mouse you can move the window
around. By grabbing the borders and moving them you can resize the window. You
-can also do that by using the <<floating_modifier>>.
+can also do that by using the <<floating_modifier>>. Another way to resize
+floating windows using the mouse is to right-click on the titlebar and drag.
For resizing floating windows with your keyboard, see <<resizingconfig>>.
on the layout the container is in (vertical for splitv and stacking, horizontal
for splith and tabbed). So, in our example with the workspace, the default
layout of the workspace +Container+ is splith (most monitors are widescreen
-nowadays). If you change the layout to splitv (+$mod+l+ in the default config)
+nowadays). If you change the layout to splitv (+$mod+v+ in the default config)
and *then* open two terminals, i3 will configure your windows like this:
image::tree-shot2.png["shot2",title="Vertical Workspace Orientation"]
windows are directly attached to one node inside i3’s layout tree, the
workspace node. By default, the workspace node’s orientation is +horizontal+.
-Now you move one of these terminals down (+$mod+k+ by default). The workspace
-node’s orientation will be changed to +vertical+. The terminal window you moved
-down is directly attached to the workspace and appears on the bottom of the
-screen. A new (horizontal) container was created to accomodate the other two
-terminal windows. You will notice this when switching to tabbed mode (for
-example). You would end up having one tab called "another container" and the
-other one being the terminal window you moved down.
+Now you move one of these terminals down (+$mod+Shift+k+ by default). The
+workspace node’s orientation will be changed to +vertical+. The terminal window
+you moved down is directly attached to the workspace and appears on the bottom
+of the screen. A new (horizontal) container was created to accommodate the
+other two terminal windows. You will notice this when switching to tabbed mode
+(for example). You would end up having one tab with a representation of the split
+container (e.g., "H[urxvt firefox]") and the other one being the terminal window
+you moved down.
[[configuring]]
== Configuring i3
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
font <X core font description>
-font pango:[family list] [style options] [size]
+font pango:<family list> [<style options>] <size>
------------------------------
*Examples*:
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------
-bindsym [--release] [Modifiers+]keysym command
-bindcode [--release] [Modifiers+]keycode command
+bindsym [--release] [<Modifiers>+]<keysym> command
+bindcode [--release] [<Modifiers>+]<keycode> command
----------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------
# Fullscreen
-bindsym $mod+f fullscreen
+bindsym $mod+f fullscreen toggle
# Restart
bindsym $mod+Shift+r restart
bindings. For example, when typing, capslock+1 or capslock+2 for switching
workspaces is totally convenient. Try it :-).
+[[mousebindings]]
+
+=== Mouse bindings
+
+A mouse binding makes i3 execute a command upon pressing a specific mouse
+button in the scope of the clicked container (see <<command_criteria>>). You
+can configure mouse bindings in a similar way to key bindings.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+bindsym [--release] [--border] [--whole-window] [<Modifiers>+]button<n> command
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+By default, the binding will only run when you click on the titlebar of the
+window. If the +--release+ flag is given, it will run when the mouse button
+is released.
+
+If the +--whole-window+ flag is given, the binding will also run when any part
+of the window is clicked, with the exception of the border. To have a bind run
+when the border is clicked, specify the +--border+ flag.
+
+*Examples*:
+--------------------------------
+# The middle button over a titlebar kills the window
+bindsym --release button2 kill
+
+# The middle button and a modifer over any part of the window kills the window
+bindsym --whole-window $mod+button2 kill
+
+# The right button toggles floating
+bindsym button3 floating toggle
+bindsym $mod+button3 floating toggle
+
+# The side buttons move the window around
+bindsym button9 move left
+bindsym button8 move right
+--------------------------------
+
[[floating_modifier]]
=== The floating modifier
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------
-floating_modifier <Modifiers>
+floating_modifier <Modifier>
--------------------------------
*Example*:
(anything higher than wide) get vertical orientation.
With the +default_orientation+ configuration directive, you can override that
-behaviour.
+behavior.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------------------
-default_orientation <horizontal|vertical|auto>
-----------------------------------------------
+--------------------------------------------
+default_orientation horizontal|vertical|auto
+--------------------------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------------
This option determines in which mode new containers on workspace level will
start.
-///////////////////////////////
-See also <<stack-limit>>.
-//////////////////////////////
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-workspace_layout <default|stacking|tabbed>
+workspace_layout default|stacking|tabbed
---------------------------------------------
-/////////////////////////////////////////////
-new_container stack-limit <cols|rows> <value>
-/////////////////////////////////////////////
*Example*:
---------------------
=== Border style for new windows
This option determines which border style new windows will have. The default is
-"normal". Note that new_float applies only to windows which are starting out as
-floating windows, e.g. dialog windows.
++normal+. Note that new_float applies only to windows which are starting out as
+floating windows, e.g., dialog windows, but not windows that are floated later on.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-new_window <normal|1pixel|none|pixel>
-new_float <normal|1pixel|none|pixel>
+new_window normal|none|pixel
+new_window normal|pixel <px>
+new_float normal|none|pixel
+new_float normal|pixel <px>
---------------------------------------------
*Example*:
---------------------
-new_window 1pixel
+new_window pixel
---------------------
The "normal" and "pixel" border styles support an optional border width in
to waste even two pixels in displayspace. Default is none.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------
-hide_edge_borders <none|vertical|horizontal|both>
-----------------------------
+-----------------------------------------------
+hide_edge_borders none|vertical|horizontal|both
+-----------------------------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------
=== Arbitrary commands for specific windows (for_window)
+[[for_window]]
+
With the +for_window+ command, you can let i3 execute any command when it
encounters a specific window. This can be used to set windows to floating or to
change their border style, for example.
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
-for_window <criteria> command
------------------------------
+-------------------------------
+for_window <criteria> <command>
+-------------------------------
*Examples*:
------------------------------------------------
for_window [class="XTerm"] floating enable
# Make all urxvts use a 1-pixel border:
-for_window [class="urxvt"] border 1pixel
+for_window [class="urxvt"] border pixel 1
# A less useful, but rather funny example:
# makes the window floating as soon as I change
The valid criteria are the same as those for commands, see <<command_criteria>>.
+=== Don't focus window upon opening
+
+[[no_focus]]
+
+When a new window appears, it will be focused. The +no_focus+ directive allows preventing
+this from happening and can be used in combination with <<command_criteria>>.
+
+Note that this does not apply to all cases, e.g., when feeding data into a running application
+causing it to request being focused. To configure the behavior in such cases, refer to
+<<focus_on_window_activation>>.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------
+no_focus <criteria>
+-------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------------
+no_focus [window_role="pop-up"]
+-------------------------------
+
=== Variables
As you learned in the section about keyboard bindings, you will have
variables can be handy.
*Syntax*:
---------------
-set $name value
---------------
+-------------------
+set $<name> <value>
+-------------------
*Example*:
------------------------
bindsym $m+Shift+r restart
------------------------
-Variables are directly replaced in the file when parsing. There is no fancy
-handling and there are absolutely no plans to change this. If you need a more
-dynamic configuration you should create a little script which generates a
-configuration file and run it before starting i3 (for example in your
-+~/.xsession+ file).
+Variables are directly replaced in the file when parsing. Variables expansion
+is not recursive so it is not possible to define a variable with a value
+containing another variable. There is no fancy handling and there are
+absolutely no plans to change this. If you need a more dynamic configuration
+you should create a little script which generates a configuration file and run
+it before starting i3 (for example in your +~/.xsession+ file).
=== Automatically putting clients on specific workspaces
*Syntax*:
------------------------------------------------------------
-assign <criteria> [→] workspace
+assign <criteria> [→] [workspace] <workspace>
------------------------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
also when restarting i3 you should use the +exec_always+
keyword. These commands will be run in order.
+See <<command_chaining>> for details on the special meaning of +;+ (semicolon)
+and +,+ (comma): they chain commands together in i3, so you need to use quoted
+strings if they appear in your command.
+
*Syntax*:
--------------------
-exec [--no-startup-id] command
-exec_always [--no-startup-id] command
--------------------
+---------------------------------------
+exec [--no-startup-id] <command>
+exec_always [--no-startup-id] <command>
+---------------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------
the second screen and so on).
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------
+-------------------------------------
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
You can change all colors which i3 uses to draw the window decorations.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-colorclass border background text indicator
---------------------------------------------
+------------------------------------------------------
+<colorclass> <border> <background> <text> <indicator>
+------------------------------------------------------
Where colorclass can be one of:
A client which is not the focused one of its container.
client.urgent::
A client which has its urgency hint activated.
+client.placeholder::
+ Background and text color are used to draw placeholder window contents
+ (when restoring layouts). Border and indicator are ignored.
You can also specify the color to be used to paint the background of the client
windows. This color will be used to paint the window on top of which the client
will be rendered.
*Syntax*:
------------------------
-client.background color
------------------------
+-------------------------
+client.background <color>
+-------------------------
Only clients that do not cover the whole area of this window expose the color
used to paint it.
client.focused_inactive #333333 #5f676a #ffffff #484e50
client.unfocused #333333 #222222 #888888 #292d2e
client.urgent #2f343a #900000 #ffffff #900000
+client.placeholder #000000 #0c0c0c #ffffff #000000
---------------------------------------------------------
Note that for the window decorations, the color around the child window is the
links in your browser window).
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------
-focus_follows_mouse <yes|no>
-----------------------------
+--------------------------
+focus_follows_mouse yes|no
+--------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------
focus_follows_mouse no
----------------------
+=== Mouse warping
+
+By default, when switching focus to a window on a different output (e.g.
+focusing a window on workspace 3 on output VGA-1, coming from workspace 2 on
+LVDS-1), the mouse cursor is warped to the center of that window.
+
+With the +mouse_warping+ option, you can control when the mouse cursor should
+be warped. +none+ disables warping entirely, whereas +output+ is the default
+behavior described above.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------
+mouse_warping output|none
+-------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+------------------
+mouse_warping none
+------------------
+
=== Popups during fullscreen mode
When you are in fullscreen mode, some applications still open popup windows
3. Leave fullscreen mode.
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------------------------
-popup_during_fullscreen <smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen>
--------------------------------------------------
+-----------------------------------------------------
+popup_during_fullscreen smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen
+-----------------------------------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------------
When being in a tabbed or stacked container, the first container will be
focused when you use +focus down+ on the last container -- the focus wraps. If
however there is another stacked/tabbed container in that direction, focus will
-be set on that container. This is the default behaviour so you can navigate to
+be set on that container. This is the default behavior so you can navigate to
all your windows without having to use +focus parent+.
If you want the focus to *always* wrap and you are aware of using +focus
will always wrap.
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
-force_focus_wrapping <yes|no>
------------------------------
+---------------------------
+force_focus_wrapping yes|no
+---------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------
reconfiguring your screens on the fly (they are read only once on startup and
that’s it).
-For people who do cannot modify their +~/.xsession+ to add the
+For people who cannot modify their +~/.xsession+ to add the
+--force-xinerama+ commandline parameter, a configuration option is provided:
*Syntax*:
------------------------
-force_xinerama <yes|no>
------------------------
+---------------------
+force_xinerama yes|no
+---------------------
*Example*:
------------------
came from now, you can just press $mod+2 again to switch back to "1: www".
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------
-workspace_auto_back_and_forth <yes|no>
---------------------------------------
+------------------------------------
+workspace_auto_back_and_forth yes|no
+------------------------------------
*Example*:
---------------------------------
If an application on another workspace sets an urgency hint, switching to this
workspace may lead to immediate focus of the application, which also means the
-window decoration color would be immediately resetted to +client.focused+. This
+window decoration color would be immediately reset to +client.focused+. This
may make it unnecessarily hard to tell which window originally raised the
event.
force_display_urgency_hint 500 ms
---------------------------------
+=== Delaying exiting on zero displays
+
+Outputs may disappear momentarily and come back later. For example,
+using a docking station that does not announce the undock (e.g. ACPI Undock
+event triggered through manually pushing a button before actually ejecting
+the notebook). During the removal of the notebook from the docking station,
+all outputs disappear momentarily.
+
+To prevent i3 from exiting when no output is available momentarily, you can
+tell i3 to delay a certain time first and check available outputs again using
+the +delay_exit_on_zero_displays+ directive. Setting the value to 0 disables
+this feature.
+
+The default is 500ms.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------------------
+delay_exit_on_zero_displays <timeout> ms
+----------------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+----------------------------------
+delay_exit_on_zero_displays 500 ms
+----------------------------------
+
+=== Focus on window activation
+
+[[focus_on_window_activation]]
+
+If a window is activated, e.g., via +google-chrome www.google.com+, it may request
+to take focus. Since this may not preferable, different reactions can be configured.
+
+Note that this may not affect windows that are being opened. To prevent new windows
+from being focused, see <<no_focus>>.
+
+*Syntax*:
+--------------------------------------------------
+focus_on_window_activation smart|urgent|focus|none
+--------------------------------------------------
+
+The different modes will act as follows:
+
+smart::
+ This is the default behavior. If the window requesting focus is on an active
+ workspace, it will receive the focus. Otherwise, the urgency hint will be set.
+urgent::
+ The window will always be marked urgent, but the focus will not be stolen.
+focus::
+ The window will always be focused and not be marked urgent.
+none::
+ The window will neither be focused, nor be marked urgent.
+
+=== Drawing marks on window decoration
+
+If activated, marks on windows are drawn in their window decoration. However,
+any mark starting with an underscore in its name (+_+) will not be drawn even if
+this option is activated.
+
+The default for this option is +yes+.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-----------------
+show_marks yes|no
+-----------------
+
+*Example*:
+--------------
+show_marks yes
+--------------
+
== Configuring i3bar
The bar at the bottom of your monitor is drawn by a separate process called
have to have correct quoting etc.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------
-i3bar_command command
-----------------------
+-----------------------
+i3bar_command <command>
+-----------------------
*Example*:
-------------------------------------------------
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.
+have to have correct quoting etc. Note that for signal handling, depending on
+your shell (users of dash(1) are known to be affected), you have to use the
+shell’s exec command so that signals are passed to your program, not to the
+shell.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------
-status_command command
-----------------------
+------------------------
+status_command <command>
+------------------------
*Example*:
-------------------------------------------------
bar {
status_command i3status --config ~/.i3status.conf
+
+ # For dash(1) users who want signal handling to work:
+ status_command exec ~/.bin/my_status_command
}
-------------------------------------------------
the windows key). The default value for the hidden_state is hide.
*Syntax*:
-----------------
-mode <dock|hide|invisible>
-hidden_state <hide|show>
+-------------------------
+mode dock|hide|invisible
+hidden_state hide|show
modifier <Modifier>
-----------------
+------------------------
*Example*:
----------------
Available modifiers are Mod1-Mod5, Shift, Control (see +xmodmap(1)+).
+=== Mouse button commands
+
+Specifies a command to run when a button was pressed on i3bar to override the
+default behavior. This is useful, e.g., for disabling the scroll wheel action
+or running scripts that implement custom behavior for these buttons.
+
+A button is always named +button<n>+, where 1 to 5 are default buttons as follows and higher
+numbers can be special buttons on devices offering more buttons:
+
+button1::
+ Left mouse button.
+button2::
+ Middle mouse button.
+button3::
+ Right mouse button.
+button4::
+ Scroll wheel up.
+button5::
+ Scroll wheel down.
+
+Please note that the old +wheel_up_cmd+ and +wheel_down_cmd+ commands are deprecated
+and will be removed in a future release. We strongly recommend using the more general
++bindsym+ with +button4+ and +button5+ instead.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------
+bindsym button<n> <command>
+----------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+---------------------------------------------------------
+bar {
+ # disable clicking on workspace buttons
+ bindsym button1 nop
+ # execute custom script when scrolling downwards
+ bindsym button5 exec ~/.i3/scripts/custom_wheel_down
+}
+---------------------------------------------------------
+
=== Bar ID
Specifies the bar ID for the configured bar instance. If this option is missing,
The default is bottom.
*Syntax*:
----------------------
-position <top|bottom>
----------------------
+-------------------
+position top|bottom
+-------------------
*Example*:
---------------------
you can turn off the functionality entirely.
*Syntax*:
--------------------------
-tray_output <none|primary|output>
--------------------------
+---------------------------------
+tray_output none|primary|<output>
+---------------------------------
*Example*:
-------------------------
}
# show tray icons on the primary monitor
-tray_output primary
+bar {
+ tray_output primary
+}
# show tray icons on the big monitor
bar {
xrandr --output <output> --primary
-------------------------
+=== Tray padding
+
+The tray is shown on the right-hand side of the bar. By default, a padding of 2
+pixels is used for the upper, lower and right-hand side of the tray area and
+between the individual icons.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------
+tray_padding <px> [px]
+-------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------
+# Obey Fitts's law
+tray_padding 0
+-------------------------
+
=== Font
Specifies the font to be used in the bar. See <<fonts>>.
}
--------------------------------------------------------------
+=== Custom separator symbol
+
+Specifies a custom symbol to be used for the separator as opposed to the vertical,
+one pixel thick separator.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------
+separator_symbol <symbol>
+-------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+------------------------
+bar {
+ separator_symbol ":|:"
+}
+------------------------
+
=== Workspace buttons
Specifies whether workspace buttons should be shown or not. This is useful if
The default is to show workspace buttons.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------
-workspace_buttons <yes|no>
---------------------------
+------------------------
+workspace_buttons yes|no
+------------------------
*Example*:
---------------------
+------------------------
bar {
workspace_buttons no
}
---------------------
+------------------------
+
+=== Strip workspace numbers
+
+Specifies whether workspace numbers should be displayed within the workspace
+buttons. This is useful if you want to have a named workspace that stays in
+order on the bar according to its number without displaying the number prefix.
+
+When +strip_workspace_numbers+ is set to +yes+, any workspace that has a name of
+the form "[n]:[NAME]" will display only the name. You could use this, for
+instance, to display Roman numerals rather than digits by naming your
+workspaces to "1:I", "2:II", "3:III", "4:IV", ...
+
+The default is to display the full name within the workspace button.
+
+*Syntax*:
+------------------------------
+strip_workspace_numbers yes|no
+------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+----------------------------
+bar {
+ strip_workspace_numbers yes
+}
+----------------------------
+
+=== Binding Mode indicator
+
+Specifies whether the current binding mode indicator should be shown or not.
+This is useful if you want to hide the workspace buttons but still be able
+to see the current binding mode indicator.
+For an example of a +mode+ definition, see <<resizingconfig>>.
+
+The default is to show the mode indicator.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-----------------------------
+binding_mode_indicator yes|no
+-----------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-----------------------------
+bar {
+ binding_mode_indicator no
+}
+-----------------------------
=== Colors
will be the case for most workspaces.
urgent_workspace::
Border, background and text color for a workspace button when the workspace
- window with the urgency hint set.
+ contains a window with the urgency hint set.
+binding_mode::
+ Border, background and text color for the binding mode indicator. If not used,
+ the colors will be taken from +urgent_workspace+.
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------------
statusline <color>
separator <color>
- colorclass <border> <background> <text>
+ <colorclass> <border> <background> <text>
}
----------------------------------------
active_workspace #333333 #5f676a #ffffff
inactive_workspace #333333 #222222 #888888
urgent_workspace #2f343a #900000 #ffffff
+ binding_mode #2f343a #900000 #ffffff
}
}
--------------------------------------
i3-msg border none
--------------------------
+[[command_chaining]]
+
Commands can be chained by using +;+ (a semicolon). So, to move a window to a
specific workspace and immediately switch to that workspace, you can configure
the following keybinding:
[[command_criteria]]
Furthermore, you can change the scope of a command - that is, which containers
-should be affected by that command, by using various criteria. These are
-prefixed in square brackets to every command. If you want to kill all windows
-which have the class Firefox, use:
+should be affected by that command, by using various criteria. The criteria
+are specified before any command in a pair of square brackets and are separated
+by space.
+
+When using multiple commands, separate them by using a +,+ (a comma) instead of
+a semicolon. Criteria apply only until the next semicolon, so if you use a
+semicolon to separate commands, only the first one will be executed for the
+matched window(s).
*Example*:
------------------------------------
+# if you want to kill all windows which have the class Firefox, use:
bindsym $mod+x [class="Firefox"] kill
# same thing, but case-insensitive
bindsym $mod+x [class="(?i)firefox"] kill
+
+# kill only the About dialog from Firefox
+bindsym $mod+x [class="Firefox" window_role="About"] kill
+
+# enable floating mode and move container to workspace 4
+for_window [class="^evil-app$"] floating enable, move container to workspace 4
------------------------------------
The criteria which are currently implemented are:
Compares the window instance (the first part of WM_CLASS)
window_role::
Compares the window role (WM_WINDOW_ROLE).
+window_type::
+ Compare the window type (_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE). Possible values are
+ +normal+, +dialog+, +utility+, +toolbar+, +splash+, +menu+, +dropdown_menu+,
+ +popup_menu+ and +toolti+.
id::
Compares the X11 window ID, which you can get via +xwininfo+ for example.
title::
Compares the urgent state of the window. Can be "latest" or "oldest".
Matches the latest or oldest urgent window, respectively.
(The following aliases are also available: newest, last, recent, first)
+workspace::
+ Compares the workspace name of the workspace the window belongs to.
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
interface. Handy for scripting.
-The criteria +class+, +instance+, +role+, +title+ and +mark+ are actually
-regular expressions (PCRE). See +pcresyntax(3)+ or +perldoc perlre+ for
+The criteria +class+, +instance+, +role+, +title+, +workspace+ and +mark+ are
+actually regular expressions (PCRE). See +pcresyntax(3)+ or +perldoc perlre+ for
information on how to use them.
[[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 $PATH.
+searched in your +$PATH+.
+
+See <<command_chaining>> for details on the special meaning of +;+ (semicolon)
+and +,+ (comma): they chain commands together in i3, so you need to use quoted
+strings if they appear in your command.
*Syntax*:
-------------------------------
-exec [--no-startup-id] command
-------------------------------
+--------------------------------
+exec [--no-startup-id] <command>
+--------------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------------
to splith or vice-versa.
*Syntax*:
----------------------------
-split <vertical|horizontal>
----------------------------
+-------------------------
+split vertical|horizontal
+-------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------------
or +layout splith+ to change the current container layout to splith/splitv,
stacking, tabbed layout, splitv or splith, respectively.
-To make the current window (!) fullscreen, use +fullscreen+, to make
-it floating (or tiling again) use +floating enable+ respectively +floating disable+
-(or +floating toggle+):
+To make the current window (!) fullscreen, use +fullscreen enable+ (or
++fullscreen enable global+ for the global mode), to leave either fullscreen
+mode use +fullscreen disable+, and to toggle between these two states use
++fullscreen toggle+ (or +fullscreen toggle global+).
+
+Likewise, to make the current window floating (or tiling again) use +floating
+enable+ respectively +floating disable+ (or +floating toggle+):
*Syntax*:
---------------
-layout <default|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith>
+--------------------------------------------
+layout default|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith
layout toggle [split|all]
---------------
+--------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------
bindsym $mod+x layout toggle all
# Toggle fullscreen
-bindsym $mod+f fullscreen
+bindsym $mod+f fullscreen toggle
# Toggle floating/tiling
bindsym $mod+t floating toggle
--------------
-=== Focusing/Moving containers
+[[_focusing_moving_containers]]
-To change the focus, use the focus command: +focus left+, +focus right+, +focus
-down+ and +focus up+.
+=== Focusing containers
-There are a few special parameters you can use for the focus command:
+To change focus, you can use the +focus+ command. The following options are
+available:
+left|right|up|down::
+ Sets focus to the nearest container in the given direction.
parent::
- Sets focus to the +Parent Container+ of the current +Container+.
+ Sets focus to the parent container of the current container.
child::
The opposite of +focus parent+, sets the focus to the last focused
child container.
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]
-move [absolute] position [[<px> px] [<px> px]|center]
------------------------------------
-
-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.
+----------------------------------------------
+focus left|right|down|up
+focus parent|child|floating|tiling|mode_toggle
+focus output left|right|up|down|<output>
+----------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
-----------------------
-# Focus container 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 the big output
bindsym $mod+x focus output HDMI-2
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+=== Moving containers
+
+Use the +move+ command to move a container.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-----------------------------------------------------
+# Moves the container into the given direction.
+# The optional pixel argument specifies how far the
+# container should be moved if it is floating and
+# defaults to 10 pixels.
+move <left|right|down|up> [<px> px]
+
+# Moves the container either to a specific location
+# or to the center of the screen. If 'absolute' is
+# used, it is moved to the center of all outputs.
+move [absolute] position [[<px> px] [<px> px]|center]
+
+# Moves the container to the current position of the
+# mouse cursor. Only affects floating containers.
+move position mouse
+-----------------------------------------------------
-# Move container to the left, bottom, top, right:
+*Examples*:
+-------------------------------------------------------
+# Move container to the left, bottom, top, right
bindsym $mod+j move left
bindsym $mod+k move down
bindsym $mod+l move up
# move more than the default
bindsym $mod+j move left 20 px
-# Move floating container to the center
-# of all outputs
+# Move floating container to the center of all outputs
bindsym $mod+c move absolute position center
-----------------------
+
+# Move container to the current position of the cursor
+bindsym $mod+m move position mouse
+-------------------------------------------------------
=== Changing (named) workspaces/moving to workspaces
See <<move_to_outputs>> for how to move a container/workspace to a different
RandR output.
+Workspace names are parsed as
+https://developer.gnome.org/pango/stable/PangoMarkupFormat.html[Pango markup]
+by i3bar.
+
[[back_and_forth]]
To switch back to the previously focused workspace, use +workspace
back_and_forth+; likewise, you can move containers to the previously focused
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------
-workspace <next|prev|next_on_output|prev_on_output>
+workspace next|prev|next_on_output|prev_on_output
workspace back_and_forth
workspace <name>
workspace number <name>
move [window|container] [to] workspace <name>
move [window|container] [to] workspace number <name>
-move [window|container] [to] workspace <prev|next|current>
+move [window|container] [to] workspace prev|next|current
-----------------------------------
*Examples*:
-------------------------
bindsym $mod+1 workspace 1
bindsym $mod+2 workspace 2
+bindsym $mod+3 workspace 3:<span foreground="red">vim</span>
...
bindsym $mod+Shift+1 move container to workspace 1
You can rename workspaces. This might be useful to start with the default
numbered workspaces, do your work, and rename the workspaces afterwards to
reflect what’s actually on them. You can also omit the old name to rename
-the currently focused workspace. This is handy if you wan't to use the
+the currently focused workspace. This is handy if you want to use the
rename command with +i3-input+.
*Syntax*:
i3-msg 'rename workspace 1 to "1: www"'
i3-msg 'rename workspace "1: www" to "10: www"'
i3-msg 'rename workspace to "2: mail"
-bindsym $mod+r exec i3-input -F 'rename workspace to %s' -P 'New name: '
+bindsym $mod+r exec i3-input -F 'rename workspace to "%s"' -P 'New name: '
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Moving workspaces to a different screen
+right+, +up+ or +down+), there are two commands:
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------------------
-move container to output <<left|right|down|up>|<output>>
-move workspace to output <<left|right|down|up>|<output>>
---------------------------------------------------------
+----------------------------------------------------
+move container to output left|right|down|up|<output>
+move workspace to output left|right|down|up|<output>
+----------------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------------------------------
bindsym $mod+x move container to output VGA1
--------------------------------------------------------
+=== Moving containers/workspaces to marks
+
+To move a container to another container with a specific mark (see <<vim_like_marks>>),
+you can use the following command.
+
+The window will be moved right after the marked container in the tree, i.e., it ends up
+in the same position as if you had opened a new window when the marked container was
+focused. If the mark is on a split container, the window will appear as a new child
+after the currently focused child within that container.
+
+*Syntax*:
+------------------------------------
+move window|container to mark <mark>
+------------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+--------------------------------------------------------
+for_window [instance="tabme"] move window to mark target
+--------------------------------------------------------
+
[[resizingconfig]]
=== Resizing containers/windows
+resize+ command:
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------------------------------
-resize
<grow|shrink> <direction> [<px> px [or <ppt> ppt]]
----------------------------------------------------------
+-------------------------------------------------------
+resize
grow|shrink <direction> [<px> px [or <ppt> ppt]]
+-------------------------------------------------------
Direction can either be one of +up+, +down+, +left+ or +right+. Or you can be
less specific and use +width+ or +height+, in which case i3 will take/give
This feature is like the jump feature: It allows you to directly jump to a
specific window (this means switching to the appropriate workspace and setting
focus to the windows). However, you can directly mark a specific window with
-an arbitrary label and use it afterwards. You do not need to ensure that your
-windows have unique classes or titles, and you do not need to change your
-configuration file.
+an arbitrary label and use it afterwards. You can unmark the label in the same
+way, using the unmark command. If you don't specify a label, unmark removes all
+marks. You do not need to ensure that your windows have unique classes or
+titles, and you do not need to change your configuration file.
As the command needs to include the label with which you want to mark the
window, you cannot simply bind it to a key. +i3-input+ is a tool created
for this purpose: It lets you input a command and sends the command to i3. It
can also prefix this command and display a custom prompt for the input dialog.
+The additional +--toggle+ option will remove the mark if the window already has
+this mark, add it if the window has none or replace the current mark if it has
+another mark.
+
+Refer to +show_marks+ if you don't want marks to be shown in the window decoration.
+
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
-mark identifier
+mark [--toggle] <identifier>
[con_mark="identifier"] focus
+unmark <identifier>
------------------------------
*Example (in a terminal)*:
------------------------------
$ i3-msg mark irssi
$ i3-msg '[con_mark="irssi"] focus'
+$ i3-msg unmark irssi
------------------------------
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
seperate bindings for a specific set of labels and then only use those labels.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=== Window title format
+
+By default, i3 will simply print the X11 window title. Using +title_format+,
+this can be customized by setting the format to the desired output. This
+directive supports
+https://developer.gnome.org/pango/stable/PangoMarkupFormat.html[Pango markup]
+and the following placeholders which will be replaced:
+
++%title+::
+ The X11 window title (_NET_WM_NAME or WM_NAME as fallback).
+
+Using the <<for_window>> directive, you can set the title format for any window
+based on <<command_criteria>>.
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------------
+title_format <format>
+---------------------
+
+*Examples*:
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# give the focused window a prefix
+bindsym $mod+p title_format "Important | %title"
+
+# print all window titles bold
+for_window [class=".*"] title_format "<b>%title</b>"
+
+# print window titles of firefox windows red
+for_window [class="(?i)firefox"] title_format "<span foreground='red'>%title</span>"
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
=== Changing border style
To change the border of the current client, you can use +border normal+ to use the normal
-border (including window title), +border 1pixel+ to use a 1-pixel border (no window title)
+border (including window title), +border pixel 1+ to use a 1-pixel border (no window title)
and +border none+ to make the client borderless.
There is also +border toggle+ which will toggle the different border styles.
+*Syntax*:
+-----------------------------------------------
+border normal|pixel [<n>]
+border none|toggle
+
+# legacy syntax, equivalent to "border pixel 1"
+border 1pixel
+-----------------------------------------------
+
*Examples*:
-----------------------------
-bindsym $mod+t border normal
-bindsym $mod+y border 1pixel
+----------------------------------------------
+# use window title, but no border
+bindsym $mod+t border normal 0
+# use no window title and a thick border
+bindsym $mod+y border pixel 3
+# use neither window title nor border
bindsym $mod+u border none
-----------------------------
+----------------------------------------------
-[[stack-limit]]
+[[shmlog]]
-///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-TODO: not yet implemented
-=== Changing the stack-limit of a container
+=== Enabling shared memory logging
-If you have a single container with a lot of windows inside it (say, more than
-10), the default layout of a stacking container can get a little unhandy.
-Depending on your screen’s size, you might end up with only half of the title
-lines being actually used, wasting a lot of screen space.
+As described in http://i3wm.org/docs/debugging.html, i3 can log to a shared
+memory buffer, which you can dump using +i3-dump-log+. The +shmlog+ command
+allows you to enable or disable the shared memory logging at runtime.
-Using the +stack-limit+ command, you can limit the number of rows or columns
-in a stacking container. i3 will create columns or rows (depending on what
-you limited) automatically as needed.
+Note that when using +shmlog <size_in_bytes>+, the current log will be
+discarded and a new one will be started.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------
-stack-limit <cols|rows> <value>
---------------------------------
+------------------------------
+shmlog <size_in_bytes>
+shmlog on|off|toggle
+------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------
-# I always want to have two window titles in one line
-stack-limit cols 2
+---------------
+# Enable/disable logging
+bindsym $mod+x shmlog toggle
-# Not more than 5 rows in this stacking container
-stack-limit rows 5
--------------------
+# or, from a terminal:
+# increase the shared memory log buffer to 50 MiB
+i3-msg shmlog $((50*1024*1024))
+---------------
-image:stacklimit.png[Container limited to two columns]
-///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=== Enabling debug logging
-== Starting/stopping/changing the size of the shm log
+The +debuglog+ command allows you to enable or disable debug logging at
+runtime. Debug logging is much more verbose than non-debug logging. This
+command does not activate shared memory logging (shmlog), and as such is most
+likely useful in combination with the above-described <<shmlog>> command.
-You may start or stop the shm log with +shmlog+, or change the size of the log.
-If you pass a size to the shmlog command, it will change the running log's
-size, or, if the log is not running, start the log with the provided size. You
-may also toggle the log. This is useful if you want to bind the command to a
-key.
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------
+debuglog on|off|toggle
+----------------------
*Examples*:
----------------
-shmlog 26214400
-shmlog toggle
-shmlog on
-shmlog off
----------------
+------------------------
+# Enable/disable logging
+bindsym $mod+x debuglog toggle
+------------------------
=== Reloading/Restarting/Exiting
bindsym mod4+s [title="^Sup ::"] scratchpad show
------------------------------------------------
+=== Nop
+
+There is a no operation command +nop+ which allows you to override default
+behavior. This can be useful for, e.g., disabling a focus change on clicks with
+the middle mouse button.
+
+The optional +comment+ argument is ignored, but will be printed to the log file
+for debugging purposes.
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------
+nop [<comment>]
+---------------
+
+*Example*:
+----------------------------------------------
+# Disable focus change for clicks on titlebars
+# with the middle mouse button
+bindsym button2 nop
+----------------------------------------------
+
=== i3bar control
There are two options in the configuration of each i3bar instance that can be
projects / i3 / i3 / blobdiff