i3(1)
=====
Michael Stapelberg <michael+i3@stapelberg.de>
-v3.beta, May 2009
+v3.epsilon, March 2010
== NAME
== SYNOPSIS
-i3 [-c configfile] [-a]
+i3 [-a] [-c configfile] [-C] [-d <loglevel>] [-v] [-V]
== OPTIONS
--c::
-Specifies an alternate configuration file path
-
-a::
Disables autostart.
+-c::
+Specifies an alternate configuration file path.
+
+-C::
+Check the configuration file for validity and exit.
+
+-d::
+Specifies the debug loglevel. To see the most output, use -d all.
+
+-v::
+Display version number (and date of the last commit).
+
+-V::
+Be verbose.
+
== DESCRIPTION
=== INTRODUCTION
i3 was created because wmii, our favorite window manager at the time, didn’t
-provide some features we wanted (Xinerama done right, for example), had some
-bugs, didn’t progress since quite some time and wasn’t easy to hack at all
+provide some features we wanted (multi-monitor done right, for example), had
+some bugs, didn’t progress since quite some time and wasn’t easy to hack at all
(source code comments/documentation completely lacking). Still, we think the
wmii developers and contributors did a great job. Thank you for inspiring us to
create i3.
A client is X11-speak for a window.
Table::
-Your workspace is managed using a table. You can move windows around and create new columns
-(move a client to the right) or rows (move it to the bottom) implicitly.
+Your workspace is managed using a table. You can move windows around and create
+new columns (move a client to the right) or rows (move it to the bottom)
+implicitly.
+
By "snapping" a client in a specific direction, you increase its colspan/rowspan.
Container::
-A container contains a variable number of clients. Each cell of the table is a container.
+A container contains a variable number of clients. Each cell of the table is a
+container.
+
-Containers can be used in various modes. The default mode is called "default" and just
-resizes each client equally so that it fits.
+Containers can be used in various modes. The default mode is called "default"
+and just resizes each client equally so that it fits.
Workspace::
-A workspace is a set of clients (technically speaking, it’s just a table). Other window
-managers call this "Virtual Desktops".
+A workspace is a set of clients (technically speaking, it’s just a table).
+Other window managers call this "Virtual Desktops".
+
-In i3, each workspace is assigned to a specific virtual screen. By default, screen 1
-has workspace 1, screen 2 has workspace 2 and so on… However, when you create a new
-workspace (by simply switching to it), it’ll be assigned the screen you are currently
-on.
-
-Virtual Screen::
-Using Xinerama, you can have an X11 screen spanning multiple real monitors. Furthermore,
-you can set them up in cloning mode or with positions (monitor 1 is left of monitor 2).
+In i3, each workspace is assigned to a specific virtual screen. By default,
+screen 1 has workspace 1, screen 2 has workspace 2 and so on… However, when you
+create a new workspace (by simply switching to it), it’ll be assigned the
+screen you are currently on.
+
+Output::
+Using XRandR, you can have an X11 screen spanning multiple real monitors.
+Furthermore, you can set them up in cloning mode or with positions (monitor 1
+is left of monitor 2).
+
-A virtual screen is the result of your Xinerama setup. For example, if you have attached
-two real monitors (let’s say your laptop screen and a video projector) and enabled cloning, i3
-will use one virtual screen with the size of the smallest screen you have attached (so
-that you can see all your windows on each screen all the time).
-If you have two monitors attached, one configured to be left of the other, i3 will use
-two virtual screens.
+i3 uses the RandR API to query which outputs are available and which screens
+are connected to these outputs.
== KEYBINDINGS
Here is a short overview of the default keybindings:
j/k/l/;::
-Direction keys (left, down, up, right). They are on your homerow (see the mark on your "j" key).
+Direction keys (left, down, up, right). They are on your homerow (see the mark
+on your "j" key). Alternatively, you can use the cursor keys.
Mod1+<direction>::
Focus window in <direction>.
Select the first tiling window if the current window is floating and vice-versa.
Mod1+Shift+q::
-Kills the current client.
+Kills the current window. This is equivalent to "clicking on the close button",
+meaning a polite request to the application to close this window. For example,
+Firefox will save its session upon such a request. If the application does not
+support that, the window will be killed and it depends on the application what
+happens.
Mod1+Shift+r::
-Restarts i3 in place (without losing any windows, but the layout).
+Restarts i3 in place (without losing any windows, but at this time, the layout
+and placement of windows is not retained).
Mod1+Shift+e::
Exits i3.
== FILES
-=== ~/.i3/config
+=== \~/.i3/config (or ~/.config/i3/config)
-When starting, i3 looks for ~/.i3/config and loads the configuration. If ~/.i3/config is not found,
-i3 tries /etc/i3/config. You can specify a custom path using the -c option.
+When starting, i3 looks for configuration files in the following order:
-At the moment, you can specify only the path to your favorite terminal emulator, the font and keybindings.
+1. ~/.config/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/i3/config if set)
+2. /etc/xdg/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/i3/config if set)
+3. ~/.i3/config
+4. /etc/i3/config
-At the moment, you have to bind to keycodes (find them out via xev(1)).
+You can specify a custom path using the -c option.
.Sample configuration
-------------------------------------------------------------
-terminal /usr/bin/urxvt
font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
# Start terminal (Mod1+Enter)
# Disable DPMS turning off the screen
xset dpms force on
xset s off
+
# Disable bell
xset -b
+# Enable zapping (C-A-<Bksp> kills X)
+setxkbmap -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp
+
# Enforce correct locales from the beginning
unset LC_COLLATE
export LC_CTYPE=de_DE.UTF-8
export LC_MEASUREMENT=de_DE.UTF-8
export LC_IDENTIFICATION=de_DE.UTF-8
+# Use XToolkit in java applications
+export AWT_TOOLKIT=XToolkit
+
# Set background color
xsetroot -solid "#333333"
== TODO
-There is still lot of work to do. Please check our bugtracker for up-to-date information
-about tasks which are still not finished.
+There is still lot of work to do. Please check our bugtracker for up-to-date
+information about tasks which are still not finished.
+
+== SEE ALSO
+
+You should have a copy of the userguide (featuring nice screenshots/graphics
+which is why this is not integrated into this manpage), the debugging guide,
+and the "how to hack" guide. If you are building from source, run:
+ +make -C docs+
+
+You can also access these documents online at http://i3.zekjur.net/
+
+i3-input(1), i3-msg(1)
== AUTHOR
projects / i3 / i3 / blobdiff