i3 User’s Guide
===============
Michael Stapelberg <michael@i3wm.org>
-March 2013
This document contains all the information you need to configure and use the i3
-window manager. If it does not, please check http://faq.i3wm.org/ first, then
-contact us on IRC (preferred) or post your question(s) on the mailing list.
+window manager. If it does not, please check https://www.reddit.com/r/i3wm/
+first, then contact us on IRC (preferred) or post your question(s) on the
+mailing list.
== Default keybindings
For the "too long; didn’t read" people, here is an overview of the default
-keybindings (click to see the full size image):
+keybindings (click to see the full-size image):
*Keys to use with $mod (Alt):*
The red keys are the modifiers you need to press (by default), the blue keys
are your homerow.
+Note that when starting i3 without a config file, i3-config-wizard will offer
+you to create a config file in which the key positions (!) match what you see
+in the image above, regardless of the keyboard layout you are using. If you
+prefer to use a config file where the key letters match what you are seeing
+above, just decline i3-config-wizard’s offer and base your config on
++/etc/i3/config+.
+
== Using i3
Throughout this guide, the keyword +$mod+ will be used to refer to the
-configured modifier. This is the Alt key (Mod1) by default, with the Windows
-key (Mod4) being a popular alternative.
+configured modifier. This is the Alt key (+Mod1+) by default, with the Windows
+key (+Mod4+) being a popular alternative that largely prevents conflicts with
+application-defined shortcuts.
=== Opening terminals and moving around
One very basic operation is opening a new terminal. By default, the keybinding
-for this is $mod+Enter, that is Alt+Enter in the default configuration. By
-pressing $mod+Enter, a new terminal will be opened. It will fill the whole
-space available on your screen.
+for this is +$mod+Enter+, that is Alt+Enter (+Mod1+Enter+) in the default
+configuration. By pressing +$mod+Enter+, a new terminal will be opened. It
+will fill the whole space available on your screen.
image:single_terminal.png[Single terminal]
To move the focus between the two terminals, you can use the direction keys
which you may know from the editor +vi+. However, in i3, your homerow is used
for these keys (in +vi+, the keys are shifted to the left by one for
-compatibility with most keyboard layouts). Therefore, +$mod+J+ is left, +$mod+K+
-is down, +$mod+L+ is up and `$mod+;` is right. So, to switch between the
-terminals, use +$mod+K+ or +$mod+L+. Of course, you can also use the arrow keys.
+compatibility with most keyboard layouts). Therefore, +$mod+j+ is left, +$mod+k+
+is down, +$mod+l+ is up and `$mod+;` is right. So, to switch between the
+terminals, use +$mod+k+ or +$mod+l+. Of course, you can also use the arrow keys.
At the moment, your workspace is split (it contains two terminals) in a
specific direction (horizontal by default). Every window can be split
=== Closing windows
If an application does not provide a mechanism for closing (most applications
-provide a menu, the escape key or a shortcut like +Control+W+ to close), you
+provide a menu, the escape key or a shortcut like +Control+w+ to close), you
can press +$mod+Shift+q+ to kill a window. For applications which support
the WM_DELETE protocol, this will correctly close the application (saving
any modifications or doing other cleanup). If the application doesn’t support
The easiest way to resize a container is by using the mouse: Grab the border
and move it to the wanted size.
-See <<resizingconfig>> for how to configure i3 to be able to resize
-columns/rows with your keyboard.
+You can also use <<binding_modes>> to define a mode for resizing via the
+keyboard. To see an example for this, look at the
+https://github.com/i3/i3/blob/next/etc/config.keycodes[default config] provided
+by i3.
=== Restarting i3 inplace
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>>.
+For resizing floating windows with your keyboard, see the resizing binding mode
+provided by the i3 https://github.com/i3/i3/blob/next/etc/config.keycodes[default config].
Floating windows are always on top of tiling windows.
=== The tree consists of Containers
-The building blocks of our tree are so called +Containers+. A +Container+ can
+The building blocks of our tree are so-called +Containers+. A +Container+ can
host a window (meaning an X11 window, one that you can actually see and use,
like a browser). Alternatively, it could contain one or more +Containers+. A
simple example is the workspace: When you start i3 with a single monitor, a
image::tree-layout2.png["layout2",float="right"]
image::tree-shot4.png["shot4",title="Two terminals on standard workspace"]
-=== Orientation and Split Containers
-
[[OrientationSplit]]
+=== Orientation and Split Containers
It is only natural to use so-called +Split Containers+ in order to build a
layout when using a tree as data structure. In i3, every +Container+ has an
So, how can you open a new terminal window to the *right* of the current one?
The solution is to use +focus parent+, which will focus the +Parent Container+ of
-the current +Container+. In this case, you would focus the +Vertical Split
-Container+ which is *inside* the horizontally oriented workspace. Thus, now new
-windows will be opened to the right of the +Vertical Split Container+:
+the current +Container+. In default configuration, use +$mod+a+ to navigate one
++Container+ up the tree (you can repeat this multiple times until you get to the
++Workspace Container+). In this case, you would focus the +Vertical Split Container+
+which is *inside* the horizontally oriented workspace. Thus, now new windows will be
+opened to the right of the +Vertical Split Container+:
image::tree-shot3.png["shot3",title="Focus parent, then open new terminal"]
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 called "another container" and
-the other one being the terminal window you moved down.
+(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
On first start (and on all following starts, unless you have a configuration
file), i3 will offer you to create a configuration file. You can tell the
-wizard to use either Alt (Mod1) or Windows (Mod4) as modifier in the config
+wizard to use either Alt (+Mod1+) or Windows (+Mod4+) as modifier in the config
file. Also, the created config file will use the key symbols of your current
keyboard layout. To start the wizard, use the command +i3-config-wizard+.
Please note that you must not have +~/.i3/config+, otherwise the wizard will
exit.
+Since i3 4.0, a new configuration format is used. i3 will try to automatically
+detect the format version of a config file based on a few different keywords,
+but if you want to make sure that your config is read with the new format,
+include the following line in your config file:
+
+---------------------
+# i3 config file (v4)
+---------------------
+
=== Comments
It is possible and recommended to use comments in your configuration file to
-------------------
[[fonts]]
-
=== Fonts
i3 has support for both X core fonts and FreeType fonts (through Pango) to
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
font <X core font description>
-font pango:[family list] [style options] [size]
+font pango:<family list> [<style options>] <size>
------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------------------------------------
[[keybindings]]
-
=== Keyboard bindings
A keyboard binding makes i3 execute a command (see below) upon pressing a
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------
-bindsym [--release] [Modifiers+]keysym command
-bindcode [--release] [Modifiers+]keycode command
+bindsym [--release] [<Group>+][<Modifiers>+]<keysym> command
+bindcode [--release] [<Group>+][<Modifiers>+]<keycode> command
----------------------------------
*Examples*:
Mod1-Mod5, Shift, Control::
Standard modifiers, see +xmodmap(1)+
-Mode_switch::
-Unlike other window managers, i3 can use Mode_switch as a modifier. This allows
-you to remap capslock (for example) to Mode_switch and use it for both: typing
-umlauts or special characters 'and' having some comfortably reachable key
-bindings. For example, when typing, capslock+1 or capslock+2 for switching
-workspaces is totally convenient. Try it :-).
+Group1, Group2, Group3, Group4::
+When using multiple keyboard layouts (e.g. with `setxkbmap -layout us,ru`), you
+can specify in which XKB group (also called “layout”) a keybinding should be
+active. By default, keybindings are translated in Group1 and are active in all
+groups. If you want to override keybindings in one of your layouts, specify the
+corresponding group. For backwards compatibility, the group “Mode_switch” is an
+alias for Group2.
[[mousebindings]]
-
=== Mouse bindings
A mouse binding makes i3 execute a command upon pressing a specific mouse
can configure mouse bindings in a similar way to key bindings.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------
-bindsym [--release] [--whole-window] [Modifiers+]button[n] command
-----------------------------------
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+bindsym [--release] [--border] [--whole-window] [--exclude-titlebar] [<Modifiers>+]button<n> command
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By default, the binding will only run when you click on the titlebar of the
-window. If the +--whole-window+ flag is given, it will run when any part of the
-window is clicked. If the +--release+ flag is given, it will run when the mouse
-button is released.
+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.
+
+If the +--exclude-titlebar+ flag is given, the titlebar will not be considered
+for the keybinding.
*Examples*:
--------------------------------
bindsym button8 move right
--------------------------------
-[[floating_modifier]]
+[[binding_modes]]
+=== Binding modes
+
+You can have multiple sets of bindings by using different binding modes. When
+you switch to another binding mode, all bindings from the current mode are
+released and only the bindings defined in the new mode are valid for as long as
+you stay in that binding mode. The only predefined binding mode is +default+,
+which is the mode i3 starts out with and to which all bindings not defined in a
+specific binding mode belong.
+
+Working with binding modes consists of two parts: defining a binding mode and
+switching to it. For these purposes, there are one config directive and one
+command, both of which are called +mode+. The directive is used to define the
+bindings belonging to a certain binding mode, while the command will switch to
+the specified mode.
+
+It is recommended to use binding modes in combination with <<variables>> in
+order to make maintenance easier. Below is an example of how to use a binding
+mode.
+
+Note that it is advisable to define bindings for switching back to the default
+mode.
+
+Note that it is possible to use <<pango_markup>> for binding modes, but you
+need to enable it explicitly by passing the +--pango_markup+ flag to the mode
+definition.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------
+# config directive
+mode [--pango_markup] <name>
+
+# command
+mode <name>
+----------------------------
+*Example*:
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Press $mod+o followed by either f, t, Escape or Return to launch firefox,
+# thunderbird or return to the default mode, respectively.
+set $mode_launcher Launch: [f]irefox [t]hunderbird
+bindsym $mod+o mode "$mode_launcher"
+
+mode "$mode_launcher" {
+ bindsym f exec firefox
+ bindsym t exec thunderbird
+
+ bindsym Escape mode "default"
+ bindsym Return mode "default"
+}
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[[floating_modifier]]
=== The floating modifier
To move floating windows with your mouse, you can either grab their titlebar
-or configure the so called floating modifier which you can then press and
+or configure the so-called floating modifier which you can then press and
click anywhere in the window itself to move it. The most common setup is to
use the same key you use for managing windows (Mod1 for example). Then
you can press Mod1, click into a window using your left mouse button, and drag
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------
-floating_modifier <Modifiers>
+floating_modifier <Modifier>
--------------------------------
*Example*:
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*:
---------------------
workspace_layout tabbed
---------------------
-=== Border style for new windows
+=== Window title alignment
+
+This option determines the window title's text alignment.
+Default is +left+
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------------------------------------
+title_align left|center|right
+---------------------------------------------
+
+=== Default 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 default_floating_border 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>
+default_border normal|none|pixel
+default_border normal|pixel <px>
+default_floating_border normal|none|pixel
+default_floating_border normal|pixel <px>
---------------------------------------------
+Please note that in versions before 4.15, these were called +new_window+ and +new_float+.
+The old options have been deprecated, and will be removed in a future release.
+We strongly recommend using the new options with any relase 4.15 or newer.
+
*Example*:
---------------------
-new_window 1pixel
+default_border pixel
---------------------
The "normal" and "pixel" border styles support an optional border width in
*Example*:
---------------------
-# The same as new_window none
-new_window pixel 0
+# The same as default_border none
+default_border pixel 0
# A 3 px border
-new_window pixel 3
+default_border pixel 3
---------------------
-=== Hiding vertical borders
+[[_hiding_vertical_borders]]
+=== Hiding borders adjacent to the screen edges
-You can hide vertical borders adjacent to the screen edges using
+You can hide container borders adjacent to the screen edges using
+hide_edge_borders+. This is useful if you are using scrollbars, or do not want
-to waste even two pixels in displayspace. Default is none.
+to waste even two pixels in displayspace. The "smart" setting hides borders on
+workspaces with only one window visible, but keeps them on workspaces with
+multiple windows visible. Default is none.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------
-hide_edge_borders <none|vertical|horizontal|both>
-----------------------------
+-----------------------------------------------
+hide_edge_borders none|vertical|horizontal|both|smart
+-----------------------------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------
hide_edge_borders vertical
----------------------
+[[for_window]]
=== Arbitrary commands for specific windows (for_window)
With the +for_window+ command, you can let i3 execute any command when it
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>>.
+[[no_focus]]
+=== Don't focus window upon opening
+
+When a new window appears, it will be focused. The +no_focus+ directive allows preventing
+this from happening and must 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>>.
+
++no_focus+ will also be ignored for the first window on a workspace as there shouldn't be
+a reason to not focus the window in this case. This allows for better usability in
+combination with +workspace_layout+.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------
+no_focus <criteria>
+-------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------------
+no_focus [window_role="pop-up"]
+-------------------------------
+
+[[variables]]
=== 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*:
------------------------
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
+Also see <<xresources>> to learn how to create variables based on resources
+loaded from the X resource database.
+
+[[xresources]]
+=== X resources
+
+<<variables>> can also be created using a value configured in the X resource
+database. This is useful, for example, to avoid configuring color values within
+the i3 configuration. Instead, the values can be configured, once, in the X
+resource database to achieve an easily maintainable, consistent color theme
+across many X applications.
+
+Defining a resource will load this resource from the resource database and
+assign its value to the specified variable. This is done verbatim and the value
+must therefore be in the format that i3 uses. A fallback must be specified in
+case the resource cannot be loaded from the database.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------------------------------
+set_from_resource $<name> <resource_name> <fallback>
+----------------------------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# The ~/.Xresources should contain a line such as
+# *color0: #121212
+# and must be loaded properly, e.g., by using
+# xrdb ~/.Xresources
+# This value is picked up on by other applications (e.g., the URxvt terminal
+# emulator) and can be used in i3 like this:
+set_from_resource $black i3wm.color0 #000000
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[assign_workspace]]
+=== Automatically putting clients on specific workspaces
To automatically make a specific window show up on a specific workspace, you
can use an *assignment*. You can match windows by using any criteria,
-see <<command_criteria>>. It is recommended that you match on window classes
-(and instances, when appropriate) instead of window titles whenever possible
-because some applications first create their window, and then worry about
-setting the correct title. Firefox with Vimperator comes to mind. The window
-starts up being named Firefox, and only when Vimperator is loaded does the
-title change. As i3 will get the title as soon as the application maps the
-window (mapping means actually displaying it on the screen), you’d need to have
-to match on 'Firefox' in this case.
+see <<command_criteria>>. The difference between +assign+ and
++for_window <criteria> move to workspace+ is that the former will only be
+executed when the application maps the window (mapping means actually displaying
+it on the screen) but the latter will be executed whenever a window changes its
+properties to something that matches the specified criteria.
+
+Thus, it is recommended that you match on window classes (and instances, when
+appropriate) instead of window titles whenever possible because some
+applications first create their window, and then worry about setting the correct
+title. Firefox with Vimperator comes to mind. The window starts up being named
+Firefox, and only when Vimperator is loaded does the title change. As i3 will
+get the title as soon as the application maps the window, you’d need to have to
+match on 'Firefox' in this case.
+Another known issue is with Spotify, which doesn't set the class hints when
+mapping the window, meaning you'll have to use a +for_window+ rule to assign
+Spotify to a specific workspace.
+Finally, using +assign [tiling]+ and +assign [floating]+ is not supported.
+
+You can also assign a window to show up on a specific output. You can use RandR
+names such as +VGA1+ or names relative to the output with the currently focused
+workspace such as +left+ and +down+.
Assignments are processed by i3 in the order in which they appear in the config
file. The first one which matches the window wins and later assignments are not
*Syntax*:
------------------------------------------------------------
-assign <criteria> [→] workspace
+assign <criteria> [→] [workspace] [number] <workspace>
+assign <criteria> [→] output left|right|up|down|primary|<output>
------------------------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
# Assignment to a named workspace
assign [class="^URxvt$"] → work
+# Assign to the workspace with number 2, regardless of name
+assign [class="^URxvt$"] → number 2
+
+# You can also specify a number + name. If the workspace with number 2 exists, assign will skip the text part.
+assign [class="^URxvt$"] → number "2: work"
+
# Start urxvt -name irssi
assign [class="^URxvt$" instance="^irssi$"] → 3
+
+# Assign urxvt to the output right of the current one
+assign [class="^URxvt$"] → output right
+
+# Assign urxvt to the primary output
+assign [class="^URxvt$"] → output primary
----------------------
-Note that the arrow is not required, it just looks good :-). If you decide to
+Note that you might not have a primary output configured yet. To do so, run:
+-------------------------
+xrandr --output <output> --primary
+-------------------------
+
+Also, the arrow is not required, it just looks good :-). If you decide to
use it, it has to be a UTF-8 encoded arrow, not `->` or something like that.
To get the class and instance, you can use +xprop+. After clicking on the
second part is the class ("URxvt" in this example).
Should you have any problems with assignments, make sure to check the i3
-logfile first (see http://i3wm.org/docs/debugging.html). It includes more
+logfile first (see https://i3wm.org/docs/debugging.html). It includes more
details about the matching process and the window’s actual class, instance and
title when starting up.
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 (as shown in <<exec_quoting>>) 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 flag --no-startup-id is explained in <<exec>>.
[[workspace_screen]]
-
=== Automatically putting workspaces on specific screens
If you assign clients to workspaces, it might be handy to put the
the second screen and so on).
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------
-workspace <workspace> output <output>
-----------------------------------
+-------------------------------------
+workspace <workspace> output <output1> [output2]…
+-------------------------------------
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 your X server supports RandR 1.5 or newer, i3 will use RandR monitor objects
+instead of output objects. Run +xrandr --listmonitors+ to see a list. Usually,
+a monitor object contains exactly one output, and has the same name as the
+output; but should that not be the case, you may specify the name of either the
+monitor or the output in i3's configuration. For example, the Dell UP2414Q uses
+two scalers internally, so its output names might be “DP1” and “DP2”, but the
+monitor name is “Dell UP2414Q”.
+
+(Note that even if you specify the name of an output which doesn't span the
+entire monitor, i3 will still use the entire area of the containing monitor
+rather than that of just the output's.)
+
+You can specify multiple outputs. The first available will be used.
+
If you use named workspaces, they must be quoted:
*Examples*:
---------------------------
workspace 1 output LVDS1
-workspace 5 output VGA1
+workspace 2 output primary
+workspace 5 output VGA1 LVDS1
workspace "2: vim" output VGA1
---------------------------
You can change all colors which i3 uses to draw the window decorations.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-colorclass border background text indicator
---------------------------------------------
+--------------------------------------------------------------------
+<colorclass> <border> <background> <text> <indicator> <child_border>
+--------------------------------------------------------------------
Where colorclass can be one of:
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
------------------------
-
-Only clients that do not cover the whole area of this window expose the color
-used to paint it.
+client.background::
+ Background color which will be used to paint the background of the
+ client window on top of which the client will be rendered. Only clients
+ which do not cover the whole area of this window expose the color. Note
+ that this colorclass only takes a single color.
Colors are in HTML hex format (#rrggbb), see the following example:
*Examples (default colors)*:
----------------------------------------------------------
-# class border backgr. text indicator
-client.focused #4c7899 #285577 #ffffff #2e9ef4
-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
----------------------------------------------------------
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# class border backgr. text indicator child_border
+client.focused #4c7899 #285577 #ffffff #2e9ef4 #285577
+client.focused_inactive #333333 #5f676a #ffffff #484e50 #5f676a
+client.unfocused #333333 #222222 #888888 #292d2e #222222
+client.urgent #2f343a #900000 #ffffff #900000 #900000
+client.placeholder #000000 #0c0c0c #ffffff #000000 #0c0c0c
+
+client.background #ffffff
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that for the window decorations, the color around the child window is the
-background color, and the border color is only the two thin lines at the top of
-the window.
+"child_border", and "border" color is only the two thin lines around the
+titlebar.
The indicator color is used for indicating where a new window will be opened.
For horizontal split containers, the right border will be painted in indicator
----------------------------
You can then use the +i3-msg+ application to perform any command listed in
-the next section.
+<<list_of_commands>>.
=== Focus follows mouse
-By default, window focus follows your mouse movements. However, if you have a
-setup where your mouse usually is in your way (like a touchpad on your laptop
-which you do not want to disable completely), you might want to disable 'focus
-follows mouse' and control focus only by using your keyboard. The mouse will
-still be useful inside the currently active window (for example to click on
-links in your browser window).
+By default, window focus follows your mouse movements as the mouse crosses
+window borders. However, if you have a setup where your mouse usually is in your
+way (like a touchpad on your laptop which you do not want to disable
+completely), you might want to disable 'focus follows mouse' and control focus
+only by using your keyboard. The mouse will still be useful inside the
+currently active window (for example to click on links in your browser window).
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------
-focus_follows_mouse <yes|no>
-----------------------------
+--------------------------
+focus_follows_mouse yes|no
+--------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------
behavior described above.
*Syntax*:
----------------------------
-mouse_warping <output|none>
----------------------------
+-------------------------
+mouse_warping output|none
+-------------------------
*Example*:
------------------
3. Leave fullscreen mode.
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------------------------
-popup_during_fullscreen <smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen>
--------------------------------------------------
+-----------------------------------------------------
+popup_during_fullscreen smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen
+-----------------------------------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------------
=== Focus wrapping
-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 behavior so you can navigate to
-all your windows without having to use +focus parent+.
+By default, when in a container with several windows or child containers, the
+opposite window will be focused when trying to move the focus over the edge of
+a container (and there are no other containers in that direction) -- the focus
+wraps.
+
+If desired, you can disable this behavior by setting the +focus_wrapping+
+configuration directive to the value +no+.
+
+When enabled, focus wrapping does not occur by default if there is another
+window or container in the specified direction, and focus will instead be set
+on that window or 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
-parent+ to switch to different containers, you can use the
-+force_focus_wrapping+ configuration directive. After enabling it, the focus
-will always wrap.
+parent+ to switch to different containers, you can instead set +focus_wrapping+
+to the value +force+.
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
-force_focus_wrapping <yes|no>
------------------------------
+---------------------------
+focus_wrapping yes|no|force
-*Example*:
-------------------------
+# Legacy syntax, equivalent to "focus_wrapping force"
force_focus_wrapping yes
-------------------------
+---------------------------
+
+*Examples*:
+-----------------
+# Disable focus wrapping
+focus_wrapping no
+
+# Force focus wrapping
+focus_wrapping force
+-----------------
=== Forcing Xinerama
-As explained in-depth in <http://i3wm.org/docs/multi-monitor.html>, some X11
+As explained in-depth in <https://i3wm.org/docs/multi-monitor.html>, some X11
video drivers (especially the nVidia binary driver) only provide support for
Xinerama instead of RandR. In such a situation, i3 must be told to use the
inferior Xinerama API explicitly and therefore don’t provide support for
+--force-xinerama+ commandline parameter, a configuration option is provided:
*Syntax*:
------------------------
-force_xinerama <yes|no>
------------------------
+---------------------
+force_xinerama yes|no
+---------------------
*Example*:
------------------
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+, …
+[[workspace_auto_back_and_forth]]
=== Automatic back-and-forth when switching to the current workspace
This configuration directive enables automatic +workspace back_and_forth+ (see
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*:
---------------------------------
force_display_urgency_hint 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.
+
+[[show_marks]]
+=== Drawing marks on window decoration
+
+If activated, marks (see <<vim_like_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
+--------------
+
+[[line_continuation]]
+=== Line continuation
+
+Config files support line continuation, meaning when you end a line in a
+backslash character (`\`), the line-break will be ignored by the parser. This
+feature can be used to create more readable configuration files.
+Commented lines are not continued.
+
+*Examples*:
+-------------------
+bindsym Mod1+f \
+fullscreen toggle
+
+# this line is not continued \
+bindsym Mod1+F fullscreen toggle
+-------------------
+
== 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>
-modifier <Modifier>
-----------------
+-------------------------
+mode dock|hide|invisible
+hidden_state hide|show
+modifier <Modifier>|none
+------------------------
*Example*:
----------------
}
----------------
-Available modifiers are Mod1-Mod5, Shift, Control (see +xmodmap(1)+).
+Available modifiers are Mod1-Mod5, Shift, Control (see +xmodmap(1)+). You can
+also use "none" if you don't want any modifier to trigger this behavior.
=== Mouse button commands
Specifies a command to run when a button was pressed on i3bar to override the
-default behavior. Currently only the mouse wheel buttons are supported. This is
-useful for disabling the scroll wheel action or running scripts that implement
-custom behavior for these buttons.
+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*:
----------------------
-wheel_up_cmd <command>
-wheel_down_cmd <command>
----------------------
+----------------------------
+bindsym [--release] button<n> <command>
+----------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------
+---------------------------------------------------------
bar {
- wheel_up_cmd nop
- wheel_down_cmd exec ~/.i3/scripts/custom_wheel_down
+ # disable clicking on workspace buttons
+ bindsym button1 nop
+ # Take a screenshot by right clicking on the bar
+ bindsym --release button3 exec --no-startup-id import /tmp/latest-screenshot.png
+ # execute custom script when scrolling downwards
+ bindsym button5 exec ~/.i3/scripts/custom_wheel_down
}
----------------------
+---------------------------------------------------------
=== Bar ID
The default is bottom.
*Syntax*:
----------------------
-position <top|bottom>
----------------------
+-------------------
+position top|bottom
+-------------------
*Example*:
---------------------
*Syntax*:
---------------
-output <output>
+output primary|<output>
---------------
*Example*:
statusline #ffffff
}
}
+
+# show bar on the primary monitor and on HDMI2
+bar {
+ output primary
+ output HDMI2
+ status_command i3status
+}
+
-------------------------------
+Note that you might not have a primary output configured yet. To do so, run:
+-------------------------
+xrandr --output <output> --primary
+-------------------------
=== Tray output
You can configure on which output (monitor) the icons should be displayed or
you can turn off the functionality entirely.
+You can use multiple +tray_output+ directives in your config to specify a list
+of outputs on which you want the tray to appear. The first available output in
+that list as defined by the order of the directives will be used for the tray
+output.
+
*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
-------------------------
+Note that when you use multiple bar configuration blocks, either specify
+`tray_output primary` in all of them or explicitly specify `tray_output none`
+in bars which should not display the tray, otherwise the different instances
+might race each other in trying to display tray icons.
+
+=== 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>>.
The default is to show workspace buttons.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------
-workspace_buttons <yes|no>
---------------------------
+------------------------
+workspace_buttons yes|no
+------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------
}
------------------------
-=== Strip workspace numbers
+=== Strip workspace numbers/name
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
instance, to display Roman numerals rather than digits by naming your
workspaces to "1:I", "2:II", "3:III", "4:IV", ...
+When +strip_workspace_name+ is set to +yes+, any workspace that has a name of
+the form "[n]:[NAME]" will display only the number.
+
The default is to display the full name within the workspace button.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------
-strip_workspace_numbers <yes|no>
-----------------------------------
+------------------------------
+strip_workspace_numbers yes|no
+strip_workspace_name yes|no
+------------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------------
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>>.
+to see the current binding mode indicator. See <<binding_modes>> to learn what
+modes are and how to use them.
The default is to show the mode indicator.
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------
-binding_mode_indicator <yes|no>
--------------------------------
+-----------------------------
+binding_mode_indicator yes|no
+-----------------------------
*Example*:
-----------------------------
Text color to be used for the statusline.
separator::
Text color to be used for the separator.
+focused_background::
+ Background color of the bar on the currently focused monitor output. If
+ not used, the color will be taken from +background+.
+focused_statusline::
+ Text color to be used for the statusline on the currently focused
+ monitor output. If not used, the color will be taken from +statusline+.
+focused_separator::
+ Text color to be used for the separator on the currently focused
+ monitor output. If not used, the color will be taken from +separator+.
focused_workspace::
Border, background and text color for a workspace button when the workspace
has focus.
will be the case for most workspaces.
urgent_workspace::
Border, background and text color for a workspace button when the workspace
- contains a window with the urgency hint set. Also applies to +mode+ indicators.
+ 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
}
}
--------------------------------------
+[[list_of_commands]]
== List of commands
Commands are what you bind to specific keypresses. You can also issue commands
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:
# enable floating mode and move container to workspace 4
for_window [class="^evil-app$"] floating enable, move container to workspace 4
+
+# move all floating windows to the scratchpad
+bindsym $mod+x [floating] move scratchpad
------------------------------------
The criteria which are currently implemented are:
class::
- Compares the window class (the second part of WM_CLASS)
+ Compares the window class (the second part of WM_CLASS). Use the
+ special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the same window
+ class as the currently focused window.
instance::
- Compares the window instance (the first part of WM_CLASS)
+ Compares the window instance (the first part of WM_CLASS). Use the
+ special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the same window
+ instance as the currently focused window.
window_role::
- Compares the window role (WM_WINDOW_ROLE).
+ Compares the window role (WM_WINDOW_ROLE). Use the special value
+ +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the same window role as the
+ currently focused window.
+window_type::
+ Compare the window type (_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE). Possible values are
+ +normal+, +dialog+, +utility+, +toolbar+, +splash+, +menu+, +dropdown_menu+,
+ +popup_menu+, +tooltip+ and +notification+.
id::
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).
+ Compares the X11 window title (\_NET_WM_NAME or WM_NAME as fallback).
+ Use the special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows having the
+ same window title as the currently focused window.
urgent::
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. Use
+ the special value +\_\_focused__+ to match all windows in the currently
+ focused workspace.
con_mark::
- Compares the mark set for this container, see <<vim_like_marks>>.
+ Compares the marks set for this container, see <<vim_like_marks>>. A
+ match is made if any of the container's marks matches the specified
+ mark.
con_id::
Compares the i3-internal container ID, which you can get via the IPC
- interface. Handy for scripting.
+ interface. Handy for scripting. Use the special value +\_\_focused__+
+ to match only the currently focused window.
+floating::
+ Only matches floating windows. This criterion requires no value.
+tiling::
+ Only matches tiling windows. This criterion requires no value.
-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]]
-
=== 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 $PATH.
+searched in your +$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 (as shown in <<exec_quoting>>) if they appear in your command.
*Syntax*:
-------------------------------
-exec [--no-startup-id] command
-------------------------------
+--------------------------------
+exec [--no-startup-id] <command>
+--------------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------------
and Qt using applications seem to be, though), you will end up with a watch
cursor for 60 seconds.
+[[exec_quoting]]
+If the command to be executed contains a +;+ (semicolon) and/or a +,+ (comma),
+the entire command must be quoted. For example, to have a keybinding for the
+shell command +notify-send Hello, i3+, you would add an entry to your
+configuration file like this:
+
+*Example*:
+------------------------------
+# Execute a command with a comma in it
+bindsym $mod+p exec "notify-send Hello, i3"
+------------------------------
+
+If however a command with a comma and/or semicolon itself requires quotes, you
+must escape the internal quotation marks with double backslashes, like this:
+
+*Example*:
+------------------------------
+# Execute a command with a comma, semicolon and internal quotes
+bindsym $mod+p exec "notify-send \\"Hello, i3; from $USER\\""
+------------------------------
+
=== Splitting containers
The split command makes the current window a split container. Split containers
If you apply this command to a split container with the same orientation,
nothing will happen. If you use a different orientation, the split container’s
-orientation will be changed (if it does not have more than one window). Use
-+layout toggle split+ to change the layout of any split container from splitv
-to splith or vice-versa.
+orientation will be changed (if it does not have more than one window).
+The +toggle+ option will toggle the orientation of the split container if it
+contains a single window. Otherwise it makes the current window a split
+container with opposite orientation compared to the parent container.
+Use +layout toggle split+ to change the layout of any split container from
+splitv to splith or vice-versa. You can also define a custom sequence of layouts
+to cycle through with +layout toggle+, see <<manipulating_layout>>.
*Syntax*:
----------------------------
-split <vertical|horizontal>
----------------------------
+--------------------------------
+split vertical|horizontal|toggle
+--------------------------------
*Example*:
-------------------------------
+-------------------------------
bindsym $mod+v split vertical
bindsym $mod+h split horizontal
-------------------------------
+bindsym $mod+t split toggle
+-------------------------------
=== Manipulating layout
or +layout splith+ to change the current container layout to splith/splitv,
stacking, tabbed layout, splitv or splith, respectively.
+Specify up to four layouts after +layout toggle+ to cycle through them. Every
+time the command is executed, the layout specified after the currently active
+one will be applied. If the currently active layout is not in the list, the
+first layout in the list will be activated.
+
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
enable+ respectively +floating disable+ (or +floating toggle+):
*Syntax*:
---------------
-layout <default|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith>
+--------------------------------------------
+layout default|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith
layout toggle [split|all]
---------------
+layout toggle [split|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith] [split|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith]…
+--------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------
# Toggle between stacking/tabbed/splith/splitv:
bindsym $mod+x layout toggle all
+# Toggle between stacking/tabbed/splith:
+bindsym $mod+x layout toggle stacking tabbed splith
+
+# Toggle between splitv/tabbed
+bindsym $mod+x layout toggle splitv tabbed
+
+# Toggle between last split layout/tabbed/stacking
+bindsym $mod+x layout toggle split tabbed stacking
+
# Toggle fullscreen
bindsym $mod+f fullscreen toggle
bindsym $mod+t floating toggle
--------------
-=== Focusing/Moving containers
-
-To change the focus, use the focus command: +focus left+, +focus right+, +focus
-down+ and +focus up+.
+[[_focusing_moving_containers]]
+=== 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:
+<criteria>::
+ Sets focus to the container that matches the specified criteria.
+ See <<command_criteria>>.
+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.
+----------------------------------------------
+<criteria> focus
+focus left|right|down|up
+focus parent|child|floating|tiling|mode_toggle
+focus output left|right|up|down|primary|<output>
+----------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
-----------------------
-# Focus container on the left, bottom, top, right:
+-------------------------------------------------
+# Focus firefox
+bindsym $mod+F1 [class="Firefox"] focus
+
+# 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
-# Move container to the left, bottom, top, right:
+# Focus the primary output
+bindsym $mod+x focus output primary
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+Note that you might not have a primary output configured yet. To do so, run:
+-------------------------
+xrandr --output <output> --primary
+-------------------------
+
+=== 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 to the specified pos_x and pos_y
+# coordinates on the screen.
+move position <pos_x> [px] <pos_y> [px]
+
+# Moves the container to the center of the screen.
+# If 'absolute' is used, it is moved to the center of
+# all outputs.
+move [absolute] position center
+
+# Moves the container to the current position of the
+# mouse cursor. Only affects floating containers.
+move position mouse
+-----------------------------------------------------
+
+*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 $mod+m move position mouse
+-------------------------------------------------------
+
+=== Swapping containers
+
+Two containers can be swapped (i.e., move to each other's position) by using
+the +swap+ command. They will assume the position and geometry of the container
+they are swapped with.
+
+The first container to participate in the swapping can be selected through the
+normal command criteria process with the focused window being the usual
+fallback if no criteria are specified. The second container can be selected
+using one of the following methods:
+
++id+:: The X11 window ID of a client window.
++con_id+:: The i3 container ID of a container.
++mark+:: A container with the specified mark, see <<vim_like_marks>>.
+
+Note that swapping does not work with all containers. Most notably, swapping
+floating containers or containers that have a parent-child relationship to one
+another does not work.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------------------
+swap container with id|con_id|mark <arg>
+----------------------------------------
+
+*Examples*:
+-----------------------------------------------------------------
+# Swaps the focused container with the container marked »swapee«.
+swap container with mark swapee
+
+# Swaps container marked »A« and »B«
+[con_mark="^A$"] swap container with mark B
+-----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+=== Sticky floating windows
+
+If you want a window to stick to the glass, i.e., have it stay on screen even
+if you switch to another workspace, you can use the +sticky+ command. For
+example, this can be useful for notepads, a media player or a video chat
+window.
+
+Note that while any window can be made sticky through this command, it will
+only take effect if the window is floating.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------
+sticky enable|disable|toggle
+----------------------------
+
+*Examples*:
+------------------------------------------------------
+# make a terminal sticky that was started as a notepad
+for_window [instance=notepad] sticky enable
+------------------------------------------------------
=== 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 container to workspace+.
+number or name of the workspace. Pass the optional flag
++--no-auto-back-and-forth+ to disable <<workspace_auto_back_and_forth>> for this
+specific call only.
+
+To move containers to specific workspaces, use +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
container to the next/previous workspace and +move container to workspace current+
(the last one makes sense only when used with criteria).
++workspace next+ cycles through either numbered or named workspaces. But when it
+reaches the last numbered/named workspace, it looks for named workspaces after
+exhausting numbered ones and looks for numbered ones after exhausting named ones.
+
See <<move_to_outputs>> for how to move a container/workspace to a different
RandR output.
workspace using +move container to workspace back_and_forth+.
*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>
+workspace [--no-auto-back-and-forth] <name>
+workspace [--no-auto-back-and-forth] number <name>
-move [window|container] [to] workspace <name>
-move [window|container] [to] workspace number <name>
-move [window|container] [to] workspace <prev|next|current>
------------------------------------
+move [--no-auto-back-and-forth] [window|container] [to] workspace <name>
+move [--no-auto-back-and-forth] [window|container] [to] workspace number <name>
+move [window|container] [to] workspace prev|next|current
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
-------------------------
i3-msg 'rename workspace 5 to 6'
i3-msg 'rename workspace 1 to "1: www"'
i3-msg 'rename workspace "1: www" to "10: www"'
-i3-msg 'rename workspace to "2: mail"
+i3-msg 'rename workspace to "2: mail"'
bindsym $mod+r exec i3-input -F 'rename workspace to "%s"' -P 'New name: '
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+If you want to rename workspaces on demand while keeping the navigation stable,
+you can use a setup like this:
+
+*Example*:
+-------------------------
+bindsym $mod+1 workspace number "1: www"
+bindsym $mod+2 workspace number "2: mail"
+...
+-------------------------
+
+If a workspace does not exist, the command +workspace number "1: mail"+ will
+create workspace "1: mail".
+
+If a workspace with number 1 does already exist, the command will switch to this
+workspace and ignore the text part. So even when the workspace has been renamed
+to "1: web", the above command will still switch to it.
+
=== Moving workspaces to a different screen
See <<move_to_outputs>> for how to move a container/workspace to a different
RandR output.
-=== Moving containers/workspaces to RandR outputs
-
[[move_to_outputs]]
+=== [[_moving_containers_workspaces_to_randr_outputs]]Moving containers/workspaces to RandR outputs
To move a container to another RandR output (addressed by names like +LVDS1+ or
+VGA1+) or to a RandR output identified by a specific direction (like +left+,
+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|current|primary|<output>
+move workspace to output left|right|down|up|current|primary|<output>
+------------------------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------------------------------
# Put this window on the presentation output.
bindsym $mod+x move container to output VGA1
+
+# Put this window on the primary output.
+bindsym $mod+x move container to output primary
--------------------------------------------------------
-[[resizingconfig]]
+Note that you might not have a primary output configured yet. To do so, run:
+-------------------------
+xrandr --output <output> --primary
+-------------------------
+
+=== Moving containers/windows 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
If you want to resize containers/windows using your keyboard, you can use the
+resize+ command:
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------------------------------
-resize <grow|shrink> <direction> [<px> px [or <ppt> ppt]]
----------------------------------------------------------
+-------------------------------------------------------
+resize grow|shrink <direction> [<px> px [or <ppt> ppt]]
+resize set [width] <width> [px | ppt]
+resize set height <height> [px | ppt]
+resize set [width] <width> [px | ppt] [height] <height> [px | 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
-space from all the other containers. The optional pixel argument specifies by
-how many pixels a *floating container* should be grown or 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 shrunk (the
-default is 10 percentage points).
+less specific and use +width+ or +height+, in which case i3 will take/give space
+from all the other containers. The optional pixel argument specifies by how many
+pixels a container should be grown or shrunk (the default is 10 pixels). The
+optional ppt argument means "percentage points", and if specified it indicates
+that a *tiling container* should be grown or shrunk by that many points, instead
+of by the +px+ value.
-I recommend using the resize command inside a so called +mode+:
+Note about +resize set+: a value of 0 for <width> or <height> means "do not
+resize in this direction".
-.Example: Configuration file, defining a mode for resizing
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-mode "resize" {
- # These bindings trigger as soon as you enter the resize mode
-
- # Pressing left will shrink the window’s width.
- # Pressing right will grow the window’s width.
- # Pressing up will shrink the window’s height.
- # Pressing down will grow the window’s height.
- bindsym j resize shrink width 10 px or 10 ppt
- bindsym k resize grow height 10 px or 10 ppt
- bindsym l resize shrink height 10 px or 10 ppt
- bindsym semicolon resize grow width 10 px or 10 ppt
-
- # same bindings, but for the arrow keys
- bindsym Left resize shrink width 10 px or 10 ppt
- bindsym Down resize grow height 10 px or 10 ppt
- bindsym Up resize shrink height 10 px or 10 ppt
- bindsym Right resize grow width 10 px or 10 ppt
-
- # back to normal: Enter or Escape
- bindsym Return mode "default"
- bindsym Escape mode "default"
-}
+It is recommended to define bindings for resizing in a dedicated binding mode.
+See <<binding_modes>> and the example in the i3
+https://github.com/i3/i3/blob/next/etc/config.keycodes[default config] for more
+context.
-# Enter resize mode
-bindsym $mod+r mode "resize"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+*Example*:
+------------------------------------------------
+for_window [class="urxvt"] resize set 640 480
+------------------------------------------------
=== Jumping to specific windows
bindsym $mod+a [class="urxvt" title="VIM"] focus
------------------------------------------------
-=== VIM-like marks (mark/goto)
-
[[vim_like_marks]]
+=== VIM-like marks (mark/goto)
This feature is like the jump feature: It allows you to directly jump to a
specific window (this means switching to the appropriate workspace and setting
for this purpose: It lets you input a command and sends the command to i3. It
can also prefix this command and display a custom prompt for the input dialog.
+The additional +--toggle+ option will remove the mark if the window already has
+this mark or add it otherwise. Note that you may need to use this in
+combination with +--add+ (see below) as any other marks will otherwise be
+removed.
+
+By default, a window can only have one mark. You can use the +--add+ flag to
+put more than one mark on a window.
+
+Refer to <<show_marks>> if you don't want marks to be shown in the window decoration.
+
*Syntax*:
-------------------------------
-mark identifier
+----------------------------------------------
+mark [--add|--replace] [--toggle] <identifier>
[con_mark="identifier"] focus
-unmark identifier
-------------------------------
+unmark <identifier>
+----------------------------------------------
*Example (in a terminal)*:
-------------------------------
-$ i3-msg mark irssi
-$ i3-msg '[con_mark="irssi"] focus'
-$ i3-msg unmark irssi
-------------------------------
+---------------------------------------------------------
+# marks the focused container
+mark irssi
+
+# focus the container with the mark "irssi"
+'[con_mark="irssi"] focus'
+
+# remove the mark "irssi" from whichever container has it
+unmark irssi
+
+# remove all marks on all firefox windows
+[class="(?i)firefox"] unmark
+---------------------------------------------------------
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TODO: make i3-input replace %s
*Examples*:
---------------------------------------
# Read 1 character and mark the current window with this character
-bindsym $mod+m exec i3-input -p 'mark ' -l 1 -P 'Mark: '
+bindsym $mod+m exec i3-input -F 'mark %s' -l 1 -P 'Mark: '
# Read 1 character and go to the window with the character
-bindsym $mod+g exec i3-input -p 'goto ' -l 1 -P 'Goto: '
+bindsym $mod+g exec i3-input -F '[con_mark="%s"] focus' -l 1 -P 'Goto: '
---------------------------------------
Alternatively, if you do not want to mess with +i3-input+, you could create
-seperate bindings for a specific set of labels and then only use those labels.
+separate bindings for a specific set of labels and then only use those labels.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-=== Changing border style
+[[pango_markup]]
+=== Window title format
-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)
-and +border none+ to make the client borderless.
+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+::
+ For normal windows, this is the X11 window title (_NET_WM_NAME or WM_NAME
+ as fallback). When used on containers without a window (e.g., a split
+ container inside a tabbed/stacked layout), this will be the tree
+ representation of the container (e.g., "H[xterm xterm]").
++%class+::
+ The X11 window class (second part of WM_CLASS). This corresponds to the
+ +class+ criterion, see <<command_criteria>>.
++%instance+::
+ The X11 window instance (first part of WM_CLASS). This corresponds to the
+ +instance+ criterion, see <<command_criteria>>.
+
+Using the <<for_window>> directive, you can set the title format for any window
+based on <<command_criteria>>.
-There is also +border toggle+ which will toggle the different border styles.
+*Syntax*:
+---------------------
+title_format <format>
+---------------------
*Examples*:
-----------------------------
-bindsym $mod+t border normal
-bindsym $mod+y border 1pixel
-bindsym $mod+u border none
-----------------------------
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# give the focused window a prefix
+bindsym $mod+p title_format "Important | %title"
-[[stack-limit]]
+# print all window titles bold
+for_window [class=".*"] title_format "<b>%title</b>"
-///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-TODO: not yet implemented
-=== Changing the stack-limit of a container
+# print window titles of firefox windows red
+for_window [class="(?i)firefox"] title_format "<span foreground='red'>%title</span>"
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-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.
+=== Changing border style
-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.
+To change the border of the current client, you can use +border normal+ to use the normal
+border (including window title), +border pixel 1+ to use a 1-pixel border (no window title)
+and +border none+ to make the client borderless.
-*Syntax*:
---------------------------------
-stack-limit <cols|rows> <value>
---------------------------------
+There is also +border toggle+ which will toggle the different border styles. The
+optional pixel argument can be used to specify the border width when switching
+to the normal and pixel styles.
-*Examples*:
--------------------
-# I always want to have two window titles in one line
-stack-limit cols 2
+Note that "pixel" refers to logical pixel. On HiDPI displays, a logical pixel
+may be represented by multiple physical pixels, so +pixel 1+ might not
+necessarily translate into a single pixel row wide border.
-# Not more than 5 rows in this stacking container
-stack-limit rows 5
--------------------
+*Syntax*:
+-----------------------------------------------
+border normal|pixel|toggle [<n>]
+border none
-image:stacklimit.png[Container limited to two columns]
-///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+# legacy syntax, equivalent to "border pixel 1"
+border 1pixel
+-----------------------------------------------
-[[shmlog]]
+*Examples*:
+----------------------------------------------
+# 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
+----------------------------------------------
+[[shmlog]]
=== Enabling shared memory logging
-As described in http://i3wm.org/docs/debugging.html, i3 can log to a shared
+As described in https://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.
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
shmlog <size_in_bytes>
-shmlog <on|off|toggle>
+shmlog on|off|toggle
------------------------------
*Examples*:
likely useful in combination with the above-described <<shmlog>> command.
*Syntax*:
-------------------------
-debuglog <on|off|toggle>
-------------------------
+----------------------
+debuglog on|off|toggle
+----------------------
*Examples*:
------------------------
------------------------------------------------
[[multi_monitor]]
-
== Multiple monitors
As you can see in the goal list on the website, i3 was specifically developed
track of which window you put where. Thus, you can use vim-like marks to
quickly switch between windows. See <<vim_like_marks>>.
4. For information on how to move existing workspaces between monitors,
- see <<_moving_containers_workspaces_to_randr_outputs>>.
+ see <<move_to_outputs>>.
== i3 and the rest of your software world
on which hint the application sets. With i3bar, you can configure its position,
see <<i3bar_position>>.
+[[presentations]]
=== Giving presentations (multi-monitor)
When giving a presentation, you typically want the audience to see what you see
which only you can see on your screen, while the audience can only see the
slides.
-[[presentations]]
==== Case 1: everybody gets the same output
This is the simple case. You connect your computer to the video projector,
turn on both (computer and video projector) and configure your X server to
projects / i3 / i3.github.io / blobdiff