For the "too long; didn’t read" people, here is an overview of the default
keybindings (click to see the full size image):
-*Keys to use with mod (alt):*
+*Keys to use with $mod (Alt):*
-image:keyboard-layer1.png["Keys to use with mod (alt)",width=600,link="keyboard-layer1.png"]
+image:keyboard-layer1.png["Keys to use with $mod (Alt)",width=600,link="keyboard-layer1.png"]
-*Keys to use with Shift+mod:*
+*Keys to use with Shift+$mod:*
-image:keyboard-layer2.png["Keys to use with Shift+mod",width=600,link="keyboard-layer2.png"]
+image:keyboard-layer2.png["Keys to use with Shift+$mod",width=600,link="keyboard-layer2.png"]
The red keys are the modifiers you need to press (by default), the blue keys
are your homerow.
== Using i3
-Throughout this guide, the keyword +mod+ will be used to refer to the
-configured modifier. This is the alt key (Mod1) by default, with windows (Mod4)
+Throughout this guide, the keyword +$mod+ will be used to refer to the
+configured modifier. This is the Alt key (Mod1) by default, with windows (Mod4)
being a popular alternative.
=== 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
+for this is $mod+Enter, that is Alt+Enter in the default configuration. By
+pressing $mod+Enter, a new terminal will be opened. It will fill the whole
space available on your screen.
image:single_terminal.png[Single terminal]
To move the focus between the two terminals, you can use the direction keys
which you may know from the editor +vi+. However, in i3, your homerow is used
for these keys (in +vi+, the keys are shifted to the left by one for
-compatibility with most keyboard layouts). Therefore, +mod+J+ is left, +mod+K+
-is down, +mod+L+ is up and `mod+;` is right. So, to switch between the
-terminals, use +mod+K+ or +mod+L+. Of course, you can also use the arrow keys.
+compatibility with most keyboard layouts). Therefore, +$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 +$mod+L+. Of course, you can also use the arrow keys.
At the moment, your workspace is split (it contains two terminals) in a
specific direction (horizontal by default). Every window can be split
TODO: picture of the tree
-To split a window vertically, press +mod+v+ before you create the new window.
-To split it horizontally, press +mod+h+.
+To split a window vertically, press +$mod+v+ before you create the new window.
+To split it horizontally, press +$mod+h+.
=== Changing the container layout
The same principle as +stacking+, but the list of windows at the top is only
a single line which is vertically split.
-To switch modes, press +mod+e+ for splith/splitv (it toggles), +mod+s+ for
-stacking and +mod+w+ for tabbed.
+To switch modes, press +$mod+e+ for splith/splitv (it toggles), +$mod+s+ for
+stacking and +$mod+w+ for tabbed.
image:modes.png[Container modes]
=== Toggling fullscreen mode for a window
To display a window in fullscreen mode or to go out of fullscreen mode again,
-press +mod+f+.
+press +$mod+f+.
There is also a global fullscreen mode in i3 in which the client will span all
available outputs (the command is +fullscreen global+).
=== Opening other applications
Aside from opening applications from a terminal, you can also use the handy
-+dmenu+ which is opened by pressing +mod+d+ by default. Just type the name
++dmenu+ which is opened by pressing +$mod+d+ by default. Just type the name
(or a part of it) of the application which you want to open. The corresponding
application has to be in your +$PATH+ for this to work.
If an application does not provide a mechanism for closing (most applications
provide a menu, the escape key or a shortcut like +Control+W+ to close), you
-can press +mod+Shift+q+ to kill a window. For applications which support
+can press +$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 WM_DELETE protocol your X server will kill the window and the behaviour
Workspaces are an easy way to group a set of windows. By default, you are on
the first workspace, as the bar on the bottom left indicates. To switch to
-another workspace, press +mod+num+ where +num+ is the number of the workspace
+another workspace, press +$mod+num+ where +num+ is the number of the workspace
you want to use. If the workspace does not exist yet, it will be created.
A common paradigm is to put the web browser on one workspace, communication
=== Moving windows to workspaces
-To move a window to another workspace, simply press +mod+Shift+num+ where
+To move a window to another workspace, simply press +$mod+Shift+num+ where
+num+ is (like when switching workspaces) the number of the target workspace.
Similarly to switching workspaces, the target workspace will be created if
it does not yet exist.
=== Restarting i3 inplace
To restart i3 inplace (and thus get into a clean state if there is a bug, or
-to upgrade to a newer version of i3) you can use +mod+Shift+r+.
+to upgrade to a newer version of i3) you can use +$mod+Shift+r+.
=== Exiting i3
-To cleanly exit i3 without killing your X server, you can use +mod+Shift+e+.
+To cleanly exit i3 without killing your X server, you can use +$mod+Shift+e+.
=== Floating
windows, or toolbar windows (GIMP or similar). Those windows usually set the
appropriate hint and are opened in floating mode by default.
-You can toggle floating mode for a window by pressing +mod+Shift+Space+. By
+You can toggle floating mode for a window by pressing +$mod+Shift+Space+. By
dragging the window’s titlebar with your mouse you can move the window
around. By grabbing the borders and moving them you can resize the window. You
can also do that by using the <<floating_modifier>>.
on the layout the container is in (vertical for splitv and stacking, horizontal
for splith and tabbed). So, in our example with the workspace, the default
layout of the workspace +Container+ is splith (most monitors are widescreen
-nowadays). If you change the layout to splitv (+mod+l+ in the default config)
+nowadays). If you change the layout to splitv (+$mod+l+ 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"]
horizontal orientation), focus is on the right terminal. Now you want to open
another terminal window below the current one. If you would just open a new
terminal window, it would show up to the right due to the splith layout.
-Instead, press +mod+v+ to split the container with the splitv layout (to
-open a +Horizontal Split Container+, use +mod+h+). Now you can open a new
+Instead, press +$mod+v+ to split the container with the splitv layout (to
+open a +Horizontal Split Container+, use +$mod+h+). Now you can open a new
terminal and it will open below the current one:
image::tree-layout1.png["Layout",float="right"]
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
+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
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
font <X core font description>
-font xft:<a FreeType font description>
+font pango:[family list] [style options] [size]
------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------------------------------------
font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
-font xft:DejaVu Sans Mono 10
+font pango:DejaVu Sans Mono 10
+font pango:DejaVu Sans Mono, Terminus Bold Semi-Condensed 11
+font pango:Terminus 11x
--------------------------------------------------------------
[[keybindings]]
*Examples*:
--------------------------------
# Fullscreen
-bindsym mod+f fullscreen
+bindsym $mod+f fullscreen
# Restart
-bindsym mod+Shift+r restart
+bindsym $mod+Shift+r restart
# Notebook-specific hotkeys
bindcode 214 exec --no-startup-id /home/michael/toggle_beamer.sh
=== Border style for new windows
This option determines which border style new windows will have. The default is
-"normal".
+"normal". Note that new_float applies only to windows which are starting out as
+floating windows, e.g. dialog windows.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-new_window <normal|1pixel|none>
+new_window <normal|1pixel|none|pixel>
+new_float <normal|1pixel|none|pixel>
---------------------------------------------
*Example*:
new_window 1pixel
---------------------
+The "normal" and "pixel" border styles support an optional border width in
+pixels:
+
+*Example*:
+---------------------
+# The same as new_window none
+new_window pixel 0
+
+# A 3 px border
+new_window pixel 3
+---------------------
+
+
=== Hiding vertical borders
You can hide vertical borders adjacent to the screen edges using
When you are in fullscreen mode, some applications still open popup windows
(take Xpdf for example). This is because these applications may not be aware
that they are in fullscreen mode (they do not check the corresponding hint).
-There are two things which are possible to do in this situation:
+There are three things which are possible to do in this situation:
-1. Just ignore the popup (don’t map it). This won’t interrupt you while you are
+1. Display the popup if it belongs to the fullscreen application only. This is
+ the default and should be reasonable behavior for most users.
+2. Just ignore the popup (don’t map it). This won’t interrupt you while you are
in fullscreen. However, some apps might react badly to this (deadlock until
you go out of fullscreen).
-2. Leave fullscreen mode. This is the default.
+3. Leave fullscreen mode.
*Syntax*:
-------------------------------------------------
-popup_during_fullscreen <ignore|leave_fullscreen>
+popup_during_fullscreen <smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen>
-------------------------------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------------
-popup_during_fullscreen ignore
+popup_during_fullscreen smart
------------------------------
=== Focus wrapping
For instance: Assume you are on workspace "1: www" and switch to "2: IM" using
mod+2 because somebody sent you a message. You don’t need to remember where you
-came from now, you can just press mod+2 again to switch back to "1: www".
+came from now, you can just press $mod+2 again to switch back to "1: www".
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------------
workspace_auto_back_and_forth yes
---------------------------------
+=== Delaying urgency hint reset on workspace change
+
+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
+may make it unnecessarily hard to tell which window originally raised the
+event.
+
+In order to prevent this, you can tell i3 to delay resetting the urgency state
+by a certain time using the +force_display_urgency_hint+ directive. Setting the
+value to 0 disables this feature.
+
+The default is 500ms.
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------------------------------
+force_display_urgency_hint <timeout> ms
+---------------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+---------------------------------
+force_display_urgency_hint 500 ms
+---------------------------------
+
== Configuring i3bar
The bar at the bottom of your monitor is drawn by a separate process called
--------------------------------------------------------------
bar {
font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
- font xft:DejaVu Sans Mono 10
+ font pango:DejaVu Sans Mono 10
}
--------------------------------------------------------------
*Example*:
--------------------------------------------------------
-bindsym mod+x move container to workspace 3; workspace 3
+bindsym $mod+x move container to workspace 3; workspace 3
--------------------------------------------------------
[[command_criteria]]
*Example*:
------------------------------------
-bindsym mod+x [class="Firefox"] kill
+bindsym $mod+x [class="Firefox"] kill
# same thing, but case-insensitive
-bindsym mod+x [class="(?i)firefox"] kill
+bindsym $mod+x [class="(?i)firefox"] kill
------------------------------------
The criteria which are currently implemented are:
*Example*:
------------------------------
# Start the GIMP
-bindsym mod+g exec gimp
+bindsym $mod+g exec gimp
# Start the terminal emulator urxvt which is not yet startup-notification-aware
-bindsym mod+Return exec --no-startup-id urxvt
+bindsym $mod+Return exec --no-startup-id urxvt
------------------------------
The +--no-startup-id+ parameter disables startup-notification support for this
*Example*:
------------------------------
-bindsym mod+v split vertical
-bindsym mod+h split horizontal
+bindsym $mod+v split vertical
+bindsym $mod+h split horizontal
------------------------------
=== Manipulating layout
*Examples*:
--------------
-bindsym mod+s layout stacking
-bindsym mod+l layout toggle split
-bindsym mod+w layout tabbed
+bindsym $mod+s layout stacking
+bindsym $mod+l layout toggle split
+bindsym $mod+w layout tabbed
# Toggle between stacking/tabbed/split:
-bindsym mod+x layout toggle
+bindsym $mod+x layout toggle
# Toggle between stacking/tabbed/splith/splitv:
-bindsym mod+x layout toggle all
+bindsym $mod+x layout toggle all
# Toggle fullscreen
-bindsym mod+f fullscreen
+bindsym $mod+f fullscreen
# Toggle floating/tiling
-bindsym mod+t floating toggle
+bindsym $mod+t floating toggle
--------------
=== Focusing/Moving containers
*Examples*:
----------------------
# Focus container on the left, bottom, top, right:
-bindsym mod+j focus left
-bindsym mod+k focus down
-bindsym mod+l focus up
-bindsym mod+semicolon focus right
+bindsym $mod+j focus left
+bindsym $mod+k focus down
+bindsym $mod+l focus up
+bindsym $mod+semicolon focus right
# Focus parent container
-bindsym mod+u focus parent
+bindsym $mod+u focus parent
# Focus last floating/tiling container
-bindsym mod+g focus mode_toggle
+bindsym $mod+g focus mode_toggle
# Focus the output right to the current one
-bindsym mod+x focus output right
+bindsym $mod+x focus output right
# Focus the big output
-bindsym mod+x focus output HDMI-2
+bindsym $mod+x focus output HDMI-2
# Move container to the left, bottom, top, right:
-bindsym mod+j move left
-bindsym mod+k move down
-bindsym mod+l move up
-bindsym mod+semicolon move right
+bindsym $mod+j move left
+bindsym $mod+k move down
+bindsym $mod+l move up
+bindsym $mod+semicolon move right
# Move container, but make floating containers
# move more than the default
-bindsym mod+j move left 20 px
+bindsym $mod+j move left 20 px
# Move floating container to the center
# of all outputs
-bindsym mod+c move absolute position center
+bindsym $mod+c move absolute position center
----------------------
=== Changing (named) workspaces/moving to workspaces
[[back_and_forth]]
To switch back to the previously focused workspace, use +workspace
-back_and_forth+.
+back_and_forth+; likewise, you can move containers to the previously focused
+workspace using +move container to workspace back_and_forth+.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------
workspace <next|prev|next_on_output|prev_on_output>
workspace back_and_forth
workspace <name>
-workspace number <number>
+workspace number <name>
move [window|container] [to] workspace <name>
-move [window|container] [to] workspace number <number>
+move [window|container] [to] workspace number <name>
move [window|container] [to] workspace <prev|next|current>
-----------------------------------
*Examples*:
-------------------------
-bindsym mod+1 workspace 1
-bindsym mod+2 workspace 2
+bindsym $mod+1 workspace 1
+bindsym $mod+2 workspace 2
...
-bindsym mod+Shift+1 move container to workspace 1
-bindsym mod+Shift+2 move container to workspace 2
+bindsym $mod+Shift+1 move container to workspace 1
+bindsym $mod+Shift+2 move container to workspace 2
...
# switch between the current and the previously focused one
-bindsym mod+b workspace back_and_forth
+bindsym $mod+b workspace back_and_forth
+bindsym $mod+Shift+b move container to workspace back_and_forth
# move the whole workspace to the next output
-bindsym mod+x move workspace to output right
+bindsym $mod+x move workspace to output right
# move firefox to current workspace
-bindsym mod+F1 [class="Firefox"] move workspace current
+bindsym $mod+F1 [class="Firefox"] move workspace current
-------------------------
==== Named workspaces
*Example*:
-------------------------
-bindsym mod+1 workspace mail
+bindsym $mod+1 workspace mail
...
-------------------------
*Example*:
-------------------------
-bindsym mod+1 workspace 1: mail
-bindsym mod+2 workspace 2: www
+bindsym $mod+1 workspace 1: mail
+bindsym $mod+2 workspace 2: www
...
-------------------------
will order them numerically. Also, you will be able to use +workspace number 1+
to switch to the workspace which begins with number 1, regardless of which name
it has. This is useful in case you are changing the workspace’s name
-dynamically.
+dynamically. To combine both commands you can use +workspace number 1: mail+ to
+specify a default name if there's currently no workspace starting with a "1".
==== Renaming workspaces
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.
+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
+rename command with +i3-input+.
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------------------------
rename workspace <old_name> to <new_name>
+rename workspace to <new_name>
----------------------------------------------------
*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"
+bindsym $mod+r exec i3-input -F 'rename workspace to %s' -P 'New name: '
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+=== 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 the current workspace to the next output
# (effectively toggles when you only have two outputs)
-bindsym mod+x move workspace to output right
+bindsym $mod+x move workspace to output right
# Put this window on the presentation output.
-bindsym mod+x move container to output VGA1
+bindsym $mod+x move container to output VGA1
--------------------------------------------------------
[[resizingconfig]]
}
# Enter resize mode
-bindsym mod+r mode "resize"
+bindsym $mod+r mode "resize"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
=== Jumping to specific windows
*Examples*:
------------------------------------------------
# Get me to the next open VIM instance
-bindsym mod+a [class="urxvt" title="VIM"] focus
+bindsym $mod+a [class="urxvt" title="VIM"] focus
------------------------------------------------
=== VIM-like marks (mark/goto)
*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 -p 'mark ' -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 -p 'goto ' -l 1 -P 'Goto: '
---------------------------------------
Alternatively, if you do not want to mess with +i3-input+, you could create
*Examples*:
----------------------------
-bindsym mod+t border normal
-bindsym mod+y border 1pixel
-bindsym mod+u border none
+bindsym $mod+t border normal
+bindsym $mod+y border 1pixel
+bindsym $mod+u border none
----------------------------
[[stack-limit]]
*Examples*:
----------------------------
-bindsym mod+Shift+r restart
-bindsym mod+Shift+w reload
-bindsym mod+Shift+e exit
+bindsym $mod+Shift+r restart
+bindsym $mod+Shift+w reload
+bindsym $mod+Shift+e exit
----------------------------
=== Scratchpad
Instead, when using +scratchpad show+, the window will be shown again, as a
floating window, centered on your current workspace (using +scratchpad show+ on
a visible scratchpad window will make it hidden again, so you can have a
-keybinding to toggle).
+keybinding to toggle). Note that this is just a normal floating window, so if
+you want to "remove it from scratchpad", you can simple make it tiling again
+(+floating toggle+).
As the name indicates, this is useful for having a window with your favorite
editor always at hand. However, you can also use this for other permanently
*Examples*:
------------------------------------------------
# Make the currently focused window a scratchpad
-bindsym mod+Shift+minus move scratchpad
+bindsym $mod+Shift+minus move scratchpad
# Show the first scratchpad window
-bindsym mod+minus scratchpad show
+bindsym $mod+minus scratchpad show
# Show the sup-mail scratchpad window, if any.
bindsym mod4+s [title="^Sup ::"] scratchpad show
3. If you have many workspaces on many monitors, it might get hard to keep
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>>.
== i3 and the rest of your software world
projects / i3 / i3.github.io / blobdiff