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
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.
=== 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 +$mod+l+. Of course, you can also use the arrow keys.
At the moment, your workspace is split (it contains two terminals) in a
specific direction (horizontal by default). Every window can be split
press +$mod+f+.
There is also a global fullscreen mode in i3 in which the client will span all
-available outputs (the command is +fullscreen global+).
+available outputs (the command is +fullscreen toggle global+).
=== Opening other applications
=== 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 +$mod+Shift+q+ to kill a window. For applications which support
the WM_DELETE protocol, this will correctly close the application (saving
any modifications or doing other cleanup). If the application doesn’t support
The easiest way to resize a container is by using the mouse: Grab the border
and move it to the wanted size.
-See <<resizingconfig>> for how to configure i3 to be able to resize
-columns/rows with your keyboard.
+You can also use <<binding_modes>> to define a mode for resizing via the
+keyboard. To see an example for this, look at the
+https://github.com/i3/i3/blob/next/i3.config.keycodes[default config] provided
+by i3.
=== Restarting i3 inplace
=== Exiting i3
To cleanly exit i3 without killing your X server, you can use +$mod+Shift+e+.
+By default, a dialog will ask you to confirm if you really want to quit.
=== Floating
You can toggle floating mode for a window by pressing +$mod+Shift+Space+. By
dragging the window’s titlebar with your mouse you can move the window
around. By grabbing the borders and moving them you can resize the window. You
-can also do that by using the <<floating_modifier>>.
+can also do that by using the <<floating_modifier>>. Another way to resize
+floating windows using the mouse is to right-click on the titlebar and drag.
-For resizing floating windows with your keyboard, see <<resizingconfig>>.
+For resizing floating windows with your keyboard, see the resizing binding mode
+provided by the i3 https://github.com/i3/i3/blob/next/i3.config.keycodes[default config].
Floating windows are always on top of tiling windows.
image::tree-layout2.png["layout2",float="right"]
image::tree-shot4.png["shot4",title="Two terminals on standard workspace"]
-=== Orientation and Split Containers
-
[[OrientationSplit]]
+=== Orientation and Split Containers
It is only natural to use so-called +Split Containers+ in order to build a
layout when using a tree as data structure. In i3, every +Container+ has an
on the layout the container is in (vertical for splitv and stacking, horizontal
for splith and tabbed). So, in our example with the workspace, the default
layout of the workspace +Container+ is splith (most monitors are widescreen
-nowadays). If you change the layout to splitv (+$mod+l+ in the default config)
+nowadays). If you change the layout to splitv (+$mod+v+ in the default config)
and *then* open two terminals, i3 will configure your windows like this:
image::tree-shot2.png["shot2",title="Vertical Workspace Orientation"]
windows are directly attached to one node inside i3’s layout tree, the
workspace node. By default, the workspace node’s orientation is +horizontal+.
-Now you move one of these terminals down (+$mod+k+ by default). The workspace
-node’s orientation will be changed to +vertical+. The terminal window you moved
-down is directly attached to the workspace and appears on the bottom of the
-screen. A new (horizontal) container was created to accomodate the other two
-terminal windows. You will notice this when switching to tabbed mode (for
-example). You would end up having one tab called "another container" and the
-other one being the terminal window you moved down.
+Now you move one of these terminals down (+$mod+Shift+k+ by default). The
+workspace node’s orientation will be changed to +vertical+. The terminal window
+you moved down is directly attached to the workspace and appears on the bottom
+of the screen. A new (horizontal) container was created to accommodate the
+other two terminal windows. You will notice this when switching to tabbed mode
+(for example). You would end up having one tab with a representation of the split
+container (e.g., "H[urxvt firefox]") and the other one being the terminal window
+you moved down.
[[configuring]]
== Configuring i3
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
-------------------
[[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*:
--------------------------------
# Fullscreen
-bindsym $mod+f fullscreen
+bindsym $mod+f fullscreen toggle
# Restart
bindsym $mod+Shift+r restart
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.
-[[floating_modifier]]
+[[mousebindings]]
+=== Mouse bindings
+
+A mouse binding makes i3 execute a command upon pressing a specific mouse
+button in the scope of the clicked container (see <<command_criteria>>). You
+can configure mouse bindings in a similar way to key bindings.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+bindsym [--release] [--border] [--whole-window] [<Modifiers>+]button<n> command
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+By default, the binding will only run when you click on the titlebar of the
+window. If the +--release+ flag is given, it will run when the mouse button
+is released.
+
+If the +--whole-window+ flag is given, the binding will also run when any part
+of the window is clicked, with the exception of the border. To have a bind run
+when the border is clicked, specify the +--border+ flag.
+
+*Examples*:
+--------------------------------
+# The middle button over a titlebar kills the window
+bindsym --release button2 kill
+
+# The middle button and a modifer over any part of the window kills the window
+bindsym --whole-window $mod+button2 kill
+
+# The right button toggles floating
+bindsym button3 floating toggle
+bindsym $mod+button3 floating toggle
+
+# The side buttons move the window around
+bindsym button9 move left
+bindsym button8 move right
+--------------------------------
+
+[[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, Esc 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 Esc mode "default"
+ bindsym Return mode "default"
+}
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+[[floating_modifier]]
=== The floating modifier
To move floating windows with your mouse, you can either grab their titlebar
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------
-floating_modifier <Modifiers>
+floating_modifier <Modifier>
--------------------------------
*Example*:
(anything higher than wide) get vertical orientation.
With the +default_orientation+ configuration directive, you can override that
-behaviour.
+behavior.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------------------------
-default_orientation <horizontal|vertical|auto>
-----------------------------------------------
+--------------------------------------------
+default_orientation horizontal|vertical|auto
+--------------------------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------------
This option determines in which mode new containers on workspace level will
start.
-///////////////////////////////
-See also <<stack-limit>>.
-//////////////////////////////
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-workspace_layout <default|stacking|tabbed>
+workspace_layout default|stacking|tabbed
---------------------------------------------
-/////////////////////////////////////////////
-new_container stack-limit <cols|rows> <value>
-/////////////////////////////////////////////
*Example*:
---------------------
=== Border style for new windows
This option determines which border style new windows will have. The default is
-"normal". Note that new_float applies only to windows which are starting out as
-floating windows, e.g. dialog windows.
++normal+. Note that new_float applies only to windows which are starting out as
+floating windows, e.g., dialog windows, but not windows that are floated later on.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-new_window <normal|1pixel|none|pixel>
-new_float <normal|1pixel|none|pixel>
+new_window normal|none|pixel
+new_window normal|pixel <px>
+new_float normal|none|pixel
+new_float normal|pixel <px>
---------------------------------------------
*Example*:
---------------------
-new_window 1pixel
+new_window pixel
---------------------
The "normal" and "pixel" border styles support an optional border width in
---------------------
-=== 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.
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------
-hide_edge_borders <none|vertical|horizontal|both>
-----------------------------
+-----------------------------------------------
+hide_edge_borders none|vertical|horizontal|both
+-----------------------------------------------
*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
-
[[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,
*Syntax*:
------------------------------------------------------------
-assign <criteria> [→] workspace
+assign <criteria> [→] [workspace] <workspace>
------------------------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
also when restarting i3 you should use the +exec_always+
keyword. These commands will be run in order.
+See <<command_chaining>> for details on the special meaning of +;+ (semicolon)
+and +,+ (comma): they chain commands together in i3, so you need to use quoted
+strings (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>
-----------------------------------
+-------------------------------------
The 'output' is the name of the RandR output you attach your screen to. On a
laptop, you might have VGA1 and LVDS1 as output names. You can see the
You can change all colors which i3 uses to draw the window decorations.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------------
-colorclass border background text indicator
---------------------------------------------
+--------------------------------------------------------------------
+<colorclass> <border> <background> <text> <indicator> <child_border>
+--------------------------------------------------------------------
Where colorclass can be one of:
A client which is not the focused one of its container.
client.urgent::
A client which has its urgency hint activated.
-
-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.placeholder::
+ Background and text color are used to draw placeholder window contents
+ (when restoring layouts). Border and indicator are ignored.
+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
----------------------------------------------------------
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# 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
links in your browser window).
*Syntax*:
-----------------------------
-focus_follows_mouse <yes|no>
-----------------------------
+--------------------------
+focus_follows_mouse yes|no
+--------------------------
*Example*:
----------------------
focus_follows_mouse no
----------------------
+=== Mouse warping
+
+By default, when switching focus to a window on a different output (e.g.
+focusing a window on workspace 3 on output VGA-1, coming from workspace 2 on
+LVDS-1), the mouse cursor is warped to the center of that window.
+
+With the +mouse_warping+ option, you can control when the mouse cursor should
+be warped. +none+ disables warping entirely, whereas +output+ is the default
+behavior described above.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------
+mouse_warping output|none
+-------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+------------------
+mouse_warping none
+------------------
+
=== Popups during fullscreen mode
When you are in fullscreen mode, some applications still open popup windows
3. Leave fullscreen mode.
*Syntax*:
--------------------------------------------------
-popup_during_fullscreen <smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen>
--------------------------------------------------
+-----------------------------------------------------
+popup_during_fullscreen smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen
+-----------------------------------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------------
When being in a tabbed or stacked container, the first container will be
focused when you use +focus down+ on the last container -- the focus wraps. If
however there is another stacked/tabbed container in that direction, focus will
-be set on that container. This is the default behaviour so you can navigate to
+be set on that container. This is the default behavior so you can navigate to
all your windows without having to use +focus parent+.
If you want the focus to *always* wrap and you are aware of using +focus
will always wrap.
*Syntax*:
------------------------------
-force_focus_wrapping <yes|no>
------------------------------
+---------------------------
+force_focus_wrapping yes|no
+---------------------------
*Example*:
------------------------
reconfiguring your screens on the fly (they are read only once on startup and
that’s it).
-For people who do cannot modify their +~/.xsession+ to add the
+For people who cannot modify their +~/.xsession+ to add the
+--force-xinerama+ commandline parameter, a configuration option is provided:
*Syntax*:
------------------------
-force_xinerama <yes|no>
------------------------
+---------------------
+force_xinerama yes|no
+---------------------
*Example*:
------------------
came from now, you can just press $mod+2 again to switch back to "1: www".
*Syntax*:
---------------------------------------
-workspace_auto_back_and_forth <yes|no>
---------------------------------------
+------------------------------------
+workspace_auto_back_and_forth yes|no
+------------------------------------
*Example*:
---------------------------------
If an application on another workspace sets an urgency hint, switching to this
workspace may lead to immediate focus of the application, which also means the
-window decoration color would be immediately resetted to +client.focused+. This
+window decoration color would be immediately reset to +client.focused+. This
may make it unnecessarily hard to tell which window originally raised the
event.
force_display_urgency_hint 500 ms
---------------------------------
+[[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 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.
+
+*Examples*:
+-------------------
+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. This is useful, e.g., for disabling the scroll wheel action
+or running scripts that implement custom behavior for these buttons.
+
+A button is always named +button<n>+, where 1 to 5 are default buttons as follows and higher
+numbers can be special buttons on devices offering more buttons:
+
+button1::
+ Left mouse button.
+button2::
+ Middle mouse button.
+button3::
+ Right mouse button.
+button4::
+ Scroll wheel up.
+button5::
+ Scroll wheel down.
+
+Please note that the old +wheel_up_cmd+ and +wheel_down_cmd+ commands are deprecated
+and will be removed in a future release. We strongly recommend using the more general
++bindsym+ with +button4+ and +button5+ instead.
+
+*Syntax*:
+----------------------------
+bindsym button<n> <command>
+----------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+---------------------------------------------------------
+bar {
+ # disable clicking on workspace buttons
+ bindsym button1 nop
+ # execute custom script when scrolling downwards
+ bindsym button5 exec ~/.i3/scripts/custom_wheel_down
+}
+---------------------------------------------------------
=== Bar ID
The default is bottom.
*Syntax*:
----------------------
-position <top|bottom>
----------------------
+-------------------
+position top|bottom
+-------------------
*Example*:
---------------------
You can configure on which output (monitor) the icons should be displayed or
you can turn off the functionality entirely.
+You can use mutliple +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>>.
}
--------------------------------------------------------------
+=== Custom separator symbol
+
+Specifies a custom symbol to be used for the separator as opposed to the vertical,
+one pixel thick separator.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-------------------------
+separator_symbol <symbol>
+-------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+------------------------
+bar {
+ separator_symbol ":|:"
+}
+------------------------
+
=== Workspace buttons
Specifies whether workspace buttons should be shown or not. This is useful if
The default is to show workspace buttons.
*Syntax*:
---------------------------
-workspace_buttons <yes|no>
---------------------------
+------------------------
+workspace_buttons yes|no
+------------------------
*Example*:
---------------------
+------------------------
bar {
workspace_buttons no
}
---------------------
+------------------------
+
+=== Strip workspace numbers
+
+Specifies whether workspace numbers should be displayed within the workspace
+buttons. This is useful if you want to have a named workspace that stays in
+order on the bar according to its number without displaying the number prefix.
+
+When +strip_workspace_numbers+ is set to +yes+, any workspace that has a name of
+the form "[n]:[NAME]" will display only the name. You could use this, for
+instance, to display Roman numerals rather than digits by naming your
+workspaces to "1:I", "2:II", "3:III", "4:IV", ...
+
+The default is to display the full name within the workspace button.
+
+*Syntax*:
+------------------------------
+strip_workspace_numbers yes|no
+------------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+----------------------------
+bar {
+ strip_workspace_numbers yes
+}
+----------------------------
+
+=== Binding Mode indicator
+
+Specifies whether the current binding mode indicator should be shown or not.
+This is useful if you want to hide the workspace buttons but still be able
+to see the current binding mode indicator. 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
+-----------------------------
+
+*Example*:
+-----------------------------
+bar {
+ binding_mode_indicator no
+}
+-----------------------------
=== Colors
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
- window with the urgency hint set.
+ contains a window with the urgency hint set.
+binding_mode::
+ Border, background and text color for the binding mode indicator. If not used,
+ the colors will be taken from +urgent_workspace+.
*Syntax*:
----------------------------------------
statusline <color>
separator <color>
- colorclass <border> <background> <text>
+ <colorclass> <border> <background> <text>
}
----------------------------------------
active_workspace #333333 #5f676a #ffffff
inactive_workspace #333333 #222222 #888888
urgent_workspace #2f343a #900000 #ffffff
+ binding_mode #2f343a #900000 #ffffff
}
}
--------------------------------------
i3-msg border none
--------------------------
+[[command_chaining]]
+
Commands can be chained by using +;+ (a semicolon). So, to move a window to a
specific workspace and immediately switch to that workspace, you can configure
the following keybinding:
[[command_criteria]]
Furthermore, you can change the scope of a command - that is, which containers
-should be affected by that command, by using various criteria. These are
-prefixed in square brackets to every command. If you want to kill all windows
-which have the class Firefox, use:
+should be affected by that command, by using various criteria. The criteria
+are specified before any command in a pair of square brackets and are separated
+by space.
+
+When using multiple commands, separate them by using a +,+ (a comma) instead of
+a semicolon. Criteria apply only until the next semicolon, so if you use a
+semicolon to separate commands, only the first one will be executed for the
+matched window(s).
*Example*:
------------------------------------
+# if you want to kill all windows which have the class Firefox, use:
bindsym $mod+x [class="Firefox"] kill
# same thing, but case-insensitive
bindsym $mod+x [class="(?i)firefox"] kill
+
+# kill only the About dialog from Firefox
+bindsym $mod+x [class="Firefox" window_role="About"] kill
+
+# enable floating mode and move container to workspace 4
+for_window [class="^evil-app$"] floating enable, move container to workspace 4
------------------------------------
The criteria which are currently implemented are:
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.
-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.
*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.
-To make the current window (!) fullscreen, use +fullscreen+, to make
-it floating (or tiling again) use +floating enable+ respectively +floating disable+
-(or +floating toggle+):
+To make the current window (!) fullscreen, use +fullscreen enable+ (or
++fullscreen enable global+ for the global mode), to leave either fullscreen
+mode use +fullscreen disable+, and to toggle between these two states use
++fullscreen toggle+ (or +fullscreen toggle global+).
+
+Likewise, to make the current window floating (or tiling again) use +floating
+enable+ respectively +floating disable+ (or +floating toggle+):
*Syntax*:
---------------
-layout <default|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith>
+--------------------------------------------
+layout default|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith
layout toggle [split|all]
---------------
+--------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------
bindsym $mod+x layout toggle all
# Toggle fullscreen
-bindsym $mod+f fullscreen
+bindsym $mod+f fullscreen toggle
# Toggle floating/tiling
bindsym $mod+t floating toggle
--------------
-=== Focusing/Moving containers
+[[_focusing_moving_containers]]
+=== Focusing containers
-To change the focus, use the focus command: +focus left+, +focus right+, +focus
-down+ and +focus up+.
-
-There are a few special parameters you can use for the focus command:
+To change focus, you can use the +focus+ command. The following options are
+available:
+left|right|up|down::
+ Sets focus to the nearest container in the given direction.
parent::
- Sets focus to the +Parent Container+ of the current +Container+.
+ Sets focus to the parent container of the current container.
child::
The opposite of +focus parent+, sets the focus to the last focused
child container.
Followed by a direction or an output name, this will focus the
corresponding output.
-For moving, use +move left+, +move right+, +move down+ and +move up+.
-
*Syntax*:
------------------------------------
-focus <left|right|down|up>
-focus <parent|child|floating|tiling|mode_toggle>
-focus output <<left|right|down|up>|output>
-move <left|right|down|up> [<px> px]
-move [absolute] position [[<px> px] [<px> px]|center]
------------------------------------
-
-Note that the amount of pixels you can specify for the +move+ command is only
-relevant for floating containers. The default amount is 10 pixels.
+----------------------------------------------
+focus left|right|down|up
+focus parent|child|floating|tiling|mode_toggle
+focus output left|right|up|down|<output>
+----------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
-----------------------
-# Focus container on the left, bottom, top, right:
+-------------------------------------------------
+# Focus container on the left, bottom, top, right
bindsym $mod+j focus left
bindsym $mod+k focus down
bindsym $mod+l focus up
# Focus the big output
bindsym $mod+x focus output HDMI-2
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+=== Moving containers
-# Move container to the left, bottom, top, right:
+Use the +move+ command to move a container.
+
+*Syntax*:
+-----------------------------------------------------
+# Moves the container into the given direction.
+# The optional pixel argument specifies how far the
+# container should be moved if it is floating and
+# defaults to 10 pixels.
+move <left|right|down|up> [<px> px]
+
+# Moves the container either to a specific location
+# or to the center of the screen. If 'absolute' is
+# used, it is moved to the center of all outputs.
+move [absolute] position [[<px> px] [<px> px]|center]
+
+# Moves the container to the current position of the
+# mouse cursor. Only affects floating containers.
+move position mouse
+-----------------------------------------------------
+
+*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
+-------------------------------------------------------
+
+=== 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 <<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 names are parsed as
+https://developer.gnome.org/pango/stable/PangoMarkupFormat.html[Pango markup]
+by i3bar.
+
[[back_and_forth]]
To switch back to the previously focused workspace, use +workspace
back_and_forth+; likewise, you can move containers to the previously focused
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*:
-------------------------
bindsym $mod+1 workspace 1
bindsym $mod+2 workspace 2
+bindsym $mod+3 workspace 3:<span foreground="red">vim</span>
...
bindsym $mod+Shift+1 move container to workspace 1
You can rename workspaces. This might be useful to start with the default
numbered workspaces, do your work, and rename the workspaces afterwards to
reflect what’s actually on them. You can also omit the old name to rename
-the currently focused workspace. This is handy if you wan't to use the
+the currently focused workspace. This is handy if you want to use the
rename command with +i3-input+.
*Syntax*:
i3-msg 'rename workspace 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: '
+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_to_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|<output>
+move workspace to output left|right|down|up|<output>
+----------------------------------------------------
*Examples*:
--------------------------------------------------------
bindsym $mod+x move container to output VGA1
--------------------------------------------------------
-[[resizingconfig]]
+=== 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> [px] <height> [px]
+-------------------------------------------------------
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
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).
+default is 10 percentage points). Note that +resize set+ will only work for
+floating containers.
-I recommend using the resize command inside a so called +mode+:
-
-.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/i3.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
seperate bindings for a specific set of labels and then only use those labels.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-=== Changing border style
-
-To change the border of the current client, you can use +border normal+ to use the normal
-border (including window title), +border 1pixel+ to use a 1-pixel border (no window title)
-and +border none+ to make the client borderless.
+[[pango_markup]]
+=== Window title format
+
+By default, i3 will simply print the X11 window title. Using +title_format+,
+this can be customized by setting the format to the desired output. This
+directive supports
+https://developer.gnome.org/pango/stable/PangoMarkupFormat.html[Pango markup]
+and the following placeholders which will be replaced:
+
++%title+::
+ 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.
-*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 [<n>]
+border none|toggle
-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
*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*:
------------------------
bindsym mod4+s [title="^Sup ::"] scratchpad show
------------------------------------------------
+=== Nop
+
+There is a no operation command +nop+ which allows you to override default
+behavior. This can be useful for, e.g., disabling a focus change on clicks with
+the middle mouse button.
+
+The optional +comment+ argument is ignored, but will be printed to the log file
+for debugging purposes.
+
+*Syntax*:
+---------------
+nop [<comment>]
+---------------
+
+*Example*:
+----------------------------------------------
+# Disable focus change for clicks on titlebars
+# with the middle mouse button
+bindsym button2 nop
+----------------------------------------------
+
=== i3bar control
There are two options in the configuration of each i3bar instance that can be
------------------------------------------------
[[multi_monitor]]
-
== Multiple monitors
As you can see in the goal list on the website, i3 was specifically developed
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