@@ -40,8 +41,9 @@ document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(){asciidoc.footnotes(); a
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.
@@ -63,20 +65,26 @@ keybindings (click to see the full size image):
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-wizardâs offer and base your config on
+/etc/i3/config.
2. 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.
2.1. 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.
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
horizontally or vertically again, just like the workspace. The terminology is
@@ -148,7 +156,7 @@ stacking and $mod+w for tabbed.
To display a window in fullscreen mode or to go out of fullscreen mode again,
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).
2.4. Opening other applications
@@ -163,7 +171,7 @@ create a keybinding for starting the application directly. See the section
2.5. 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 doesnât support
@@ -195,8 +203,10 @@ it does not yet exist.
2.8. Resizing
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
+default config provided
+by i3.
2.9. Restarting i3 inplace
@@ -205,7 +215,8 @@ to upgrade to a newer version of i3) you can use $mod+Shift+r.
2.10. 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.
+By default, a dialog will ask you to confirm if you really want to quit.
2.11. Floating
@@ -220,7 +231,8 @@ dragging the windowâs 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]. 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 default config.
Floating windows are always on top of tiling windows.
@@ -255,8 +267,8 @@ like this:
-
3.2. Orientation and Split Containers
-
It is only natural to use so-called Split Containers in order to build a
+
3.2. 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
orientation (horizontal, vertical or unspecified) and the orientation depends
on the layout the container is in (vertical for splitv and stacking, horizontal
@@ -323,8 +335,9 @@ workspace nodeâs orientation will be changed to vertical. The termina
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.
@@ -345,7 +358,7 @@ can bind your keys to do useful things.
with a text editor.
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
@@ -378,7 +391,7 @@ and fall back to a working font.
font <X core font description>
-font pango:[family list] [style options] [size]
-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 :-).
+When using multiple keyboard layouts (e.g. with setxkbmap -layout us,ru), you
+can specify in which XKB group (also called âlayoutâ) 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 âMode_switchâ is an
+alias for Group2.
-
4.4. The floating modifier
+
4.4. 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.
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
+
+
+
+
4.5. 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.
# 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"
+}
+
+
+
+
4.6. 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
click anywhere in the window itself to move it. The most common setup is to
@@ -483,7 +578,7 @@ ratio will be preserved).
Syntax:
-
floating_modifier <Modifiers>
+
floating_modifier <Modifier>
Example:
@@ -492,7 +587,7 @@ ratio will be preserved).
-
4.5. Constraining floating window size
+
4.7. Constraining floating window size
The maximum and minimum dimensions of floating windows can be specified. If
either dimension of floating_maximum_size is specified as -1, that dimension
will be unconstrained with respect to its maximum value. If either dimension of
@@ -513,7 +608,7 @@ floating_maximum_size -1 x -1
-
4.6. Orientation for new workspaces
+
4.8. Orientation for new workspaces
New workspaces get a reasonable default orientation: Wide-screen monitors
(anything wider than high) get horizontal orientation, rotated monitors
(anything higher than wide) get vertical orientation.
@@ -522,7 +617,7 @@ behavior.
Syntax:
-
default_orientation <horizontal|vertical|auto>
+
default_orientation horizontal|vertical|auto
Example:
@@ -531,13 +626,13 @@ behavior.
-
4.7. Layout mode for new containers
+
4.9. Layout mode for new containers
This option determines in which mode new containers on workspace level will
start.
Syntax:
-
workspace_layout <default|stacking|tabbed>
+
workspace_layout default|stacking|tabbed
Example:
@@ -546,20 +641,22 @@ start.
-
4.8. Border style for new windows
+
4.10. 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.
The "normal" and "pixel" border styles support an optional border width in
pixels:
@@ -574,14 +671,16 @@ new_window pixel 3
-
4.9. Hiding vertical borders
-
You can hide vertical borders adjacent to the screen edges using
+
4.11. Hiding borders adjacent to the screen edges
+
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.
@@ -590,14 +689,14 @@ to waste even two pixels in displayspace. Default is none.
-
4.10. Arbitrary commands for specific windows (for_window)
+
4.12. Arbitrary commands for specific windows (for_window)
With the for_window command, you can let i3 execute any command when it
encounters a specific window. This can be used to set windows to floating or to
change their border style, for example.
Syntax:
-
for_window <criteria> command
+
for_window <criteria> <command>
Examples:
@@ -606,7 +705,7 @@ change their border style, for example.
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
@@ -616,7 +715,28 @@ for_window [title="x200: ~/work"] floating enable
The valid criteria are the same as those for commands, see [command_criteria].
-
4.11. Variables
+
4.13. 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"]
+
+
+
+
4.14. Variables
As you learned in the section about keyboard bindings, you will have
to configure lots of bindings containing modifier keys. If you want to save
yourself some typing and be able to change the modifier you use later,
@@ -624,7 +744,7 @@ variables can be handy.
Syntax:
-
set $name value
+
set $<name> <value>
Example:
@@ -638,10 +758,39 @@ containing another variable. There is no fancy handling and there are
absolutely no plans to change this. If you need a more dynamic configuration
you should create a little script which generates a configuration file and run
it before starting i3 (for example in your ~/.xsession file).
+
Also see [xresources] to learn how to create variables based on resources
+loaded from the X resource database.
+
+
+
4.15. 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. A fallback must be specified in
+case the resource cannot be loaded from the database.
# 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
+
-
4.12. Automatically putting clients on specific workspaces
-
To automatically make a specific window show up on a specific workspace, you
+
4.16. 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
@@ -657,7 +806,7 @@ considered.
4.13. Automatically starting applications on i3 startup
+
4.17. Automatically starting applications on i3 startup
By using the exec keyword outside a keybinding, you can configure
which commands will be performed by i3 on initial startup. exec
commands will not run when restarting i3, if you need a command to run
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.
4.14. Automatically putting workspaces on specific screens
+
4.18. Automatically putting workspaces on specific screens
If you assign clients to workspaces, it might be handy to put the
workspaces on specific screens. Also, the assignment of workspaces to screens
will determine which workspace i3 uses for a new screen when adding screens
@@ -757,12 +909,12 @@ workspace "2: vim" output VGA1
-
4.15. Changing colors
+
4.19. Changing colors
You can change all colors which i3 uses to draw the window decorations.
@@ -808,31 +960,34 @@ client.placeholder
(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.
+
+
-
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.
Colors are in HTML hex format (#rrggbb), see the following example:
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
color, for vertical split containers, the bottom border. This only applies to
@@ -840,7 +995,7 @@ single windows within a split container, which are otherwise indistinguishable
from single windows outside of a split container.
-
4.16. Interprocess communication
+
4.20. Interprocess communication
i3 uses Unix sockets to provide an IPC interface. This allows third-party
programs to get information from i3, such as the current workspaces
(to display a workspace bar), and to control i3.
@@ -862,7 +1017,7 @@ user can create that directory.
the next section.
-
4.17. Focus follows mouse
+
4.21. 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
@@ -872,7 +1027,7 @@ links in your browser window).
Syntax:
-
focus_follows_mouse <yes|no>
+
focus_follows_mouse yes|no
Example:
@@ -881,7 +1036,7 @@ links in your browser window).
-
4.18. Mouse warping
+
4.22. 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.
@@ -891,7 +1046,7 @@ behavior described above.
Syntax:
-
mouse_warping <output|none>
+
mouse_warping output|none
Example:
@@ -900,7 +1055,7 @@ behavior described above.
-
4.19. Popups during fullscreen mode
+
4.23. Popups during fullscreen mode
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).
@@ -928,7 +1083,7 @@ Leave fullscreen mode.
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
@@ -950,7 +1105,7 @@ will always wrap.
Syntax:
-
force_focus_wrapping <yes|no>
+
force_focus_wrapping yes|no
Example:
@@ -959,7 +1114,7 @@ will always wrap.
-
4.21. Forcing Xinerama
+
4.25. Forcing Xinerama
As explained in-depth in http://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
@@ -971,7 +1126,7 @@ thatâs it).
Syntax:
-
force_xinerama <yes|no>
+
force_xinerama yes|no
Example:
@@ -982,7 +1137,7 @@ thatâs it).
Xinerama, instead they are counted up, starting at 0: xinerama-0, xinerama-1, â¦
-
4.22. Automatic back-and-forth when switching to the current workspace
+
4.26. Automatic back-and-forth when switching to the current workspace
This configuration directive enables automatic workspace back_and_forth (see
[back_and_forth]) when switching to the workspace that is currently focused.
For instance: Assume you are on workspace "1: www" and switch to "2: IM" using
@@ -991,7 +1146,7 @@ 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:
@@ -1000,7 +1155,7 @@ came from now, you can just press $mod+2 again to switch back to "1: www".
-
4.23. Delaying urgency hint reset on workspace change
+
4.27. 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 reset to client.focused. This
@@ -1021,6 +1176,87 @@ value to 0 disables this feature.
force_display_urgency_hint 500 ms
+
+
4.28. 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].
+ 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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
4.29. 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
+
+
+
+
4.30. 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
+
+
@@ -1076,7 +1312,7 @@ have to have correct quoting etc.
Syntax:
-
i3bar_command command
+
i3bar_command <command>
Example:
@@ -1092,17 +1328,23 @@ have to have correct quoting etc.
right hand side of the bar. This is useful to display system information like
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
+shellâs 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
}
@@ -1133,9 +1375,9 @@ the windows key). The default value for the hidden_state is hide.
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.
+
+
+
5.4. 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
+}
+
-
5.4. Bar ID
+
5.5. Bar ID
Specifies the bar ID for the configured bar instance. If this option is missing,
the ID is set to bar-x, where x corresponds to the position of the embedding
bar block in the config file (bar-0, bar-1, …).
@@ -1167,13 +1478,13 @@ bar block in the config file (bar-0, bar-1, …).
-
5.5. Position
+
5.6. Position
This option determines in which edge of the screen i3bar should show up.
The default is bottom.
Syntax:
-
position <top|bottom>
+
position top|bottom
Example:
@@ -1184,7 +1495,7 @@ bar block in the config file (bar-0, bar-1, …).
-
5.6. Output(s)
+
5.7. Output(s)
You can restrict i3bar to one or more outputs (monitors). The default is to
handle all outputs. Restricting the outputs is useful for using different
options for different outputs by using multiple bar blocks.
@@ -1218,15 +1529,19 @@ bar {
-
5.7. Tray output
+
5.8. Tray output
i3bar by default provides a system tray area where programs such as
NetworkManager, VLC, Pidgin, etc. can place little icons.
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:
@@ -1237,7 +1552,9 @@ bar {
}
# show tray icons on the primary monitor
-tray_output primary
+bar {
+ tray_output primary
+}
# show tray icons on the big monitor
bar {
@@ -1249,9 +1566,30 @@ 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.
+
+
+
5.9. 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
+
-
5.8. Font
+
5.10. Font
Specifies the font to be used in the bar. See [fonts].
Syntax:
@@ -1268,14 +1606,31 @@ bar {
-
5.9. Workspace buttons
+
5.11. 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 ":|:"
+}
+
+
+
+
5.12. Workspace buttons
Specifies whether workspace buttons should be shown or not. This is useful if
you want to display a statusline-only bar containing additional information.
The default is to show workspace buttons.
Syntax:
-
workspace_buttons <yes|no>
+
workspace_buttons yes|no
Example:
@@ -1286,7 +1641,7 @@ you want to display a statusline-only bar containing additional information.
-
5.10. Strip workspace numbers
+
5.13. 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.
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:
@@ -1329,7 +1684,7 @@ For an example of a mode definition, see [res
-
5.12. Colors
+
5.15. Colors
As with i3, colors are in HTML hex format (#rrggbb). The following colors can
be configured at the moment:
@@ -1358,6 +1713,33 @@ 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
@@ -1393,7 +1775,16 @@ 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.
@@ -1421,6 +1812,7 @@ urgent_workspace
active_workspace #333333 #5f676a #ffffff
inactive_workspace #333333 #222222 #888888
urgent_workspace #2f343a #900000 #ffffff
+ binding_mode #2f343a #900000 #ffffff
}
}
@@ -1439,7 +1831,7 @@ do this is to use the i3-msg utility:
# execute this on your shell to make the current container borderless
i3-msg border none
-
Commands can be chained by using ; (a semicolon). So, to move a window to a
+
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:
Example:
@@ -1468,7 +1860,10 @@ bindsym $mod+x [class="(?i)firefox"] kill
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
+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:
@@ -1477,7 +1872,9 @@ 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.
@@ -1485,7 +1882,9 @@ 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.
@@ -1493,7 +1892,19 @@ 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.
@@ -1510,6 +1921,8 @@ title
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.
@@ -1523,11 +1936,23 @@ urgent
+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.
@@ -1536,23 +1961,43 @@ 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.
6.1. Executing applications (exec)
What good is a window manager if you canât 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:
@@ -1570,6 +2015,24 @@ will change the X11 cursor to watch (a clock) while the application is
launching. So, if an application is not startup-notification aware (most GTK
and Qt using applications seem to be, though), you will end up with a watch
cursor for 60 seconds.
+
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\\""
+
6.2. Splitting containers
@@ -1579,19 +2042,23 @@ new windows get placed to the right of the current one (splith) or new windows
get placed below the current one (splitv).
If you apply this command to a split container with the same orientation,
nothing will happen. If you use a different orientation, the split containerâs
-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.
Use layout toggle split, layout stacking, layout tabbed, layout splitv
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):
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.
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
@@ -1716,9 +2188,34 @@ bindsym $mod+g focus mode_toggle
bindsym $mod+x focus output right
# Focus the big output
-bindsym $mod+x focus output HDMI-2
+bindsym $mod+x focus output HDMI-2
+
+
+
+
6.5. 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]
-# Move container to the left, bottom, top, right:
+# 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
@@ -1728,16 +2225,40 @@ bindsym $mod+semicolon move right
# move more than the default
bindsym $mod+j move left 20 px
-# Move floating container to the center
-# of all outputs
-bindsym $mod+c move absolute position center
+# 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
-
6.5. Changing (named) workspaces/moving to workspaces
+
6.6. 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
+
+
+
+
6.7. 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
workspace 1, 3, 4 and 9 and you want to cycle through them with a single key
@@ -1746,28 +2267,35 @@ next_on_output and workspace prev_on_output. Similarly, you can us
container to workspace next, move container to workspace prev to move a
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
+Pango markup
+by i3bar.
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.
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
@@ -1785,7 +2313,7 @@ bindsym $mod+x move workspace to output right
bindsym $mod+F1 [class="Firefox"] move workspace current
-
6.5.1. Named workspaces
+
6.7.1. Named workspaces
Workspaces are identified by their name. So, instead of using numbers in the
workspace command, you can use an arbitrary name:
Example:
@@ -1813,7 +2341,7 @@ dynamically. To combine both commands you can use workspace number 1: mail
-
6.5.2. Renaming workspaces
+
6.7.2. 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 whatâs actually on them. You can also omit the old name to rename
@@ -1831,26 +2359,26 @@ rename workspace to <new_name>
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: '
-
6.6. Moving workspaces to a different screen
+
6.8. Moving workspaces to a different screen
See [move_to_outputs] for how to move a container/workspace to a different
RandR output.
-
6.7. Moving containers/workspaces to RandR outputs
-
To move a container to another RandR output (addressed by names like LVDS1 or
+
6.9. 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|<output>
+move workspace to output left|right|down|up|current|<output>
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
+
+
+
+
6.11. Resizing containers/windows
If you want to resize containers/windows using your keyboard, you can use the
resize command:
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
@@ -1878,40 +2426,20 @@ 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).
-
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 windowâs width.
- # Pressing right will grow the windowâs width.
- # Pressing up will shrink the windowâs height.
- # Pressing down will grow the windowâs 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"
-}
-
-# Enter resize mode
-bindsym $mod+r mode "resize"
+default is 10 percentage points). Note that resize set will only work for
+floating containers.
+
It is recommended to define bindings for resizing in a dedicated binding mode.
+See [binding_modes] and the example in the i3
+default config for more
+context.
+
Example:
+
+
+
for_window [class="urxvt"] resize set 640 480
-
6.9. Jumping to specific windows
+
6.12. Jumping to specific windows
Often when in a multi-monitor environment, you want to quickly jump to a
specific window. For example, while working on workspace 3 you may want to
jump to your mail client to email your boss that youâve achieved some
@@ -1932,8 +2460,8 @@ bindsym $mod+a [class="urxvt" title="VIM"] focus
-
6.10. VIM-like marks (mark/goto)
-
This feature is like the jump feature: It allows you to directly jump to a
+
6.13. 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
focus to the windows). However, you can directly mark a specific window with
an arbitrary label and use it afterwards. You can unmark the label in the same
@@ -1944,37 +2472,125 @@ titles, and you do not need to change your configuration file.
window, you cannot simply bind it to a key. i3-input is a tool created
for this purpose: It lets you input a command and sends the command to i3. It
can also prefix this command and display a custom prompt for the input dialog.
+
The additional --toggle option will remove the mark if the window already has
+this mark 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
# 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
-
6.11. Changing border style
+
6.14. 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
+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].
+
# give the focused window a prefix
+bindsym $mod+p title_format "Important | %title"
+
+# print all window titles bold
+for_window [class=".*"] title_format "<b>%title</b>"
+
+# print window titles of firefox windows red
+for_window [class="(?i)firefox"] title_format "<span foreground='red'>%title</span>"
+
+
+
+
6.15. Changing border style
To change the border of the current client, you can use border normal to use the normal
-border (including window title), border 1pixel to use a 1-pixel border (no window title)
+border (including window title), border pixel 1 to use a 1-pixel border (no window title)
and border none to make the client borderless.
There is also border toggle which will toggle the different border styles.
+
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.
bindsym $mod+t border normal
-bindsym $mod+y border 1pixel
+
# use window title, but no border
+bindsym $mod+t border normal 0
+# use no window title and a thick border
+bindsym $mod+y border pixel 3
+# use neither window title nor border
bindsym $mod+u border none
-
6.12. Enabling shared memory logging
+
6.16. Enabling shared memory logging
As described in http://i3wm.org/docs/debugging.html, i3 can log to a shared
memory buffer, which you can dump using i3-dump-log. The shmlog command
allows you to enable or disable the shared memory logging at runtime.
@@ -1984,7 +2600,7 @@ discarded and a new one will be started.
The debuglog command allows you to enable or disable debug logging at
runtime. Debug logging is much more verbose than non-debug logging. This
command does not activate shared memory logging (shmlog), and as such is most
@@ -2006,7 +2622,7 @@ likely useful in combination with the above-described [shmlog]
You can make i3 reload its configuration file with reload. You can also
restart i3 inplace with the restart command to get it out of some weird state
(if that should ever happen) or to perform an upgrade without having to restart
@@ -2031,7 +2647,7 @@ bindsym $mod+Shift+e exit
-
6.15. Scratchpad
+
6.19. Scratchpad
There are two commands to use any existing window as scratchpad window. move
scratchpad will move a window to the scratchpad workspace. This will make it
invisible until you show it again. There is no way to open that workspace.
@@ -2066,7 +2682,27 @@ bindsym mod4+s [title="^Sup ::"] scratchpad show
-
6.16. i3bar control
+
6.20. 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
+
+
+
+
6.21. i3bar control
There are two options in the configuration of each i3bar instance that can be
changed during runtime by invoking a command through i3. The commands bar
hidden_state and bar mode allow setting the current hidden_state
@@ -2215,7 +2851,7 @@ If you have many workspaces on many monitors, it might get hard to keep
@@ -2243,14 +2879,14 @@ on which hint the application sets. With i3bar, you can configure its position,
see [i3bar_position].
-
8.2. Giving presentations (multi-monitor)
+
8.2. Giving presentations (multi-monitor)
When giving a presentation, you typically want the audience to see what you see
on your screen and then go through a series of slides (if the presentation is
simple). For more complex presentations, you might want to have some notes
which only you can see on your screen, while the audience can only see the
slides.
-
8.2.1. Case 1: everybody gets the same output
+
8.2.1. 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
clone the internal flat panel of your computer to the video output:
