2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
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i3(1)
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=====
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Michael Stapelberg <michael+i3@stapelberg.de>
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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v4.0, July 2011
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2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
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== NAME
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i3 - an improved dynamic, tiling window manager
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== SYNOPSIS
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2012-07-21 18:16:52 -04:00
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i3 [-a] [-c configfile] [-C] [-d all] [-v] [-V]
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2009-05-26 11:09:34 -04:00
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== OPTIONS
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-a::
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Disables autostart.
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2010-02-13 13:58:43 -05:00
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-c::
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Specifies an alternate configuration file path.
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-C::
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Check the configuration file for validity and exit.
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2012-07-21 18:16:52 -04:00
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-d all::
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Enables debug logging.
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The 'all' parameter is present for historical reasons.
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-v::
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Display version number (and date of the last commit).
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-V::
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Be verbose.
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2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
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== DESCRIPTION
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=== INTRODUCTION
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2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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i3 was created because wmii, our favorite window manager at the time, didn’t
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2010-03-15 17:41:39 -04:00
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provide some features we wanted (multi-monitor done right, for example), had
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some bugs, didn’t progress since quite some time and wasn’t easy to hack at all
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2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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(source code comments/documentation completely lacking). Still, we think the
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wmii developers and contributors did a great job. Thank you for inspiring us to
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create i3.
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Please be aware that i3 is primarily targeted at advanced users and developers.
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2010-03-27 11:05:46 -04:00
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=== IMPORTANT NOTE TO nVidia BINARY DRIVER USERS
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If you are using the nVidia binary graphics driver (also known as 'blob')
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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you need to use the +--force-xinerama+ flag (in your ~/.xsession) when starting
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2010-03-27 11:05:46 -04:00
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i3, like so:
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----------------------------------------------
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exec i3 --force-xinerama -V >>~/.i3/i3log 2>&1
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----------------------------------------------
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See also docs/multi-monitor for the full explanation.
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2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
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=== TERMINOLOGY
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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Tree::
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i3 keeps your layout in a tree data structure.
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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Window::
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An X11 window, like the Firefox browser window or a terminal emulator.
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Split container::
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A split container contains multiple other split containers or windows.
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+
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Containers can be used in various layouts. The default mode is called "default"
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and just resizes each client equally so that it fits.
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Workspace::
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A workspace is a set of containers. Other window managers call this "Virtual
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Desktops".
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+
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In i3, each workspace is assigned to a specific virtual screen. By default,
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screen 1 has workspace 1, screen 2 has workspace 2 and so on… However, when you
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create a new workspace (by simply switching to it), it’ll be assigned the
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screen you are currently on.
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Output::
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Using XRandR, you can have an X11 screen spanning multiple real monitors.
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Furthermore, you can set them up in cloning mode or with positions (monitor 1
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is left of monitor 2).
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+
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i3 uses the RandR API to query which outputs are available and which screens
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are connected to these outputs.
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2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
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== KEYBINDINGS
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2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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Here is a short overview of the default keybindings:
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2012-08-27 09:22:19 -04:00
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Mod1+Enter::
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Open a new terminal emulator window.
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Mod1+d::
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Open dmenu for starting any application by typing (part of) its name.
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2009-03-13 20:26:09 -04:00
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j/k/l/;::
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2009-10-26 10:13:25 -04:00
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Direction keys (left, down, up, right). They are on your homerow (see the mark
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on your "j" key). Alternatively, you can use the cursor keys.
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Mod1+<direction>::
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Focus window in <direction>.
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Mod1+Shift+<direction>::
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Move window to <direction>.
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Mod1+<number>::
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Switch to workspace <number>.
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Mod1+Shift+<number>::
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Move window to workspace <number>.
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2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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Mod1+f::
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Toggle fullscreen mode.
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Mod1+s::
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Enable stacking layout for the current container.
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2009-05-03 10:52:53 -04:00
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Mod1+e::
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Enable default layout for the current container.
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Mod1+w::
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Enable tabbed layout for the current container.
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Mod1+Shift+Space::
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Toggle tiling/floating for the current container.
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Mod1+Space::
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Select the first tiling container if the current container is floating and
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vice-versa.
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2009-03-14 17:09:36 -04:00
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Mod1+Shift+q::
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Kills the current window. This is equivalent to "clicking on the close button",
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meaning a polite request to the application to close this window. For example,
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Firefox will save its session upon such a request. If the application does not
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support that, the window will be killed and it depends on the application what
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happens.
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2009-03-14 16:31:22 -04:00
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Mod1+Shift+r::
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Restarts i3 in place. Your layout will be preserved.
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Mod1+Shift+e::
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Exits i3.
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== FILES
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=== \~/.i3/config (or ~/.config/i3/config)
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When starting, i3 looks for configuration files in the following order:
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2010-03-15 19:12:01 -04:00
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1. ~/.config/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/i3/config if set)
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2. /etc/xdg/i3/config (or $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/i3/config if set)
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3. ~/.i3/config
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4. /etc/i3/config
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You can specify a custom path using the -c option.
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.Sample configuration
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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# i3 config file (v4)
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# font for window titles. ISO 10646 = Unicode
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font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
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# use Mouse+Mod1 to drag floating windows to their wanted position
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floating_modifier Mod1
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# start a terminal
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bindsym Mod1+Return exec /usr/bin/urxvt
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# kill focused window
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+q kill
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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# start dmenu (a program launcher)
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bindsym Mod1+d exec /usr/bin/dmenu_run
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# change focus
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bindsym Mod1+j focus left
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bindsym Mod1+k focus down
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bindsym Mod1+l focus up
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bindsym Mod1+semicolon focus right
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
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bindsym Mod1+Left focus left
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bindsym Mod1+Down focus down
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bindsym Mod1+Up focus up
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bindsym Mod1+Right focus right
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# move focused window
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+j move left
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+k move down
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+l move up
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+semicolon move right
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2009-03-14 16:31:22 -04:00
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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# alternatively, you can use the cursor keys:
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+Left move left
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+Down move down
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+Up move up
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+Right move right
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# split in horizontal orientation
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bindsym Mod1+h split h
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# split in vertical orientation
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bindsym Mod1+v split v
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# enter fullscreen mode for the focused container
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bindsym Mod1+f fullscreen
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# change container layout (stacked, tabbed, default)
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bindsym Mod1+s layout stacking
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bindsym Mod1+w layout tabbed
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bindsym Mod1+e layout default
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# toggle tiling / floating
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+space floating toggle
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# change focus between tiling / floating windows
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bindsym Mod1+space focus mode_toggle
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# focus the parent container
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bindsym Mod1+a focus parent
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# focus the child container
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#bindsym Mod1+d focus child
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# switch to workspace
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bindsym Mod1+1 workspace 1
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bindsym Mod1+2 workspace 2
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# ..
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# move focused container to workspace
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+1 move workspace 1
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+2 move workspace 2
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# ...
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# reload the configuration file
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+c reload
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# restart i3 inplace (preserves your layout/session, can be used to upgrade i3)
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+r restart
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# exit i3 (logs you out of your X session)
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bindsym Mod1+Shift+e exit
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2011-10-22 13:23:29 -04:00
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# display workspace buttons plus a statusline generated by i3status
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bar {
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status_command i3status
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}
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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=== ~/.xsession
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This file is where you should configure your locales and start i3. It is run by
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your login manager (xdm, slim, gdm, …) as soon as you login.
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.Sample xsession
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-------------------------------------------------------------
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# Disable DPMS turning off the screen
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xset -dpms
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xset s off
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2009-08-19 08:32:51 -04:00
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2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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# Disable bell
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xset -b
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2009-08-19 08:32:51 -04:00
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# Enable zapping (C-A-<Bksp> kills X)
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setxkbmap -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp
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2012-08-27 09:07:18 -04:00
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# Enforce correct locales from the beginning:
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# LC_ALL is unset since it overwrites everything
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# LANG=de_DE.UTF-8 is used, except for:
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# LC_MESSAGES=C never translates program output
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# LC_TIME=en_DK leads to yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm date/time output
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unset LC_ALL
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export LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
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2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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export LC_MESSAGES=C
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2012-08-27 09:07:18 -04:00
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export LC_TIME=en_DK.UTF-8
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2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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2009-08-19 08:32:51 -04:00
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# Use XToolkit in java applications
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export AWT_TOOLKIT=XToolkit
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2009-06-25 16:40:13 -04:00
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# Set background color
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xsetroot -solid "#333333"
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2009-03-04 10:06:39 -05:00
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# Enable core dumps in case something goes wrong
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ulimit -c unlimited
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# Start i3 and log to ~/.i3/logfile
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echo "Starting at $(date)" >> ~/.i3/logfile
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2010-03-27 11:05:46 -04:00
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exec /usr/bin/i3 -V -d all >> ~/.i3/logfile
|
2009-02-24 19:18:07 -05:00
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|
-------------------------------------------------------------
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2011-01-10 22:39:48 -05:00
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== ENVIRONMENT
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=== I3SOCK
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2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
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This variable overwrites the IPC socket path (placed in
|
2011-12-18 12:53:21 -05:00
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/tmp/i3-%u.XXXXXX/ipc-socket.%p by default, where %u is replaced with your UNIX
|
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|
username, %p is replaced with i3’s PID and XXXXXX is a string of random
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|
characters from the portable filename character set (see mkdtemp(3))). The IPC
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socket is used by external programs like i3-msg(1) or i3bar(1).
|
2011-01-10 22:39:48 -05:00
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|
2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
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|
== TODO
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|
2010-03-20 20:50:10 -04:00
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|
|
There is still lot of work to do. Please check our bugtracker for up-to-date
|
|
|
|
|
information about tasks which are still not finished.
|
2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
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|
2009-06-25 22:25:51 -04:00
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== SEE ALSO
|
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|
2010-03-20 20:50:10 -04:00
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|
|
You should have a copy of the userguide (featuring nice screenshots/graphics
|
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|
|
which is why this is not integrated into this manpage), the debugging guide,
|
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|
|
and the "how to hack" guide. If you are building from source, run:
|
|
|
|
|
+make -C docs+
|
2009-06-25 22:25:51 -04:00
|
|
|
|
|
2011-11-29 17:36:00 -05:00
|
|
|
|
You can also access these documents online at http://i3wm.org/
|
2009-06-25 22:25:51 -04:00
|
|
|
|
|
2011-07-31 17:34:28 -04:00
|
|
|
|
i3-input(1), i3-msg(1), i3-wsbar(1), i3-nagbar(1), i3-config-wizard(1),
|
|
|
|
|
i3-migrate-config-to-v4(1)
|
2010-01-20 16:34:25 -05:00
|
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|
|
|
2009-02-15 12:51:19 -05:00
|
|
|
|
== AUTHOR
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Stapelberg and contributors
|