i3wm

i3 is a dynamic tiling window manager inspired by wmii that is primarily targeted at developers and advanced users. The stated goals for i3 include clear documentation, proper multi-monitor support, a tree structure for windows, and different modes like in vim.

i3wm Premium

The Ultimate i3wm Configuration With Modular Configs, Extra Functionality And Themes (25 Pre-Made + Infinite Auto Generated Themes With pywal)

Get i3wm Premium From ko-fi And Support Archcraft Development.

Installation

Once you finish installing Archcraft, i3wm can be installed on the top of it. It's pre-configured and ready to go.

Regular

Open a terminal and run the following command to install the regular version of i3wm :

$ sudo pacman -Sy archcraft-i3wm

Premium

Download the premium package from ko-fi, and save it in a directory. Open a terminal in same directory and run the following command to install i3wm premium :

$ sudo pacman -U archcraft-i3wm-premium-X.Y-Z-any.pkg.tar.zst

Archcraft Prime

i3wm Premium comes pre-installed on Archcraft Prime ISO

Configuration

i3wm is pre-configured in Archcraft. In this section, We'll see how the i3wm window manager is configured, what tools and utilities are used to make it look and work like a complete desktop environment.

Config Structure

The configuration structure of i3wm in Archcraft looks something like this:

~/.config
└── i3              : i3wm config directory
    ├── alacritty   : terminal config
    ├── config.d    : modular i3wm config files
    ├── i3status    : i3status config files
    ├── scripts     : scripts used for i3wm
    ├── themes      : all themes (polybar, rofi configs) 
    ├── config      : main i3wm config file
    ├── dunstrc     : dunst config for notifications
    ├── picom.conf  : compositor config
    └── xsettingsd  : gtk themes, icons and fonts config file

Terminal

Alacritty is the default terminal. In the i3wm window manager, alacritty is launched with an alternative config file. If you need to change anything, make sure you modify the config files in ~/.config/i3/alacritty directory. These are the following config files you can modify to change the behaviour of your terminal:

~/.config/i3/alacritty/alacritty.toml : Main configuration file
~/.config/i3/alacritty/colors.toml : Colors configurations
~/.config/i3/alacritty/fonts.toml : Fonts configurations

If you need any help with alacritty config, run : man 5 alacritty in terminal.

warning

When you change the theme, the colors.toml and fonts.toml file get overwritten by the theme script.

This is applicable only in i3wm Premium as themes are only available in it. On regular version, there's only one theme.

Notification

Dunst is used as a notification daemon for notifications in i3wm. In the i3wm window manager, dunst is launched with an alternative config file, which is ~/.config/i3/dunstrc. So, If you need to modify anything, make sure you edit this file.

If you need any help with dunst config, run : man 5 dunst in terminal.

warning

When you change the theme, the fonts and colors in dunstrc file get overwritten by the theme script.

This is applicable only in i3wm Premium as themes are only available in it. On regular version, there's only one theme.

Wallpaper

hsetroot sets the wallpaper in the i3wm. If you want to change the wallpaper, Edit the following scripts :

Regular

Edit ~/.config/i3/scripts/i3_autostart script and add the path to your wallpaper.

# Restore wallpaper
hsetroot -cover '/path/to/your/wallpaper'

Premium

Edit ~/.config/i3/themes/wallpaper.sh script and add the path to your wallpaper.

WALLPAPER='/path/to/your/wallpaper'

warning

When you change the theme, the script wallpaper.sh get overwritten by the theme script.

Statusbar

Polybar is used as the statusbar in Archcraft's i3wm window manager.

Regular

The configurations for polybar can be found inside the theme directory directory of i3wm ~/.config/i3/theme

If you want to modify the polybar settings, or perhaps want to add/remove modules, then you need to edit the following files :

~/.config/i3/theme/polybar/config.ini : Main config file
~/.config/i3/theme/polybar/colors.ini : Colors config file
~/.config/i3/theme/polybar/modules.ini : Modules config file

If you need any help with polybar config, visit : polybar wiki

Premium

The configurations for polybar can be found inside the currently applied theme's directory, which is inside the themes directory of i3wm ~/.config/i3/themes

Let's say that the currently applied theme is default and you want to modify the polybar settings, or perhaps want to add/remove modules, then you need to edit the following files :

~/.config/i3/themes/default/polybar/config.ini : Main config file
~/.config/i3/themes/default/polybar/colors.ini : Colors config file
~/.config/i3/themes/default/polybar/modules.ini : Modules config file

If you need any help with polybar config, visit : polybar wiki

warning

When you change the theme, the fonts in config.ini file and colors.ini file of polybar get overwritten by the theme script.

Launchers and Applets

Rofi is used for application launchers, command runner and various applets. To modify the rofi config, edit ~/.config/rofi/config.rasi file.

If you need any help with rofi config, run : man rofi in terminal.

The scripts for rofi that are used in i3wm can be found it ~/.config/i3/scripts directory. These are the following scripts that uses rofi to provide the launchers and applets in i3wm :

rofi_askpass : rofi based sudo frontend to get root password
rofi_asroot : applet to open apps as root
rofi_bluetooth : bluetooth applet to quickly connect to BT devices
rofi_launcher : an application launcher, cmd runner, file manager and task manager
rofi_music : music applet, that controls MPD with mpc
rofi_powermenu : power menu, with confirmation dialog
rofi_runner : quickly lets you run a command
rofi_screenshot : screenshot applet that works with maim
rofi_themes : applet to change the themes only in premium
rofi_windows : applet to manage opened windows

If you want to modify any applet or perhaps want to extend the functionality of the applet, just edit these scripts above.

Regular

The configuration of each script can be found inside the theme directory of i3wm ~/.config/i3/theme

Let's say you want to modify the looks of launcher, then you need to edit the ~/.config/i3/theme/rofi/launcher.rasi file. Same goes for every other applet, Edit the respective file in the same directory.

If you need any help with rofi theming, run : man rofi-theme in terminal.

To change the colors and fonts of the launchers and applets, Edit the ~/.config/i3/theme/rofi/shared/colors.rasi and ~/.config/i3/theme/rofi/shared/fonts.rasi files.

Premium

The configuration of each script can be found inside the currenty applied theme's directory, which is inside the themes directory of i3wm ~/.config/i3/themes

Let's say that the currently applied theme is default and you want to modify the looks of launcher, then you need to edit the ~/.config/i3/themes/default/rofi/launcher.rasi file. Same goes for every other applet, Edit the respective file in the same directory.

If you need any help with rofi theming, run : man rofi-theme in terminal.

To change the colors and fonts of the launchers and applets, Edit the ~/.config/i3/themes/<THEME>/rofi/shared/colors.rasi and ~/.config/i3/themes/<THEME>/rofi/shared/fonts.rasi files.

warning

When you change the theme, the shared/colors.rasi and shared/fonts.rasi files get overwritten by the theme script.

Compositor

Picom is used for compositing. It's a lightweight compositor with shadowing, advanced blurring and fading. In i3wm, picom is launched with an alternative config file, which is ~/.config/i3/picom.conf.

If you need to change anything related to picom, Edit this picom config file.

If you need any help with picom config, check the picom's default config file in /etc/xdg/picom.conf

info

If you're having screen-tearing issues, using glx backend can solve this issue.
If you're facing lagging, hangs and freezes, try switching between xrender and glx backend.

warning

When you change the theme, things like backend, shadows, blurring in picom.conf file gets overwritten by theme script.

This is applicable only in i3wm Premium as themes are only available in it. On regular version, there's only one theme.

Window Manager

The configuration of i3wm is available in ~/.config/i3. To configure i3wm window manager, these are the files that are used :

~/.config/i3/config : main i3wm config file with general settings
~/.config/i3/config.d/01_theme.conf : theme config file, things like colors, border size, gaps
~/.config/i3/config.d/02_keybindings.conf : all the key bindings
~/.config/i3/config.d/03_mousebindings.conf : all the mouse bindings
~/.config/i3/config.d/04_modes.conf : i3 mode key bindings
~/.config/i3/config.d/05_rules.conf : all the window rules
~/.config/i3/i3status/config : i3status modules
~/.config/i3/i3status/statusbar.conf : config file for i3status

If you need any help with i3wm configuration, visit : i3wm docs

warning

When you change the theme, things like border colors, border width and gaps in 01_theme.conf file gets overwritten by the theme script.

This is applicable only in i3wm Premium as themes are only available in it. On regular version, there's only one theme.

Keybindings

Here's a list of some important keybinds you need to know for operating i3wm easily. If you want to view, modify or add new keybinds, Edit ~/.config/i3/config.d/02_keybindings.conf and ~/.config/i3/config.d/04_modes.conf files.

Applications

Keys	Action
super + Return	Open terminal (alacritty)
super + shift + Return	Open floating terminal
super + alt + Return	Open fullscreen terminal
super + shift + F	Open file manager (thunar)
super + shift + E	Open text editor (geany)
super + shift + W	Open web browser (firefox)

Menu and Applets

Keys	Action
super	Open application launcher
alt + F1	Open application launcher
super + N	Open network manager applet
super + M	Open music applet
super + X	Open powermenu applet
super + S	Open screenshots applet
super + R	Open apps as root applet
super + T	Open theme applet only in premium
super + W	Open window applet

Hardware Keys

Keys	Action
Print	Take screenshot
ctrl + Print	Take screenshot in 5 seconds delay
shift + Print	Take screenshot in 10 seconds delay
ctrl + shift + Print	Take screenshot of currently focused window
super + Print	Take screenshot of selected area
XF86AudioRaiseVolume	Increase volume
XF86AudioLowerVolume	Decrease volume
XF86AudioMute	Toggle mute speakers
XF86AudioMicMute	Toggle mute microphone
XF86Audio + Next/Prev/Play/Stop	Media controls (MPD)
XF86MonBrightnessUp	Increase display brightness
XF86MonBrightnessDown	Decrease display brightness

Workspaces

Keys	Action
super + 1..10	Switch to respective workspace
super + shift + 1..10	Move focused container to respective workspace
super + ctrl + Left/Right	Move a container to the next/previous workspace
super + B	Switch workspaces back-and-forth
super + shift + B	Move container to workspace back-and-forth

Window Management

Keys	Action
super + C/Q	Close focued window
super + H/V	Split in horizontal/vertical orientation
super + shift + S	Set stacking layout
super + shift + T	Set tabbed layout
super + shift + D	Set default layout
super + shift + L	Toggle between stacking/tabbed/split
super + shift + V	Toggle between horizontal/vertical
super + shift + O	Sticky floating windows
super + F	Toggle fullscreen
super + Space	Toggle floating/tiling
super + shift + Space	Toggles focus between floating/tiling containers
super + Left/Right/Up/Down	Sets focus to the nearest container in the given direction
super + shift + Left/Right/Up/Down	Move focused window in the given direction
super + Y	Changing border style
super + A	Sets focus to the parent container
super + D	Sets focus to the child container
super + Tab	Automatically sets focus to the adjacent container
super + alt + C	Move floating container to the center of all outputs
super + alt + P	Move floating container to the current position of the cursor
super + alt + Left/Right/Up/Down	Resizing containers/windows
super + Minus	Make the currently focused window a scratchpad
super + shift + Minus	Show the first scratchpad window
super + shift + R	Toggle Resize mode
super + shift + M	Toggle Resize mode
super + shift + G	Toggle Gaps mode

Window Manager

Keys	Action
ctrl + shift + R	Restart i3wm
super + shift + C	Reload i3wm
super + shift + Q	Quit i3wm

Misc Keys

Keys	Action
ctrl + alt + V	Open vim in terminal
ctrl + alt + R	Open ranger in terminal
ctrl + alt + H	Open htop in terminal
ctrl + alt + M	Open ncmpcpp with album art in terminal
ctrl + alt + L	Trigger lockscreen
super + P	Run colorpicker

Screenshots

Desktop

Here's few screenshots of i3wm desktop. These'll give you an idea of the experience of i3wm in Archcraft.

Desktop 1	Desktop 2	Desktop 3	Desktop 4

Desktop 5	Desktop 6	Desktop 7	Desktop 8

Desktop 9	Desktop 10	Desktop 11	Desktop 12

Desktop 13	Desktop 14	Desktop 15	Desktop 16

Themes

Regular

There's only one theme available on regular i3wm.

Premium

There are 25 styles (plus infinite auto-generated themes with pywal) available for i3wm premium.
To Change the theme/style, Press SUPER + T and select the theme/style from the applet.

Theme 1	Theme 2	Theme 3	Theme 4	Theme 5

Theme 6	Theme 7	Theme 8	Theme 9	Theme 10

Theme 11	Theme 12	Theme 13	Theme 14	Theme 15

Theme 16	Theme 17	Theme 18	Theme 19	Theme 20

Theme 21	Theme 22	Theme 23	Theme 24	Theme 25

Random

Auto Generated themes with pywal. This feature is only available in i3wm premium.
Press SUPER + T and select Random to apply a random theme.

FAQs

How to update my config to new configs?

When a new version of Archcraft i3wm get released, And you update the system by sudo pacman -Syu or you update the i3wm package by sudo pacman -S archcraft-i3wm, New config files get installed as i3_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD in your ~/.config directory.

To use new configs, backup your old ~/.config/i3 directory and move ~/.config/i3_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD to ~/.config/i3 and login again.

For i3wm premium, download the updated package from ko-fi (for free) and just install it to update to new configs.

How to change GTK theme, icons and cursor?

To change GTK theme, icons and cursor in i3wm session, Edit ~/.config/i3/xsettingsd file and restart i3wm to apply the changes.

Net/ThemeName "Arc-Dark"
Net/IconThemeName "Zafiro"
Gtk/CursorThemeName "Qogirr"

How to manage multiple monitors and resolution in i3wm?

If you use multiple monitors with i3wm window manager, you can manage them by running Manager Monitors or archcraft-randr app.

Why Alacritty is not working on my computer?

Since Alacritty is a OpenGL based terminal emulator, It may not work on some computer hardwares. You can make it work on such computers by following these methods :

1. Open alacritty with LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 variable. Edit the keybindings/script launching alacritty and replace alacritty with LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 alacritty
2. Edit /usr/share/applications/Alacritty.desktop desktop file and replace Exec=alacritty with Exec=env LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 alacritty