i3

Stow package for i3wm and i3status configs. Linux/X11 only — not stowed by default on macOS.

Table of contents

• i3wm config
  • Mod key
  • Navigation
  • Layouts and splits
  • Workspaces
  • Multimedia / system keys
  • Modes
  • Autostart
• Theme (Dracula)
• i3status config
• Fresh-machine setup

i3wm config

Started from i3-config-wizard defaults; deviations called out below.

Mod key

set $mod Mod4 — i.e., the Super (Windows/Command) key. floating_modifier $mod lets you Mod-drag floating windows.

Navigation

Vim-style:

Layouts and splits

Mod+g is the non-default — i3’s wizard uses Mod+h for horizontal split, which conflicts with the focus binding above. This config remaps horizontal-split to g.

Workspaces

Mod+1..0 switch; Mod+Shift+1..0 move the focused container to that workspace. Standard.

Multimedia / system keys

(These assume ALSA + mpd + xbacklight are installed.)

Modes

• Mod+r enters resize mode — h/j/k/l shrink/grow by 10px; Enter or Esc to exit.
• Caps_Lock and Num_Lock enter named modes solely so i3 displays a visual indicator on the bar when those locks are on. Pressing the same key again exits.

Autostart

Run by i3 on session start:

exec --no-startup-id start-pulseaudio-x11
exec --no-startup-id syndaemon -t -k -i 2 -d        # disable touchpad while typing
exec --no-startup-id feh --bg-scale '/home/jacob/wallpapers/arch1080.jpg'
exec --no-startup-id unclutter -root -visible       # hide idle cursor
exec --no-startup-id dunst                          # notification daemon
exec --no-startup-id xrandr --dpi 165               # HiDPI

Note the hardcoded wallpaper path under /home/jacob/ — update for the host or replace with a relative path.

The status bar runs i3status:

bar { status_command i3status }

focus_follows_mouse no — focus only on click, not on hover.

Theme (Dracula)

The official Dracula palette, matching the rest of the dotfiles:

• client.* window-border colors (focused #6272A4, urgent #FF5555, unfocused #282A36).
• bar { colors { … } } for the i3bar (background #282A36, statusline #F8F8F2, urgent #FF5555).
• dmenu launch colors on Mod+d (-nb #282A36 -sb #6272A4 -sf #F8F8F2).
• i3status color_good/color_degraded/color_bad = #50FA7B/#F1FA8C/#FF5555 (see below).

i3status config

Modules in display order:

wireless wlp1s0   # SSID + signal + IP
battery 0         # percentage; charging icon ⚡, discharging ⚇, full ☻
load              # 1-min load avg
cpu_usage         # %
volume master     # ALSA Master percentage
tztime local      # %I:%M%p %b %d %Y

Refresh interval: 5 seconds. Battery threshold for “low” warning: 10%. Battery path is hard-coded to /sys/class/power_supply/BAT%d/uevent (%d is replaced by the battery number).

Wireless interface is hard-coded to wlp1s0. Adjust per machine.

Commented-out modules: ipv6, disk /, disk /home, DHCP run-watch, VPNC pidfile, VPN tun0 path-exists check.

Fresh-machine setup

apt install i3 i3status dmenu feh dunst                # plus pulseaudio, alsa, mpd, xbacklight as needed
stow i3                                                # symlinks ~/.config/i3/ and ~/.config/i3status/

bootstrap-debian.sh does not stow this by default — only if the machine actually runs an X session.