The keyboard-operated I3 tiled window manager uses a Linux desktop.

The best thing about Linux (and open source software in general) is freedom — the ability to choose between different alternatives to meet our needs.

I’ve been using Linux for a long time, but I’ve never been completely satisfied with the desktop environments available to me. Until last year, Xfce was the desktop environment that I found to be the closest to satisfying in terms of balance between functionality and performance. Then I discovered i3, an amazing piece of software that changed my life.

I3 is a tiled window manager. The goal of a window manager is to control the appearance and position of Windows in a windowing system. Window managers are typically used as part of a full-featured desktop environment (such as GONME or Xfce), but some can also be used as standalone applications.

Tiled window managers automatically arrange Windows to occupy the entire screen in a non-overlapping manner. Other popular tiled window managers are WMII and Xmonad.


I3 screenshots with three


Here are my top five reasons to use and recommend the i3 window manager for a better Linux desktop experience.

1. Minimalism

The i3 is fast. It is neither jumbled nor fancy. Its design is simple and efficient. As a developer, I value these features because I can use more to enrich my favorite development tools, or use containers or virtual machines to test content locally.

In addition, i3 is a window manager that, unlike a full-featured desktop environment, does not dictate which applications you should use. Do you want to use Xfce’s Thunar as a file manager? GNOME gedit to edit text? I3 doesn’t care. Choose the tools that make the most sense to your workflow, and I3 will manage them the same way.

2. Actual screen area

As a tiled window manager, i3 will automatically “tile” Windows in a non-overlapping manner, similar to placing tiles on a wall. Because you don’t have to worry about window positioning, the i3 generally makes better use of your screen space. It also lets you find what you need faster.

There are many useful examples for this situation. For example, a system administrator can open multiple terminals to monitor or work on different remote systems simultaneously; Developers can use their favorite IDE or editor and several terminals to test their programs.

In addition, the i3 is flexible. If you need more space for a particular window, enable full-screen mode or switch to another layout, such as stacked or tabbed (tabbed).

3. Keyboard workflow

The i3 makes extensive use of keyboard shortcuts to control different aspects of the environment. This includes opening terminals and other programs, resizing and positioning Windows, changing the layout, and even exiting i3. When you start using the i3, you’ll need to remember some of these shortcuts to use, and you’ll use more of them over time.

The main benefit is that you don’t have to switch between keyboard and mouse a lot. With practice, you will increase the speed and efficiency of your workflow.

For example, to open a new terminal, press

+

. Since the window is automatically positioned, you can start typing commands right away. Combine a good terminal text editor (such as Vim) with a keyboard-oriented browser to create a completely keyboard-driven workflow.

In I3, you can define shortcuts for everything. Here are some examples:

  • Open a terminal
  • Open a browser
  • Change the layout
  • Resize the window
  • Control music Player
  • Switching workspaces

Now that I’m so used to it, I can’t go back to a regular desktop environment.

4, flexible,

The i3 is minimalist and uses very few system resources, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful. The i3 is flexible and can be customized in a number of ways to improve the visual experience. Because i3 is a window manager, it doesn’t provide tools to enable customization, and you’ll need external tools to do this. Some examples:

  • withfehDefine the background image of the desktop.
  • Use the synthesizer manager, such ascomptonTo enable effects such as window fade-in and transparency.
  • withdmenu 或 rofiTo enable a customizable menu that can be launched from a keyboard shortcut.
  • withdunstUsed for desktop notification.

I3 is fully configurable, and you can control all aspects of it by updating the default configuration file. From changing all keyboard shortcuts, to redefining the name of your workspace, to modifying the status bar, you can make the i3 work in whatever way best suits your needs.


I3 with Rofi menu and Dunst desktop notifications.


Finally, for more advanced users, i3 provides a full interprocess communication (IPC) interface that allows you to develop scripts or programs in your preferred language for more customization options.

5. Work space

In I3, workspaces are an easy way to group Windows. You can group them in different ways based on your workflow. For example, you can put a browser on one workspace, a terminal on another, an E-mail client on a third, and so on. You can even change the configuration of I3 so that specific applications are always assigned to their own workspaces.

Switching workspaces is quick and easy. Use the keyboard shortcut to do this, as usual in I3. Press

+num to switch to workspace NUM. If you get into the habit of always allocating the Windows of your application group to the same workspace, you can quickly switch between them, which makes workspaces a very useful feature.

In addition, workspaces can be used to control a multi-monitor environment, where each monitor has an initial workspace. If you switch to this workspace, switch to the monitor without taking your hands off the keyboard.

Finally, there’s another special type of workspace in i3: the scratchpad. It is an invisible workspace that is displayed in the middle of other workspaces by pressing shortcuts. This is a convenient way to access Windows or programs that you often use, such as email clients or music players.

Give it a try

If you value simplicity and efficiency and aren’t afraid to use a keyboard, the i3 is your window manager. Some say it’s for power users, but that’s not necessarily the case. You need to learn some basic shortcuts to get you through the beginning stages, and soon you’ll be able to use them more naturally and without thinking.

This article has only scratched the surface of what the i3 can do. For more details, see the documentation for i3.

via: https://opensource.com/article/18/8/i3-tiling-window-manager

Author: Ricardo Gerardi

This article is originally compiled by LCTT and released in Linux China