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Cheat Sheet I3windowmanager v2 PDF

This document provides a cheat sheet of keybindings for the i3 window manager. It lists default keybindings for basic navigation and window management, including changing focus, splitting windows, and toggling between layouts and modes. Additional keybindings cover resizing windows, working with workspaces, and reloading/restarting the i3 configuration. The Mod key, usually the Windows key, acts as a modifier for these shortcuts.

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Ravi Chandra Reddy Muli
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295 views

Cheat Sheet I3windowmanager v2 PDF

This document provides a cheat sheet of keybindings for the i3 window manager. It lists default keybindings for basic navigation and window management, including changing focus, splitting windows, and toggling between layouts and modes. Additional keybindings cover resizing windows, working with workspaces, and reloading/restarting the i3 configuration. The Mod key, usually the Windows key, acts as a modifier for these shortcuts.

Uploaded by

Ravi Chandra Reddy Muli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Opensource.

com: i3 Window Manager Keybinding Cheat Sheet PAGE 1 OF 2 BY RICARDO GERARDI

This cheat sheet lists the default keybindings for i3. The first column contains the standard keybind, and the second
column contains the alternate one.
Most of the shortcuts below use the Modification key or Mod key for short. The Mod key is usually defined when
started i3 for the first time. This is usually set to the Win key or the Alt key. When you see Mod in the list below,
press the key you configured in your system.

Basic Shortcuts

The basic shortcuts you require to get around i3

Mod+Enter Open default terminal application. Uses i3-sensible-terminal to


choose which terminal to open. Consult the man page for details.

Mod+d Open dmenu (application launcher)


Mod+Shift+q Close window
Mod+j Mod+← Focus left
Mod+k Mod+↓ Focus down
Mod+l Mod+↑ Focus up
Mod+; Mod+→ Focus right
Mod+Shift+e Exit i3
Managing Windows
Default keybinds to change window focus or the split direction
Mod+Shift+j Mod+Shift+← Move focused window left
Mod+Shift+k Mod+Shift+↓ Move focused window down
Mod+Shift+l Mod+Shift+↑ Move focused window up
Mod+Shift+; Mod+Shift+→ Move focused window right
Mod+v Split vertically
Mod+h Split horizontally
Mod+f Toggle full-screen mode
Containers and Layouts

Containers are the building blocks of the i3 tree structure, used internally by i3 to store the window layout. For
practical purposes you usually create a container upon splitting windows.
For a more in-depth explanation, consult i3 Tree documentation.

Mod+s Switch to stacked layout. Displays only the focused window on the
container. The list of windows is stacked on top of the container.
Mod+w Switch to tabbed layout. Displays only the focused windows on
the container. The list of windows is displayed in a single tabbed
line at the top.

Mod+e Toggle split mode. If in stacked or tabbed layout, goes back to


split layout. If already in split layout, toggles between vertical and
horizontal split.

Mod+Shift+Space Toggle between floating and tiling modes

Mod+Space Toggle focus between floating windows and tiled windows

Mod+a Focus the parent container

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Opensource.com: i3 Window Manager Keybinding Cheat Sheet PAGE 2 OF 2 BY RICARDO GERARDI

Resize Mode

i3 has the concept of binding modes. A binding mode is a set of key bindings. Switching to a different mode changes
all keybindings to a new set. By default, i3 has two modes: default and resize. The default or normal is the active
mode when you start i3 and has all the keybinds not defined in an specific mode. Use the resize mode to resize the
windows/containers.

Mod+r Toggle resize mode


j ← Shrink width by 10 px
k ↓ Grow height by 10 px
l ↑ Shrink height by 10 px
; → Grow width by 10 px
Enter ESC Exit resize mode, back to default/normal mode
Workspaces

Workspaces are arguably the most useful feature in i3. Using these keybindings you can quickly switch to a different
workspace or move windows/containers around your workspaces.

Mod+Num Switch to workspace number Num. For example, Mod+3 switches


to workspace number 3.

Mod+Shift+Num Move focused window to workspace number Num. For example,


Mod+Shift+3 moves focused windows to workspace number 3.

i3 Control

Use these keybindings to reload,restart, or exit i3

Mod+Shift+c Reload configuration file. Useful to add new custom shortcuts


without restarting i3.

Mod+Shift+r Restart i3 in place. Restarts i3 to make changes effective,


e.g., upgrade i3. Preserves windows and layouts.

Mod+Shift+e Exit i3

opensource.com Twitter @opensourceway | facebook.com/opensourceway | CC BY-SA 4.0

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