i3 Window Manager Cheat Sheet

$mod refers to the modifier key (window/command or alt by default depending on config)

General

• startx i3 start i3 from command line
• $mod+<Enter> open a terminal
• $mod+d open dmenu (text based program launcher)
• $mod+r resize mode ( or to leave resize mode)
• $mod+shift+e exit i3
• $mod+shift+r restart i3 inplace
• $mod+shift+c reload config file
• $mod+shift+q kill window (does normal close if application supports it)
• $mod+space toggle focus

Windows

• $mod+w tabbed layout
• $mod+e vertical and horizontal layout (switches to and between them)
• $mod+s stacked layout
• $mod+f fullscreen
• $mod+v split window vertically
• $mod+h split window horizontally

Moving Windows

• $mod+shift+<direction key> move window in direction (depends on direction keys settings)
• direction keys
  • j left
  • k down
  • l up
  • ; right

Floating

• $mod+shift+space toggle floating
• $mod+mouse drag floating

Workspaces

• $mod+[0-9] switch to another workspace
• $mod+shift+[0-9] move a window to another workspace

Config

• copy /etc/i3/config to ~/.i3/config (or ~/.config/i3/config)