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| i3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
 i3 withvim and terminals open | |
| Original author | Michael Stapelberg |
| Initial release | March 15, 2009; 16 years ago (2009-03-15)[1] |
| Stable release | 4.25[2]  / 19 December 2025 |
| Written in | C |
| Operating system | Unix-like |
| Size | 1.3 MiB[3] |
| Type | Window manager |
| License | BSD-3-Clause[4] |
| Website | i3wm.org |
| Repository | |
i3 is atiling window manager designed forX11, inspired bywmii and written inC.[5] It supports tiling, stacking, and tabbing layouts, which are handled manually. Its configuration is achieved via a plain text file and extending i3 is possible using itsUnix domain socket andJSON basedIPC interface from many programming languages.[6]
Like wmii, i3 uses a control system very similar to that ofvi andVim. By default, window focus is controlled by what the documentation refers to as the 'Mod1' key (Alt key/Windows key) in addition to the right-handhome row keys (Mod1+J,K,L,Semicolon), while window movement is controlled by the addition of theShift key (Mod1+Shift+J,K,L,Semicolon).[7]
i3's primary design goals are to possess well-written, documented code that encourages user contribution;[4] to useXCB instead ofXlib; to implement multi-monitor features correctly, so that each workspace is assigned to a virtual screen, and monitor additions and removals are non-destructive of windows; to implement differentmodes, in a manner similar to that of the text editorsvi andvim; to use a tree as the abstraction (and underlying data structure) for window management; and to implementUTF-8 character encoding.
i3's configuration is done via aplain text file (usually found in ~/.config/i3/config),[Note 1] which can be customized without any sophisticated programming knowledge.[7] Contrary to other popular tiling window managers, such asdwm,awesome, andxmonad, window management is left to the user in i3. Windows are held inside containers, which can be split vertically or horizontally. They can also optionally be resized. There are also options for stacking the windows, as well astabbing them (similar to the interface that web browsers use). i3 usesdmenu as the default program launcher, but it can be replaced.[7][8] i3 also has an associated program called i3bar that displays information about the system at the bottom of the screen.[9]
i3 also supports the use of multiple monitors.[10]
Even though i3 is a tiling window manager, specific windows, such as password pop-ups, are not displayed as new tiles by default;[11] they are always stacked in front of tiled windows, unless in full screen mode. These floating windows can be moved and resized freely, just as they can instacking window managers and populardesktop environments likeGNOME orKDE Plasma.[8]
The authors of i3 intend floating windows to be used forpop-up windows only.[12]
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