i3wm Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet & Tips

2025-07-14 | Categories linux | Tags i3 linux window manager shortcuts productivity

i3wm (i3 Window Manager) is a popular tiling window manager among developers and power users due to its lightweight, keyboard-centric, and customizable nature. Mastering its shortcuts can significantly enhance your productivity.

🔧 Basic Modifier Key

By default, i3 uses a Mod key (usually Alt or Win/Super) as a prefix for most keybindings.

You can confirm the Mod key in ~/.config/i3/config with lines like set $mod Mod4.

🧭 Window Management

Shortcut	Action
`Mod` + `Enter`	Open terminal (`i3-sensible-terminal`)
`Mod` + `d`	Launch app (dmenu or rofi)
`Mod` + `Shift` + `q`	Close current window
`Mod` + `f`	Toggle fullscreen
`Mod` + `Shift` + `Space`	Toggle floating/tiling mode
`Mod` + `Space`	Focus toggle between modes

🧱 Layout Switching

Shortcut	Layout
`Mod` + `e`	Split mode (default)
`Mod` + `s`	Stack layout
`Mod` + `w`	Tabbed layout
`Mod` + `h/v`	Horizontal / Vertical split

🎯 Focus & Window Movement

Shortcut	Action
`Mod` + `Arrow keys` / `h j k l`	Move focus
`Mod` + `Shift` + `Arrow/hjkl`	Move window
`Mod` + `Tab`	Cycle focus

🧪 Workspace Management

Shortcut	Action
`Mod` + `1~9`	Switch workspace
`Mod` + `Shift` + `1~9`	Move window to workspace
`Mod` + `Ctrl` + `← / →`	Next/Previous workspace

🚪 Exit & Reload i3

Shortcut	Action
`Mod` + `Shift` + `e`	Exit i3 session
`Mod` + `Shift` + `r`	Reload i3 config

📊 Polybar i3 Workspace Module (Example)

[module/i3]
type = internal/i3
format = <label-state>
label-focused = %name%
label-focused-background = #268bd2
label-unfocused = %name%
label-visible = %name%
label-urgent = %name%

⚙ Custom Keybindings in i3 Config

# Use rofi instead of dmenu
bindsym $mod+d exec rofi -show drun

# Lock screen
bindsym $mod+Shift+x exec i3lock -c 000000

🌿 Recommended Tools with i3

rofi: Application launcher with themes
i3lock: Lightweight screen locker
picom: Window transparency & shadow
feh: Wallpaper setting tool
polybar / i3status: Custom status bars
flameshot: Screenshot utility
i3-gnome-pomodoro: Integrates GNOME Pomodoro with i3 (see Pomodoro Tools Guide)

✅ Summary

i3wm is a minimalist yet powerful tool. Learning the keyboard shortcuts will make your workflow smooth and productive. Combine it with tools like rofi, polybar, and gnome-pomodoro to build your ultimate Linux setup.

Happy tiling! 💻✨

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