I3wm: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 10:42, 17 March 2025

i3 is a tiling window manager, primarily targeted at advanced users and developers.

Prerequisites

Internet connectivity, unless the packages have been pre-fetched into a local cache.
A non-root user account.
The community repository must be enabled.
Set up eudev.
Install and configure D-Bus. without D-Bus icons and keyboard shortcuts may be missing.
Install appropriate Graphics driver drivers for your hardware. Without graphics drivers, errors are likely to occur.
Install Xorg

Installation

Install i3, i3 status bar and terminal packages i3wm, i3status, xterm

# apk add i3wm i3status xterm

Note: Add the user to input and video groups. The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages.

Install drivers

Ensure you have the required drivers.

# apk search xf86-input*

# apk search xf86-video*

# apk add xf86-video-fbdev xf86-video-vesa

Install fonts

Install fonts. If you start i3 without fonts it will be unusable.

# apk add font-terminus

starting i3

Now you can start i3 manually:

# startx /usr/bin/i3

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= Initial setup =
+{{DISPLAYTITLE:i3wm}}
-I will assume you are working on a fresh, installation of Alpine standard.
+[https://i3wm.org/ i3] is a tiling window manager, primarily targeted at advanced users and developers.
-Otherwise see [[Installation|these]] instructions.
-= Enable Community Repository =
+== Prerequisites ==
-We need the Community Repository available for access to the i3 packages.
+{{:Include:Desktop prerequisites}}
-Instructions are available on the [[Enable_Community_Repository|Enable Community Repository]] page.
+* [[Alpine_setup_scripts#setup-xorg-base|Install Xorg]]
+== Installation ==
+Install i3,  i3 status bar and terminal packages {{pkg|i3wm|arch=}}, {{pkg|i3status|arch=}}, {{pkg|xterm|arch=}}{{Cmd|# apk add i3wm i3status xterm}}
+{{Note|Add the user to '''input''' and '''video''' groups. The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages.}}
+=== Install drivers ===
-= Install drivers =
 Ensure you have the required drivers.
-{{Cmd|# apk search xf86-input*}}
-{{Cmd|# apk search xf86-video*}}
-These are the drivers I needed but the ones you need might differ.
+{{Cmd|# apk search {{pkg|xf86-input*}}}}
-{{Cmd|# apk add xf86-video-intel xf86-input-intel xf86-video-fbdev xf86-video-vesa}}
+{{Cmd|# apk search {{pkg|xf86-video*}}}}
+{{Cmd|# apk add {{pkg|xf86-video-fbdev|arch=}} {{pkg|xf86-video-vesa|arch=}}}}
-= Install fonts =
+=== Install fonts ===
-Install some fonts. If you start i3 without fonts it will be unusable.
-{{Cmd|# apk add terminus-font}}
-= Install dbus =
+Install [[Fonts|fonts]]. If you start i3 without fonts it will be unusable.
-Install dbus and set it up.
-{{Cmd|# apk add dbus}}
-{{Cmd|# dbus-uuidgen > /var/lib/dbus/machine-id}}
-{{Cmd|# rc-update add dbus}}
-= Install X11 =
+{{Cmd|# apk add {{pkg|font-terminus|arch=}}}}
-Install X11 and set it up.
-{{Cmd|# setup-xorg-base }}
-= Install i3 etc =
+== starting i3 ==
-Install i3, the i3 status bar and a terminal.
-{{Cmd|# apk add i3wm i3status xterm}}
-= Set up a non-root account =
+Now you can start i3 manually: {{Cmd|# startx /usr/bin/i3}}
-Set up a non-root account. (Call this whatever you like.)
-{{Cmd|# adduser thomas }}
-{{Cmd|# addgroup thomas input }}
-{{Cmd|# addgroup thomas video }}
-= Test =
+== See also ==
-Now you can start i3 manually.
-{{Cmd|# startx /usr/bin/i3}}
-'''Note:''' The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. More information is available in the [https://i3wm.org/docs/userguide.html i3 user guide].
+* [[Xorg|Legacy Xorg drivers]]
+* [https://i3wm.org/docs/userguide.html i3 user guide]
+* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xinit startup i3 automatically]
-= Starting i3 on login =
+[[category: Desktop]]
-To have i3 start automatically on login, you should set up xinit.
+[[category: Window Managers]]
-There are different ways to do this. The
-[https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xinit arch wiki]
-has good, transferrable information on this.