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@JeffPaine
Last active January 27, 2026 05:05
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i3 Window Manager Cheat Sheet

i3 Window Manager Cheat Sheet

$mod refers to the modifier key (alt by default)

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 in place
  • $mod+shift+c reload config file
  • $mod+shift+q kill window (does normal close if application supports it)

Windows

  • $mod+w tabbed layout
  • $mod+e vertical and horizontal layout (switches to and between them)
  • $mod+s stacked layout
  • $mod+f fullscreen

Moving Windows

  • $mod+shift+<direction key> Move window in direction (depends on direction keys settings)
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ghost commented Mar 20, 2018

esc also closes out resize mode.

@santosh
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santosh commented Jun 13, 2019

Window tiling mode is fantastic. 😃

@erincerys
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how can i reset the window mode... i sometimes end up in weird layered modes such that the titlebar for a single window in a stack shows crazy shit like "V[S[V[Navigator]]]" ... there's gotta be a way to remove all those modes without closing the window right?

@ninjarogue
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i edited the config file and added two lines like this:

bar {
    position top
    status_command  i3blocks
}

And after restarting i3, nothing has happened. The status line remains the same (i3status). Has anyone here ever encountered the same issue?

@init-zhang
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how can i reset the window mode... i sometimes end up in weird layered modes such that the titlebar for a single window in a stack shows crazy shit like "V[S[V[Navigator]]]" ... there's gotta be a way to remove all those modes without closing the window right?

@erincerys if you move the window up or down the stack, it removes the V/S split mode and retains the window position in the stack. Same for tabbed move, except you move left or right.

@vf-aldahir
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awesome... thanks man!!!

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