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Yes you can use i3wm on its own w/o a DE.
A DE is just a desktop gui + a bundle of programs that the DE maintainers and/or distro maintainers think would be pleasent for you to have. Your computer can boot perfectly fine and access your files/programs w/o these.
You can (usually) take your current distro, install i3wm, choose i3wm when you login and you will be using i3 instead of your regular DE. I will warn you this may be shocking at first; all the things you are used to automatically running at boot won't. You will boot to a blank screen and have to figure out how to open the terminal, configure your screen resolution, setup a status bar, program launcher, background image, and other basic things that are taken for granted, followed by updating (or creating/downloading if one's not there) your i3 config file so you dont have to repeat this everytime you boot into i3.
You could also do what you suggested and run i3wm on top of xcfe, though it would just look like xcfe and you may run into some compatibility issues and keybinding conflicts. Some ppl like slapping i3 on top of unrelated DEs, ymmv.
You could also install a distro that comes w/ i3wm pre-configured. You will get a handful of sane defaults + bundle of programs the distro maintainers think would be pleasent. I went this route.
There is also a DE called Regolith which bundles i3 w/ other DE elements from gnome DE and Ubuntu + bundle of programs + custom config file and sane defaults. It can be installed as a standalone distro or alongside Ubuntu, though there's an Arch package too. Its supposed to be user-friendly.
Does it even have to be a distro, wouldn't some setup script do it? I am not opposing it in principle, but Ubuntu is not a distribution I would go for on Desktop (I use Debian on servers, Manjaro on desktop).
However, I absolutely love the idea of a polished i3 experience. Browsing /r/unixporn I jumped on the WM bandwagon with Majaro i3 community version... let me tell you, it was not a pleasant experience. What you get is almost bare bones i3. As a complete novice to tiling WM I had to sink a good chunk of time to get comfortable. That is why the tailored i3 experience has its place and I cheer for you /u/kgilmer!.
At the same time, the stack or Regolith is also pretty bare bones. I would not mind some flare, like seamless pywall for example.
I know Acrolinux ships ISOs with preconfigured i3 + BSPWM but I feel they are all over the place and lack bit of focus and better documentation. I hope this Distro will stick around and help newcomers to tiling!
Timing window managers for with vim usage really well, but I found the config intimidating. I copied a friend config and followed what they told me and loved it.
Later i discovered i3-gaps, which makes the tiling beautiful. Most recently I'm in love with regolith Linux - a distro or installable Debian package which is an amazing i3 setup with great defaults, accessible docs, and easy config patterns (including themes). Love it so much
I'm a n00b recently looking for help customizing Regolith and was give the following tips, sharing in case it's helpful:
You can find a description of all Xresource keys here: https://regolith-linux.org/docs/reference/xresources/...
It is not recommended to directly edit the i3 config file is that often will cause things to break after upgrades. Rather we recommend to set Xresource values using Xresource overrides. See here for details: https://regolith-linux.org/docs/howtos/override-xres/
> not stuck on bspwm b
Ya, I manage to use 3 monitors everyday. i normally have discord/slack on one, browser on another, and whatever im working on on the other. Something to note is regolith is pretty much i3 pre configured for you, but its easy to customize for the most part.
Did you follow this guide?
https://regolith-linux.org/docs/getting-started/install/
What desktop package you installed? By default, a WM does not show anything, you must configure most things, so do not use the minimal package. The other ones should show at least a bar and the shortcuts window...
https://regolith-linux.org/docs/howtos/override-xres/ You can put it in any of the paths mentioned on this page.
https://regolith-linux.org/docs/reference/xresources/ all the xresources keys used by regolith are listed here.
I was just on Pop recently and accomplished exactly this by installing Regolith Desktop through their PPA. It installs a preconfigured i3 desktop that you can choose to log into instead of Gnome. It's a great intro to i3 and will feel pretty natural if you've been using Pop Shell.
Thank you u/okraits and u/montywest, I was able to accomplish what I wanted through regolith's integration with Xresources: https://regolith-linux.org/docs/howto/override-xres/
It is i3-gaps - with a mix of Gnome tools included, tweaked with some neat features to give a more user friendly i3 setup.
I am currently using it on Kubuntu, (19.10) With No issues - I had Tried it on a Pop_OS Install, and since both the POP and Regolith used Gnome, it sort of ended up changing the default gnome setup and causing me some issues. (So i had a Frankenstein-Gnome default setup of The regolith settings + some Pop_OS settings.)
So if you try it on Pop_OS! - be sure to have a good way to roll back the system. :) or just be brave!
You should try regolith-linux.org: it has the best of both worlds: i3-gaps with Gnome backend, so managing system and configurations are just like in Gnome, just replace Gnome Shell with i3-gaps. It could be installed over Pop 21.04, I am not sure about how it goes with 21.10 tho...
> I conlcuded that I like i3 the most, but I don't know if it's worth the investment compared to something more or less fully functional like Gnome
I don't know about hardware support and the issues you have with sleep / suspend, but for that specific point: I've found Regolith Linux a very comfortable way to use i3wm without the hassle of setting up too many things. It uses gnome-flashback to give you a almost stock Ubuntu with a completely set up i3wm on top. Maybe that's something for you?
Thanks for pointing out regolith Linux. I haven't heard of it before and it looks to be just what I needed.
Sharing this for anyone's future reference though, regolith may not be a solution for OP's question anymore, as it uses GNOME, and this old question was about running Ubuntu and i3, with GNOME removed.
Hmm, yeah, I've heard good stuff about Fedora and it is something I really considered, especially since I've a friend who likes it a lot. My main worries are:
- I've heard they occasionally introduce new stuff that's kinda breaking
- I'm afraid there's not enough userbase to make problems easily googlable and to make uncommon software easily obtainable via whatever Fedora has instead of ppas. E.g. regolith seems to be only available for Ubuntu based systems ( https://regolith-linux.org/download/ ). Don't really want to be stuck doing extra work I might not be doing.
Not sure how concerning are those concerns, cause I've not tried fedora in a long, long time.
I recently stumbled across Regolith and I highly recommend. It’s i3-gaps made easy on Ubuntu.
I loved using arch and appreciated how expansive the AUR was overall but I kept encountering the need for proprietary (corporate) shit that I had to install for work and it was such a struggle to find out how to get it up and running on Arch.
Ubuntu has the advantage of being very ubiquitous in the business world (and being downstream from Debian which has been such a staple for so long).
But I love WMs like i3 and AwesomeWM. At the same time I didn’t want to spend much time setting up config files in Ubuntu, so this was the happy middle ground.
See an example here: https://regolith-linux.org/docs/howtos/override-xres/#example---launch-nm-applet-when-i3-starts
If you want to dive a bit deeper it might be a good idea to read the regolith i3 config file, most settings have an xresource override set up.
I also recommend joining the official slack for further support.
If Pop!_OS is the first distribution you've ever used, I recommend taking some time to get used to how things are by default and read more about Regolith before switching. I only say this because i3wm can be super overwhelming at first (it definitely was for me).
That being said: if you want to install Regolith, follow the two steps (right side of the page) here. The first command adds Regolith's repository to your system so you can download and update it. Then the second command will download and install Regolith to your system.
When that's done, reboot your system and select your user-account but don't login just yet; on the bottom-right of your screen there should be a gear/cog. After clicking it, select "Regolith," and then login. There should be a little menu on the right side of the screen with all the key-binds.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
If you're willing to endure a bit of a learning curve I highly recommend getting into tiling wm environments instead of traditional ones.
I also have a similar laptop with 2GB that I run some of my r/selfhosted apps and i3 is fundamental to the smooth workflow that I have there.
Start with Regolith https://regolith-linux.org/ for best introduction
Post system information
everypost every time.
It saves everyone time and might get unknown issues fixes aswell as what you post about
inxi -Fz
https://ostechnix.com/how-to-find-your-system-details-using-inxi/
Thanks to the op for the guide. It's useful as a reference.
However like most people I would advise something easier: try https://regolith-linux.org/
It has a substantial and active community behind it and an ultra responsive developer. Also it is very easy to uninstall and revert back to base Ubuntu or to install your own i3 stock version afterwards if you want.
You didn't mention what distro, DE you are currently running, but try Regolith.
They did most of the hard work of setting up i3 on Ubuntu for you and has a simple enough cheat sheet pop up.
Check Regolith out.
As someone else usggested, start from the server iso and make it yours.
Consider that you can build your system the same way on whatever mainstream distro.
Last but not least, despite Arch and WM are considered by a very vocal part of the Linux community the heaven of computing, the distro and the UI that best fit your needs could be something else.
As an example the industry is running Red Hat and the likes, SUSE/openSUSE and Ubuntu (alphabetical order) and the official DE is Gnome for them all.
There is some information here, I think a lot of people ran into this issue when 1.4 released:
https://regolith-linux.org/docs/howto/add-remove-blocklets/
​
There's also a new meta package in 1.5 called `regolith-desktop-mobile`, hopefully in the future the installer can install it automatically. A laptop with no battery indicator feels pretty broken.
https://regolith-linux.org/docs/interface/system/:
>In Regolith, the i3 config file is at /etc/regolith/i3/config and users can supply their own copy that will override this default if placed at ~/.config/regolith/i3/config.
Afaik there's no easy way to source another file within the i3 config. Regolith kind of does it with the way they use Xresources to define various parts of the config, so you might check out what they do. Though to mind it complicates the config process rather than simplifying it.
You can assign applications to workspaces in your i3 configuration so that they always start up on specific work spaces. After that, you can create a script that opens all of your applications and just bind a key to it in your i3 configuration.
Regolith doc indicating path to config file: https://regolith-linux.org/docs/interface/system/
I3 user docs: https://i3wm.org/docs/userguide.html
Stack overflow answer showing assign usage: https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/363848
Everybody with the same issue should test drive Regolith.
It is a distro that configures gnome with i3 and give you a nice feel what gnome could be if tiling was more of a focus/supported.
I think the best way to find out which distro is suitable for you is to try as many distros as you can.
I know it will cost you a lot of time and effort. However, you will know eventually which distro makes you more comfortable.
That’s what I did in the beginning, even if I found Ubuntu more suitable. Then I found Regolith linux , a good Desktop Environment , that’s perfect for me as a programmer who want to be more productive.
If you want to try Ubuntu with Regolith-Linux , I advise you to download the distro from Regolith-Linux website, because It works great than if you install The official Ubuntu and then Install the desktop environment.
$ source ~/.regolith-gnome-backup
Should have been the final step in your uninstall.
the default regolith startup config is..
/etc/regolith/i3/config
You could add the command to the end of that (which would make it apply to all users)
But the Regolith config file mentions what i guess it the more 'regolith' correct way to do it...
# User programs from Xresources # To use, define an Xresource key i3-wm.program.[1-3] with the value of the program to launch. # See https://regolith-linux.org/docs/howto/override-xres/ for details. set_from_resource $i3-wm.program.1 i3-wm.program.1 : exec --no-startup-id $i3-wm.program.1 set_from_resource $i3-wm.program.2 i3-wm.program.2 : exec --no-startup-id $i3-wm.program.2 set_from_resource $i3-wm.program.3 i3-wm.program.3 : exec --no-startup-id $i3-wm.program.3
But after reading the docs, I cant seem to figure out the right syntax to add to the Xresources file to get it to auto start anything.
I cant seem to get customizated config file in the users .config/regolith/config to work either. (i copied the file from the etc example, and changed it.. and it still seems to ignore my changes.
I recall why i stopped using Regolith and went back to normal i3.
Gnome itself allows you to tile programs to left, right and full screen using key combos or the mouse, while Pop Shell adds much more functionalities. And if you don't want to use Gnome Shell for any reasons, look for regolith-linux.org, it can be added to any Gnome-based installation.
You should follow these instructions.
If other changes are working then your issue might be unrelated to the location of the config file, but you should move it anyway just to be safe.
You should also explain what you did in your attempt so people can figure out where you went wrong.
For those who may miss some features in Pop Shell (it is improving fast tho!), you may want to try Regolith: it is a full i3-gaps running over Gnome. Then it should be easy to go back to Pop Shel when it is ready.
There is a Gnome Extension that opens certain apps in a pre-determined workspace, may help. And if you are not using Wayland, there is another one that may help with the layout, but I don't know if it was updated to Gnome 3.36 nor how it works with Pop Shell. Finally, you may want to check Regolith, it is i3-gaps on Gnome, and easily installed from PPA.
i3 is designed to configure to yourself for your workflow. So it comes with a minimal cong. So you have to do a lot of research. Your question is answered here in reddit or in many other site.
If you just want to use an i3 take a look at this ubuntu spin off https://regolith-linux.org/ or check it out the pop os! / gnome auto tiling features (but maybe these are still betas 😅)
So, in the new version, which blocks appear on the bar is controlled by which i3xrocks plugins are installed.
When I installed the new version I had to install them all one by one, but it looks like you want to remove one. This section of the configuration guide and also this page explain this.
This should show you which i3xrocks plugins are installed.
apt list --installed | grep "^i3xrocks-"
I didn't touch the i3xrocks config at all.
Same thing happened to me, now every info status from the bar is a different package. You Just need to follow the new documentation https://regolith-linux.org/docs/howto/add-remove-blocklets/ and install the packages that you want.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1I63wGcvU4
i3 window manger - a favorite for Coders and programmers and people in /r/unixporn
Keeps your fingers on the keyboard, and stays out of your way for the most part. Also light on resources.
there is 'Regolith linux' which is Ubuntu + I3+ some Gnome parts, to make a rather neat setup. https://regolith-linux.org/
But you can install i3 on almost any Linux Distro.
I agree with u/lioploum, but if you're willing to test and deal with bugs, upgrade instructions are here.
If you mean that you don't see the icon in the app tray, by default there is no app tray enabled in the bar in Regolith. To enable this on version 1.3.1 and above, add the following line to ~/config/regolith/Xresources:
i3-wm.bar.trayoutput: primary
Then press <Super><Shift><R> to refresh the session. If copyq is installed and running you should now see it in the app tray on the right side of the bar.
Xresource values for Regolith can be found here: https://regolith-linux.org/docs/reference/xresources/
Details below.
DE: Regolith
Bar: bumblebee-status with greyish-powerline theme
GTK Theme: Shades-of-gray
Colours: Zenburn
As someone who switched recently (couple of years ago) I would say that none of them work like Windows and that's a good thing :D. My recommendations:
Ubuntu or Pop!_OS if you need a stable machine and don't care for newest packages.
Manjaro - want something that's cutting edge or you run very new hardware.
Regolith linux - if you liked & used tiling in Win10. You can install it on any Ubuntu based distro as well!
I haven't tried it yet, but installing the Regolith Linux PPA looks like the easiest way to get a ready-to-run i3 install on Gallium.
https://regolith-linux.org/docs/getting-started/install/#option-2-ppa
DE: Regolith
Bar: bumblebee-status with greyish-powerline theme
GTK Theme: Shades-of-gray
Colours: Zenburn
For those who want to try this, but don't want the hassle, TRY REGOLITH. https://regolith-linux.org/
It can be installed on an Ubuntu box side by side with the normal desktop. Keybindings are configured by default and there's a help screen that tells you everything. It's a very intuitive starting point, and can be customized later.
- Wallpaper: Not this, but similar, I can't find the real one
- Setup: I started by installing Regolith in to Ubuntu 18.04.
- Terminal: Alacritty
- Bar: The default one from regolith ¯_(ツ)_/¯. Will be trying put polybar soon.
- Compositor: Compton with settigs to make the terminals transparant.
- Colours: I'm usin Pywal to set the terminal colours based off the wallpaper colours.
- Apps: Firefox for general browsing. Brave set to always start on workspace 2 and open my Emby server. Cava. Neofetch. htop. Ranger
You could look at how regolith Linux does it.
It's basically Ubuntu with i3 and settings to use gnome config tools.
I think it mainly autostarts a few gnome setting services on login, and supplies key combos for easy access, conky provided a help dialog, and some system tray in the panel to hold icons.
this basically just packages i3 window manager in a nice easy to use bundle since I dont really feel like spending the time to fully cusomize from the ground up, but I really love the workflow from i3.
Yo my dude, if my reply came across as confrontational in any way, I apologize. My intent was civil discussion, not dickheaded arguing, so if it reads as the latter: sorry homie.
And I also agree with you that a distribution with the WM/DE they want and minimal config would be optimal.
That said: it turns out there's actually Regolith Linux which is an Ubuntu spin with i3wm as the default! That's pretty awesome, imo. I was unaware it even existed until now.
Regolith allows you to use the standard gnome settings inside of i3: https://regolith-linux.org/
It also runs a bunch of other gnome stuff so hotplugging monitors, brightness/volume keys, etc... work with no config
if you want an easier intro to i3 - which is common on unixporn there is...
regolith linux - which is Ubuntu + i3 + a few parts of gnome - configured to make a relatively decent beginner user experience with i3.
Regolith is basically Ubuntu + a configured I3-WM setup, that uses parts of gnome. So there are a lot of quality of life tweaks (like a keyboard help window to show you the key bindings) and other little things.
You can enable the PPA and install it on your ubuntu or other systems. But it may alter your gnome settings (theme and so forth) , so if you log back into gnome, it may not look the same as it did. Since regolith and your Gnome Desktop would be sharing the same settings.
So you might want to make a new user to test out regolith, or try the live-usb.
Also note - it is a very tweaked i3 setup in ways, so a lot of i3 guides wont exactly match what regolith is doing. Which can really annoy people that are used to i3.
> i3 seems to change some things around (e.g. "python" now links to the python3 binary and not the python2 binary as would have been with Ubuntu
you Sure that it's i3 doing those changes?
from my quick research on the python2/3 default topic, ububtu should be using python 3 as the default. But that seems to be a 'in the near future plan'
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Python says 3 is the default, but it's not.
(still researching this topic)
but as you mention, python 2.7 seems to be the default for python on my 19.10 system.
perhaps it's the python programs that should be explicitly calling python2 or 3 depending on which one they need?
the default for the python can apparently be changed using the update-alternatives
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/496461/how-to-make-python3-7-default
I would find it strange if i3 changed the alternative, since that could cause system breakage.
good luck, I guess I did not give much of an answer.
PS: for i3+Ubuntu I have been testing out Regolith Linux.
it has some nice features, but strays away from some things that hardcore i3 users may want.
> Regolith is a unique desktop environment that ditches the cruft of Windows and Mac knockoffs to provide a productive and beautiful place to get work done. Built on top of Ubuntu and GNOME, Regolith stands on a stable, well-supported, and consistent foundation.
It is basically Ubuntu + i3 + Gnome parts, polished to work together.
So you get nice GUI config tools for most things, a conky based 'i3 quick help' pop up, and a few other things.
> Why can't we have both?
regolith gives you both. :) If there are any other similar projects, i Have not heard of them.
Of course Most hard core i3 users, dont want or need the other parts. They like to roll their own.
if you want an example of one way this can be done, look at the Regolith Linux setup and borrow their ideas. :)
it is basically a Ubuntu setup, that has i3+Select gnome parts to do the various gui config features.
Not exactly the answer you want i guess, but it serves as an example of what can be done.
so i guess you Could just install gnome, but run i3, and use the gnome tools to set things up. (is that a better answer? )
be cool - and use i3wm! :) or Check out https://regolith-linux.org/
Its amazing how little 'real work' i do on my computers these days.
I guess 3d Modeling in the web browser at the Tinkercad site counts as 'real work' but only barely.
You can set up Gnome to use i3 i THINK.. :) But thats a bit more advanced and you can have some weirdness.
Look at the regolith linux Disrto. They mixx up i3+Gnome bits, into a neat setup. https://regolith-linux.org/
> switch whenever you want..
I just install i3, and install gnome, log out, select what Session i want at the Login Screen, and log back in.. rather trivial. :) I even have a session that runs just KODI if i want to switch to 'media center' mode.
- Wallpaper: https://unsplash.com/photos/mawU2PoJWfU
- Icons: Fontawesome
- OS: https://regolith-linux.org/
Started the MacVM via https://github.com/foxlet/macOS-Simple-KVM, added a second graphics card (RX 570) for out of the box support in OSX.
Mouse and Keyboard can be seamlessly used via Synergy.
You might want to check out Regolith. It's i3 with a Gnome backend. It's installed via a ppa, so it can be installed on stock Ubuntu very easily. https://regolith-linux.org/
you install i3-gaps. Log out, restart the login manager (a reboot may be easier) Then select i3 On the Login screen.. and login..
then it will be loading i3. You are worrying too much about the details. :)
If you want a tweaked i3 setup check out Regolith https://regolith-linux.org/
which can install on Pop_OS via a PPA, but it is quite a bit different in ways than a 'roll your own i3' setup.
> Without loosing my Gnome Setup.
What are you expecting to happen? If you are worried about your gnome settings, then backup your .config directories.
i3 does not use any gnome stuff, so should affect nothing on gnome.
Regolith - however DOES use gnome parts for many things, so changing fonts, or themes in Regolith CAN affect your gnome settings if you log into gnome.
Seriously if you're used to useing Gnome, try out Regolith. It's i3 with a Gnome backend, meaning it uses Gnome settings for everything. It's great. https://regolith-linux.org/
I've been using https://regolith-linux.org/
It's a Ubuntu based one that comes with i3 preinstalled as your default desktop and several tools already fine tuned.
I'm using it inside a VM to test it out.
Give it a try! It works pretty well.
Right now my host OS is an Ubuntu Net install where I install every single command/tool I need (and only that)
I did that and I had problems. Possibly they were to do with HiDPI support. I suggest searching the web to see whether you can find details on pitfalls. And do a Timeshift backup first.
Also, you might be interested in Regolith - which is, I believe, a kind of tiling-for-beginners setup. I haven't tried it myself though.
Regolith is based on Ubuntu and comes with i3 like Manjaro-i3. It's very easy to customize and they have a very active community. They're very responsive and helpful in their Slack channel. https://regolith-linux.org/
I do not know anything about how to package for Arch but as K900_ says, it should be fairly straightforward. You'd need to install the packages listed on this page in Arch and then just copy over the config files hosted on Regolith's GitHub repositories to replace the default versions. For example, i3's config is here and Rofi's config is here. The package repositories follow this convention: regolith-<UI component>-config.
Good luck!
https://regolith-linux.org/howto.html#i3-tray Bottom of page section marked Enable an Icon Tray in the Bar
>Enable an Icon Tray in the Bar >Enabling the task/icon tray in the bar requires a single change to your i3 config file, located at ~/.config/i3-regolith/config-4.16-1ubuntu18ppa10. Find the line with tray_output none and replace it with tray_output primary. After logging back in or reloading i3, the tray is active. To verify it’s working, run nm-applet from a terminal and notice the icon appears in the tray. With the tray enabled, you’ll then need to run applet programs of your choosing to show up in the tray. This can be done via the i3 exec command. See the i3-wm User Guide for more information.
I don't see a problem with using lightdm but I have never tried it. The Regolith i3 config is the base config and a bunch of patches in git. There is a how to that describes how to extract it here: https://regolith-linux.org/howto.html#i3-config
Check out Regolith, it's an Ubuntu packaged i3-gaps, and can be installed via a repository. It was very easy and works very well, and when it gets updates, it comes right through with all the rest.
"If you already have an existing Ubuntu setup, Regolith can simply be added as another desktop session by installing the package regolith-desktop"
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa://kgilmer/regolith-stable
sudo apt install regolith-desktop