The Mod key is central to i3. It's typically Alt (Mod1) or the Windows/Super key (Mod4). In this cheat sheet, $mod refers to your configured Mod key.
Basic Operations
- $mod+Return: Open terminal.
- $mod+d: Open application launcher (e.g., dmenu, rofi).
- $mod+Shift+q: Kill focused window.
- $mod+Shift+c: Reload i3 configuration file.
- $mod+Shift+r: Restart i3 in place.
- $mod+Shift+e: Exit i3 (logout).
Window Navigation & Focus
- $mod+j or $mod+Left: Focus window left.
- $mod+k or $mod+Down: Focus window down.
- $mod+l or $mod+Up: Focus window up.
- $mod+; or $mod+Right: Focus window right.
- $mod+Shift+j or $mod+Shift+Left: Move focused window left.
- $mod+Shift+k or $mod+Shift+Down: Move focused window down.
- $mod+Shift+l or $mod+Shift+Up: Move focused window up.
- $mod+Shift+; or $mod+Shift+Right: Move focused window right.
- $mod+space: Toggle focus between tiling and floating windows.
- $mod+Shift+space: Toggle floating mode for focused window.
Layout Management
- $mod+h: Split horizontally for next window.
- $mod+v: Split vertically for next window.
- $mod+e: Toggle split orientation for current container (horizontal/vertical).
- $mod+s: Set layout to stacking for focused container.
- $mod+w: Set layout to tabbed for focused container.
- $mod+f: Toggle fullscreen for focused window.
- $mod+r: Enter resize mode. Use arrow keys or j/k/l/; to resize, then Enter or Escape to exit.
Workspace Management
- $mod+[0-9]: Switch to workspace N (e.g., $mod+1 for workspace 1).
- $mod+Shift+[0-9]: Move focused window to workspace N.
Scratchpad
The scratchpad is a special hidden area to quickly show/hide windows.
- $mod+Shift+minus: Move focused window to scratchpad.
- $mod+minus: Show/hide the next window from scratchpad.
