Using i3 window manager with KDE Plasma

Replace Kwin with i3

Create a shell script (for example wm.sh) in a safe place with the following contents. The file path is wherever i3 is installed. The location can be found using the command which i3

Then, in System Settings > Startup and Shutdown > Autostart, add the wm.sh file that we just created as a script. Make sure the the script is set to run Before session startup.

Alternatively, just create the wm.sh file in the directory ~/.config/plasma-workspace/env/

Modify i3 config

Add the following to the i3 config file. It attempts to kill the Plasma desktop/wallpaper as well as defines some rules for Plasma windows and popups. Make sure wmctrl is installed. Modify to fit your needs.

And that’s it, you can log out and log back in…

Misc

• You will probably want to disable many of the Desktop Effects in System Settings. Most are useless with tiling.
• You will probably want to use Nitrogen or feh to set and restore your desktop wallpaper
  exec --no-startup-id nitrogen --restore
• For transparency and blur effects, you will need to use a compositor like Compton
• To prevent notifications and Plasma shell pop-ups from stealing focus we need to use the no_focus rule in the i3 config.
  no_focus [class=”plasmashell”]

Reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/comments/64mihc/i3_kde_plasma_a_match_made_in_heaven/