i3 Window Manager
October 22th, 2020
Introduction
As a regular Linux user, a clean and nice looking desktop is important to me. Although I know i3 by name for a long time, I have not made any effort to use i3 myself. About two years ago this changed because a colleague of mine was using i3 on Arch Linux and I was impressed by its efficiency and way of working. That’s why I decided to test i3 myself and as the author of the Hacking-Lab LiveCD I decided to make it available to a larger audience.
Testing i3 on your own
While learning i3, I noticed that most of the online tutorials and videos are about installing and configuring i3. My problem at the beginning, however, was to understand how i3 basically works and how to use i3 efficiently. If one understood these concepts, then one can worry about the personal configuration.
YouTube Video
Please watch the video below and make yourself familiar with the i3 window manager. Download the latest HL LiveCD and import the OVA in your preferred hypervisor (VirtualBox, Vmware) and play along with the examples shown in the video.
- https://livecd.hacking-lab.com
- Download slides shown in the video from here
Hacking-Lab
Hacking-Lab is a cyber security portal that offers both commercial and free security services. Companies and universities use the virtual Security Lab for hands-on training and Capture-the-Flag (CTF) events, or the HL Cyber Range for training groups in simulated scenarios.
Based on Kali Linux, Hacking-Lab develops its own free Hacking-Lab LiveCD. It is used as a client workplace in trainings on penetration testing, web hacking, forensics, mobile security and more. It’s free and Kali based. Login with username “hacker” with the password “compass”.
mod key
The i3 window manager is based on keyboard shortcuts. One key on your keyboard can be set as the “mod” or “modifier” key. If you try out the LiveCD, the following shortcuts have been set (see the list below).
LiveCD Shortcuts: Workspace
mod + number (selection of workspace)
mod + enter (open terminal)
mod + d (start launcher)
mod + shift + q (terminate = ALT F4)
ctrl + d (hangup, exit, logout)
mod + shift + r (restart i3)
mod + shift + e (exit i3, back to login screen)LiveCD Shortcuts: Window Creation
mod + h (horizontal mode)
mod + v (vertical mode)LiveCD Shortcuts: Windows Selection
mod + ⬅
mod + ⬆
mod + ⬇
mod + ➡LiveCD Shortcuts: Window Arrangement (move)
mod + shift + ⬅
mod + shift + ⬆
mod + shift + ⬇
mod + shift + ➡LiveCD Shortcuts: Windows View (split, tab, stack, float)
mod + w (tab)
mod + f (fullscreen enter & leave)
mod + s (stacked)
mod + e (split)
mod + shift + space (floating)LiveCD Shortcuts: Font Size in Terminal (alacritty)
ctrl + (increase font)
ctrl - (smaller font)Thank You
Thank you for reading and/or watching. If you like i3, I recommend to deep-dive into the world of i3 configuration and personalization. There are plenty of resources available explaining this.
Regards, Ivan Bütler
CEO Compass Security
www.compass-security.com
and Cyber Security Lecturer at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences https://www.ost.ch/en/
