How to combine xfce desktop enviroment and

i3wm
xfce i3

konkinsdeciple Forum Member Nov '19

Good morning gnuaboos, I really like xfce, and I also really like i3, so i thought
to my self, why not combine them? I mean, xfce is a DE, and i3 is a window
manager, so it could work right?

If you said yes,

You

were

Correct

It works so well, i'm glad I did it, but what if you want to do it? where do you
start?

First:

Back up your files

you can seriously screw up your system if you mess up, I had to reinstall
Manjaro twice after I messed up.

Next, you should install i3, obviously. You can do this by opening a terminal and
entering:

sudo pacman -S i3

Enter your password when prompted, and hit enter when it asks you what i3
packages to install, it should install all as default.

Next, you should generate an i3 config, this can either be done by importing a
preexisting config file to ~/.config/i3/ with the filename config. If you want to
start with the default i3 config, just log out of your xfce session, and next to the
power option in the bottom left corner, click that and change from xfce to i3.

Once in the i3 desktop, follow its instructions, then reboot and log into xfce.

Next, you'll need to install nitrogen:

sudo pacman -S nitrogen

Then, open nitrogen and configure it, choosing which directories to use for
wallpaper choosing,

I'd recommend at least /usr/share/backgrounds/

Next, youll need to install xfce4-i3-workspaces-plugin-git

You can install it from the aur with your aur helper, I use trizen, so my syntax
would be:

trizen -S xfce4-i3-workspaces-plugin-git

This program replaces xfce workspace plugin and allows you switch i3
workspaces using the xfce panel.

next, you'll have to remove all xfce keybinds, this can be obtained by going
settings> Keyboard >shortcuts. Then remove all of the shortcuts, you'll use i3's
shortcuts from now on.

Next you'll have to uninstall `xfdesktop' with this command:

sudo pacman -Rc xfdesktop

This wont remove the entire xfce desktop environment, so don't worry!

I know this seems long, but your almost there! once you uninstall xfdesktop,
all you need to do is enter one command:

xfconf-query -c xfce4-session -p /sessions/Failsafe/Client0_Command -t string

-sa i3

this command replaces xfwm4 with i3.

Final step: reboot and enjoy i3 + xfce!

Note To get transperency on the terminals, you will need a compositor like
Compton installed and configured.

My desktop

Gtop, neofetch and my config file open in vim

htop, neofetch, pfetch, cava, and peaclock all open

A fully functioning whisker menu!

Issues:

where did my (battery, wifi, bluetooth) icons go? they aren't on my panel!

this happens when i3bar essentially hijacks the xfce notification center and is
actually a pretty simple fix, if you don't mind getting rid of the i3 bar, that is.
(there's no purpose in having it when i3 is in tandem with xfce anyway.)

Simply comment out the i3bar section in your config file, it should look
something like:

Remember to comment out everything in this section, including the curly

brackets.

Tell me what you think, did i do a good job explaining?

Share screenshots if you follow this!

Neat November (2019) Screenshots

transition from XFCE on Manjaro to i3 on Manjaro, how to get status bar icon for Dropbox/Insync?

eugen-b Forum moderator Nov '19

konkinsdeciple:

Next you'll have to uninstall `xfdesktop' with this command:

sudo pacman -Rc xfdesktop

This wont remove the entire xfce desktop environment, just the window
manager.
xfdesktop is not the window manager, it the program which sets the
background, allows to place launchers and other files on the desktop.

xfwm is the window manager.

konkinsdeciple:

xfconf-query -c xfce4-session -p /sessions/Failsafe/Client0_Command -t string

-sa i3

this command replaces the xfce daemon with i3.

I'm not sure, but I think this command replace xfwm with i3.

When you log in you select the Xfce4 session, don't you? Not the i3 session?

All in all a good job, not trivial.

konkinsdeciple Forum Member Nov '19

When you log in, you select xfce4

konkinsdeciple Forum Member Nov '19

And thanks!

bill_t Nov '19

Nice guide, you did a great job.

Two observations:

konkinsdeciple:

This program allows you to switch i3 workspaces using the xfce workspace
plugin

This is a little bit confusing. The xfce4-i3-workspaces-plugin is a

separate plugin for the Xfce panel. It has to be added to the panel - like any
other panel plugin - and the build-in Workspace Switcher plugin (or pager)
should be removed from the panel as it doesn't provide any functionality.

It would be better to say that the xfce4-i3-workspaces-plugin replaces

the build-in Workspace Switcher plugin and that it has to be added to the panel
after its installation.

Second observation is somehow related to the screenshots you posted. I think

it would be a good idea to mention in the guide that if the user wants
transparency in applications, they will have to install a compositor (like
Compton for example?), since the build-in compositor of Xfce is part of the
Xfce Window Manager (xfwm4) which gets eventually replaced by i3wm in the
guide.

Other than that, the guide is pretty straightforward, you did a very good job
explaining the needed steps!

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