Setting up i3 on an existing install from dotfiles


I’ve recently had to restore my i3-wm desktop from my home machine to a couple of new machines so I thought I’d note down all the steps for a quicker setup in the future.

  • Install i3wm (Steps reproduced from i3wm.org)
echo "deb http://debian.sur5r.net/i3/ $(lsb_release -c -s) universe" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
apt-get update
apt-get --allow-unauthenticated install sur5r-keyring
apt-get update
apt-get install i3

Remember to use apt-get and not apt otherwise ubuntu will refuse to accept the unauthenticated package.

  • Download any fonts that you need for your config. I use http://fontawesome.io/. Download the ttf and put it in a .fonts folder in the home folder.

  • Get your dotfiles. I store mine on github. Move all contents of i3 folder in the dotfiles repo to ~/.config/i3/.

  • Install any packages that might be needed now. I require lxappearance, arandr, synapse, rofi, dunst, compton.

  • Install numix theme (sudo apt install numix-gtk-theme) and numix icons:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:numix/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install numix-icon-theme-circle
  • Use lxappearance to set system font to Ubuntu Regular, theme and icon to numix. Also set terminal font to Ubuntu Regular.