Personalize Your i3 Environment: Custom Backgrounds, Lock Screens, and More

Make Your i3 Desktop Your Own

A fresh i3 installation is minimal, but the ‘Ubuntu System Administration Guide’ shows how easy it is to customize. You can make your environment both functional and visually appealing by editing the configuration file located at ~/.config/i3/config.

Setting a Background Image

First, install a simple image viewer called ‘feh’:

sudo apt-get install feh

Then, add the following line to the end of your i3 config file, replacing the path with the location of your desired wallpaper:

exec --no-startup-id feh --bg-fill ~/.config/background/image.jpg

Creating a Custom Lock Screen

For security, you can set up a screen lock that activates automatically. Install the necessary tools:

sudo apt-get install xautolock i3lock

Then, add these lines to your config file to lock the screen after 15 minutes and create a shortcut (Win + l) to lock it manually:

exec xautolock -time 15 -locker 'i3lock -i ~/.config/background/lock.png' &
bindsym $mod+l exec i3lock -i ~/.config/background/lock.png

Reload the i3 configuration with Win + Shift + c to apply your changes.

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This post is based from content of the book Ubuntu System adminstration guide. And the book can be found here https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mattias-Hemmingsson/author/B0FF5CQX13