# I3 alongside KDE? **URL:** \ **Category:** All WMs\ **Created:** [February 12, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933 "2021-02-12T15:01:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/1 "2021-02-12T15:01:30Z")
Happy Friday! šŸ˜I saw there was a thread about i3 WM alongside xfce, which works great since both use thunar as file manager and share some apps. My question, I installed the newest EOS Feb iso KDE plasma, now I like to add a i3wm session so I can switch my workflow between i3 (ego workflow) and kde (working with other people). Any experience how it goes? Just wondering if there are any conflicts of apps or duplicate app entries that makes i3 not well compatible with KDE? I am not sure anymore if I install i3wm after kde whether it will install the standard apps provided with the i3 iso (meaning I would end up with Dolphin and Thunar for example) or just the barebone wm and it bodes well with plasma apps. ---
**Author:** ![OdiousImp](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/odiousimp/32/17275_2.png) [@OdiousImp](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/OdiousImp)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/2 "2021-02-12T15:07:15Z")
Most window mangerā€™s wonā€™t conflict each other and DEā€™s. Because a WM is just a WM. It contains no default apps. If your gonna use the endeavour OS i3 configā€™s (and follow the steps on the github) like you said you will end up both dolphin and thunar but this is not that badā€¦you can just unistall thunar. > **[GitHub - endeavouros-team/endeavouros-i3wm-setup: The beloved EndeavourOS...](https://github.com/endeavouros-team/endeavouros-i3wm-setup)** > > The beloved EndeavourOS default i3 (gaps) theme and setup dotfile repo - GitHub - endeavouros-team/endeavouros-i3wm-setup: The beloved EndeavourOS default i3 (gaps) theme and setup dotfile repo You can also use i3 and KDE toghter too. So if you want all of KDEā€™S notifications service and etc; you can replace KWIN with i3 too. [https://userbase.kde.org/Tutorials/Using\_Other\_Window\_Managers\_with\_Plasma](https://userbase.kde.org/Tutorials/Using_Other_Window_Managers_with_Plasma) Happy Friday to you to. Have a nice weekend! ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/3 "2021-02-12T21:52:19Z")
Thanks for the nice infos and links! ---
**Author:** ![ringo](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/ringo/32/66182_2.png) [@ringo](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/ringo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/4 "2021-02-12T21:55:24Z")
Mayby a kde+i3 setup ---
**Author:** ![OdiousImp](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/odiousimp/32/17275_2.png) [@OdiousImp](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/OdiousImp)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/5 "2021-02-12T21:57:03Z")
Youā€™ll probably want to use kde apps in i3 So you can the env variable in /etc/environment ```auto QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=kde ``` This means the apps will use kde themeingā€¦this only applies if your running i3 seperartely not needed if your just replacing kwinā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/6 "2021-02-12T22:00:47Z")
> [@OdiousImp](#): > > not needed if your just replacing kwinā€¦ I have to read up on that. I assume you are saying that I could run i3wm in kde plasma not as a separate session. That is intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![OdiousImp](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/odiousimp/32/17275_2.png) [@OdiousImp](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/OdiousImp)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/7 "2021-02-12T22:04:18Z")
Yes. Youll be replacing kwin so all your notifictions and power management will all come from plasma. This is good if yiu dont want to start from the bottom up. It does mean obviously youā€™ll lose kwins window decoration and desktop effects but this can be solved using an external compisitor like picom. I think I confused with the last bit šŸ˜” ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/8 "2021-02-12T22:10:58Z")
Ok, I will see. Probably will try to run them separate. Am pretty happy with my kde setup, and like to run the i3 in a separate session with kde theming. ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/10 "2022-07-26T01:04:08Z")
Alright, reviving an old thread here. Just found this [https://github.com/heckelson/i3-and-kde-plasma](https://github.com/heckelson/i3-and-kde-plasma) Anyone experience with this setup? ---
**Author:** ![joekamprad](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/joekamprad/32/77608_2.png) [@joekamprad](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/joekamprad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 7:36am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/11 "2022-07-26T07:36:36Z")
looks nice and seems smart to use a service to replace kwin with i3ā€¦ as it should be a solid solution. I tried to do such setup but same as for gnome-i3 I do not see much benefit of a full DE in combination with i3 ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![anon63071375](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@anon63071375](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/anon63071375)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 11:50am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/12 "2022-07-26T11:50:45Z")
Iā€™ve tried before. Bismuth was so much less effort and yielded better results the effort wasnā€™t worth imo. ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:16pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/13 "2022-07-26T12:16:58Z")
> [@anon63071375](#): > > Bismuth was so much less effort Depends, I saw this project but havenā€™t tried yet. I am used to i3wm and could just use my config file and keybindings I assume. so once setup things should be easily customizable to my liking. ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:23pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/14 "2022-07-26T12:23:52Z")
> [@joekamprad](#): > > I do not see much benefit of a full DE in combination with i3 ā€¦ Me in general neither. But I have a setup with KDE and another i3wm session. Some days when in i3, I wish I had some of the convenience of KDE DE, like system settings, changing appearance etc. Then I log in KDE, and and I am missing tiling and my keyboard keybindings, and config file. Donā€™t know if I would like hybrid though. ---
**Author:** ![Kresimir](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/kresimir/32/73739_2.png) [@Kresimir](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Kresimir)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 5:00pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/15 "2022-07-26T17:00:29Z")
dwm works great alongside KDE. ---
**Author:** ![anon63071375](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@anon63071375](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/anon63071375)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/16 "2022-07-26T17:48:05Z")
Should be. Yes. Bismuth is literally just install and check the box. If you want to stop using it, uncheck the box. It follows virtually all plasma bindings anyways, abs those you want to change are as simple as selecting it, abs remap it. Done. It was enough I stopped putting i3 in everything I could find. ---
**Author:** ![anon63071375](https://forum.endeavouros.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@anon63071375](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/anon63071375)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/17 "2022-07-26T17:49:09Z")
> [@Zircon34](#): > > . Then I log in KDE, and and I am missing tiling and my keyboard keybindings, and config file. Donā€™t know if I would like hybrid though. Literally all of things you just said you miss arenā€™t missing with Bismuth. ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/18 "2022-07-27T01:34:25Z")
I will have to check it out. Ideally I would just use my i3wm config file, which I can easily transfer on several of my systems to get set up and running. Thatā€™s where I see a use case for me to use both KDE and i3 together. Will need to setup a virtual box first to test (also bismuth) in case I break things. Edit: weekend project šŸæ šŸ˜ ---
**Author:** ![niknik1971](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/niknik1971/32/56776_2.png) [@niknik1971](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/niknik1971)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/19 "2022-09-21T16:47:54Z")
When I set up my laptop I had KDE. I then used the arcolinux tweak tool amd installed I3WM. I now mostley use I3WM and now and then go onto KDE. Both work fine without any problems. ---
**Author:** ![Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/zircon34/32/135623_2.png) [@Zircon34](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/Zircon34)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/20 "2022-09-21T23:17:03Z")
I tried it recently too, but was on KDE neon and installed i3wm from scratch. Back to eos though finally! ---
**Author:** ![lorebett](https://forum.endeavouros.com/user_avatar/forum.endeavouros.com/lorebett/32/42186_2.png) [@lorebett](https://forum.endeavouros.com/u/lorebett)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/i3-alongside-kde/11933/21 "2022-10-01T16:50:20Z")
> [@OdiousImp](#): > > Most window mangerā€™s wonā€™t conflict each other and DEā€™s. As long as you use different users for different DEs.