5 ms·

Alternate take: I achieve constant-time access (mod key + digit) to all those things with 10 workspaces in i3. I can't imagine having to see them all at once.

Alternate take: I achieve constant-time access (mod key + digit) to all those things with 10 workspaces in i3. I can't imagine having to see them all at once. Realistically, I'm only actually thinking about 1 or 2 of them at a time. If I need to check documentation, I'm no longer thinking about my build output. Slack, email, and calendar are disconnected from development tools. And if I need to do a quick context shift, I can switch over instantly.

fleaaa 5y ago
I do the same and have triple displays that is placed with ergonomics in mind, so workspace is like 3*n mostly. There's no drawback for me except probably terrible carbon foot print..
- apetresc 5y ago
  Sorry, what impact does i3 have on your carbon footprint?
  - NateEag 5y ago
    Not i3 - the energy consumption of running three large monitors.
    - apetresc 5y ago
      But the OP's point was that using workspaces in a tiling window manager removes the need for so much physical real estate. If you have a very fluent i3-based workflow, the limiting factor becomes your own human capacity to focus attention, at which point a single decently large monitor (that can hold, say, 4 windows comfortably per workspace) is all you'd ever need. 3 monitors is just a workaround for a workflow problem that i3 can solve.
      - NateEag 5y ago
        And the post I clarified says: > I do the same and have triple displays that is placed with ergonomics in mind, meaning that the author uses both i3 and triple monitors. I use a laptop and two 27" externals, not with i3 but with an auto-positioning Hammerspoon that has a similar effect. When I'm on smaller or fewer displays I can't fit everything I want up simultaneously. Granted, I relatively often have a mobile app codebase, a backend API codebase used by the mobile app, terminal sessions pertaining to each of those codebases, and documentation for the tools used in either or both projects up all at once. My eyesight isn't great, so all of those have fairly large font sizes. Not every project needs that much context. When I'm hacking on my Emacs config, a two-pane split is about I can ask for (and one will do the job just fine).
xhrpost 5y ago
I've never used i3 but have been intrigued for ages. I'm finding myself more and more "faking" a tiling window system on my work Mac. I generally open a separate zsh/tmux session in a vscode pane for each workspace, which works great. I'm now also adding a split window to the left for note taking, initially Gdocs but more recently just another vscode window for markdown files. I merge all my other coding workspaces into one window on the right, so I can have the same notes on the left but switch projects on the right with ease. Curious if something like yabai would be even better but just haven't made the time to try it.
- maxmunzel 5y ago
  Have you tried Spectacle? https://www.spectacleapp.com https://www.spectacleapp.com As a long time i3 user that switched to Mac, it gives me almost all the benefits while still integrating nicely with the general UI. It's also not nearly as steep of a learning curve and does not get in your way at all.
  - xhrpost 5y ago
    Thanks for recommending! I will check it out. Edit: "Spectacle is no longer being actively maintained Download Spectacle" I guess it still works for you though?
    - happimess 5y ago
      Spectacle runs just fine and is worth looking at. For me, it didn't really scratch the itch.
spiffytech 5y ago
I find I'm a lot more productive if I can see everything I'm keeping in my head all at once. Virtual desktops are good for organization, but for me, don't substitute for a large display.
pronlover723 5y ago
workspaces don't work for me. I constantly need to see 2-3 windows from different apps together and which 2-3 change constantly meaning to see them together I'd have to move the windows across workspaces every 10-20 minutes. Documentation + editor Editor + Terminal Editor + Issue Tracker Terminal + Issue Tracker Issue Tracker + Testing Result etc. etc. I don't "context switch". My context is "getting shit done" and for me it requires access to many many windows at the same time.
- hexomancer 5y ago
  Check out dwm. It has a different concept from workspaces called 'tags' which is close to what you are describing.
- happimess 5y ago
  FWIW, moving a window to a different workspace is also constant-time (shift+mod+digit). Maybe I'd spend another half second positioning it among the tiles (shift+mod+vim navigation keys), but only if I'm just starting a project.
DyslexicAtheist 5y ago
that's also my philosophy (in sway). in my first workspace I keep all my terminals that belong to a specific task ws 2 for another task ws 3 for web browsing, ws 3 for irc|mail|signal etc ... and most of the time I am in fullscreen so I won't get distracted (by things like polybar/waybar etc) ... really did wonders for my attention and productivity.

fleaaa 5y ago

I do the same and have triple displays that is placed with ergonomics in mind, so workspace is like 3*n mostly. There's no drawback for me except probably terrible carbon foot print..

apetresc 5y ago
Sorry, what impact does i3 have on your carbon footprint?
- NateEag 5y ago
  Not i3 - the energy consumption of running three large monitors.
  - apetresc 5y ago
    But the OP's point was that using workspaces in a tiling window manager removes the need for so much physical real estate. If you have a very fluent i3-based workflow, the limiting factor becomes your own human capacity to focus attention, at which point a single decently large monitor (that can hold, say, 4 windows comfortably per workspace) is all you'd ever need. 3 monitors is just a workaround for a workflow problem that i3 can solve.
    - NateEag 5y ago
      And the post I clarified says: > I do the same and have triple displays that is placed with ergonomics in mind, meaning that the author uses both i3 and triple monitors. I use a laptop and two 27" externals, not with i3 but with an auto-positioning Hammerspoon that has a similar effect. When I'm on smaller or fewer displays I can't fit everything I want up simultaneously. Granted, I relatively often have a mobile app codebase, a backend API codebase used by the mobile app, terminal sessions pertaining to each of those codebases, and documentation for the tools used in either or both projects up all at once. My eyesight isn't great, so all of those have fairly large font sizes. Not every project needs that much context. When I'm hacking on my Emacs config, a two-pane split is about I can ask for (and one will do the job just fine).

xhrpost 5y ago

I've never used i3 but have been intrigued for ages. I'm finding myself more and more "faking" a tiling window system on my work Mac. I generally open a separate zsh/tmux session in a vscode pane for each workspace, which works great. I'm now also adding a split window to the left for note taking, initially Gdocs but more recently just another vscode window for markdown files. I merge all my other coding workspaces into one window on the right, so I can have the same notes on the left but switch projects on the right with ease. Curious if something like yabai would be even better but just haven't made the time to try it.

maxmunzel 5y ago
Have you tried Spectacle? https://www.spectacleapp.com https://www.spectacleapp.com As a long time i3 user that switched to Mac, it gives me almost all the benefits while still integrating nicely with the general UI. It's also not nearly as steep of a learning curve and does not get in your way at all.
- xhrpost 5y ago
  Thanks for recommending! I will check it out. Edit: "Spectacle is no longer being actively maintained Download Spectacle" I guess it still works for you though?
  - happimess 5y ago
    Spectacle runs just fine and is worth looking at. For me, it didn't really scratch the itch.

spiffytech 5y ago

I find I'm a lot more productive if I can see everything I'm keeping in my head all at once. Virtual desktops are good for organization, but for me, don't substitute for a large display.

pronlover723 5y ago

workspaces don't work for me. I constantly need to see 2-3 windows from different apps together and which 2-3 change constantly meaning to see them together I'd have to move the windows across workspaces every 10-20 minutes. Documentation + editor Editor + Terminal Editor + Issue Tracker Terminal + Issue Tracker Issue Tracker + Testing Result etc. etc. I don't "context switch". My context is "getting shit done" and for me it requires access to many many windows at the same time.

hexomancer 5y ago
Check out dwm. It has a different concept from workspaces called 'tags' which is close to what you are describing.
happimess 5y ago
FWIW, moving a window to a different workspace is also constant-time (shift+mod+digit). Maybe I'd spend another half second positioning it among the tiles (shift+mod+vim navigation keys), but only if I'm just starting a project.

DyslexicAtheist 5y ago

that's also my philosophy (in sway). in my first workspace I keep all my terminals that belong to a specific task ws 2 for another task ws 3 for web browsing, ws 3 for irc|mail|signal etc ... and most of the time I am in fullscreen so I won't get distracted (by things like polybar/waybar etc) ... really did wonders for my attention and productivity.