usage

Basic Usage

Learn how to use bspwmctl after installation.

Quick Reference

# Install bspwm environment
./bspwmctl install [--minimal|--standard|--full]

# Check installation status
./bspwmctl check

# Show help
./bspwmctl --help

# Show version
./bspwmctl --version

First Steps After Installation

1. Log into bspwm

After running the installer:

1. Log out of your current session
2. At the login screen, click the session selector (usually a gear icon)
3. Select bspwm
4. Log in with your credentials

2. Basic Keyboard Shortcuts

The default keybindings (configured in ~/.config/sxhkd/sxhkdrc):

Shortcut	Action
Super + Enter	Open terminal (kitty)
Super + Space	Open app launcher (rofi)
Super + w	Close window
Super + m	Toggle monocle mode
Super + [1-9]	Switch to desktop 1-9
Super + Shift + [1-9]	Move window to desktop 1-9
Super + h/j/k/l	Focus window (left/down/up/right)
Super + Alt + h/j/k/l	Resize window
Super + Shift + q	Restart bspwm
Super + Shift + Escape	Reload sxhkd config

3. Explore Your Config

Your configuration files are located in:

~/.config/bspwm/        ← Window manager config
~/.config/sxhkd/        ← Keyboard shortcuts
~/.config/kitty/        ← Terminal config
~/.config/polybar/      ← Status bar (if standard mode)
~/.config/picom/        ← Compositor (if standard mode)

Installation Modes

See Installation Modes for detailed comparison.

Available Commands

Check out Commands Reference for all available commands.

Customization

Change Keyboard Shortcuts

Edit ~/.config/sxhkd/sxhkdrc:

nano ~/.config/sxhkd/sxhkdrc

After editing, reload with Super + Shift + Escape

Modify Window Rules

Edit ~/.config/bspwm/bspwmrc:

nano ~/.config/bspwm/bspwmrc

Then restart bspwm with Super + Shift + q

Getting Help

• GitHub Issues
• Contributing Guide