I was about to answer yesterday, but it was really late, so I prefer to answer now.
# Fedora i3 Spin First Impressions
## Intro
I successfully created the i3 spin iso and bootable usb using the
following (my first time ever using a kickstart).
```shell
sudo su -
dnf install git livecd-tools
git clone https://pagure.io/i3-sig/Fedora-i3-Spin.git # commit 9fb6abd3
cd Fedora-i3-Spin
livecd-creator --verbose --config=fedora-live-i3.ks --fslabel=I3
--cache=/var/cache/live
wipefs --all /dev/sdX
dd if=I3.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=64k status=progress && sync
```
It was a really good experience, so I wanted to provide some feedback.
Thanks so much for taking the time to make it. We really appreciate it. I'm going to jump to the recommendations directly.
## Final Recommendations
I generally support keeping the spin lean, but think that it needs a bit
more of the daily utilities. Perhaps a good starting point is everything
included in the xfce spin except the things that aren't applicable (such
as xfce settings). If so, we should also prominently credit the xfce and
xfce spin teams in the i3 spin documentation.
We thought a lot about it. We probably will include some stuff later, but at the beginning we want to allow experienced users to choose their apps.
In summary, what about:
* include in base spin:
* `xfce4-terminal` (so it is the default instead of `uxrvt`)
I don't like urxvt either, but we keep it since it's the most used among i3 users.
* a new package 'i3-firstboot' that includes a simple systemd unit to
open a html page describing next steps for new users the first time a
new installation is booted
I was exploring something more like remointoire [1]. But we have a n issue [2] to address this, hopefully we will have this solved in F35.
* `xss-lock` (already included in default i3 config but not included
in the spin)
Great catch, I didn't know about it.
* `arandr` (for configuring monitors)
We give it this a pass, but I don't remember why we just kept xrandr in the command line.
* create a new i3-spin-utilities package (if the intention is to keep
the base spin very lean - which is probably more consistent with what an
experienced i3 user is used to) including:
* thunar (file explorer)
* other relevant packages from the xfce spin
* rofi (instead of dmenu - just my personal preference)
* compton (compositor required by some apps such as screen sharing in
MS Teams)
* riced i3 config generator script (as a reference so people can see
what a more customized setup could be)
We are addressing the package group [3], this hopefully will be solved before the F34 release. About the apps:
- thunar: is a probably go, that will be added this week or any other we choose, but it needs to happen soon.
- rofi: Hard to say. I use rofi myself and I think it is great, but there are several launchers so we will keep dmenu (at least for now) as is the one shipped with i3, also you can use i3-dmenu-desktop for reading desktop files first.
- compton: need to be discussed, but great catch.
About a generator script, we are in contact with one of the developers of regolith linux, that is working on something interesting, maybe we could include that later.
### After Thought
I love i3wm, but it was a couple years between my first exposure to it
and embracing it. Over the years there have been a couple times where I
installed a bunch of window managers on various distributions and tried
them all. But every time I tried i3 I thought it was not installed
properly because I couldn't even find the application menu (because I
didn't understand what i3 was all about). So I moved on without giving
it a second thought.
Once I finally realized what i3 was all about I fell in love with it.
I suggest the i3-SIG put some effort into documenting not only the spin,
but how users can get the most from the spin including introduction
documentation:
* on the spin page
* on first boot
* in an intro video on some video sharing platforms (not just youtube)
We are working on it. I need to finish some stuff I have pending, but I'm working on a video tour that will help users to get started with the spin. I'm curious about what other platforms you suggest, I know YT and instagram, any other idea? I think we didn't have a LBRY account for Fedora.
Again, thanks so much for taking the time to do this, is really good for us to have feedback about the spin. Some of your concerns were our own and that makes me feel that we are on the right track.