https://faq.i3wm.org/questions/Frequently asked questions and answers about the i3 window managerenCopyright i3, 2012Wed, 08 Apr 2015 19:59:30 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/With `xrandr` it’s possible to set a primary screen. As an example I’m currently using `xrandr --output HDMI-0 --auto --right-of LVDS --primary` to connect a bigger monitor. At the moment I’m using the following two commands in my `.i3/config` to move a workspace from the laptop screen to the VGA-connected monitor and back to my laptop. bindsym $mod+m move workspace to output VGA-0 bindsym $mod+Shift+m move workspace to output LVDS These two commands have a few problems. Sometimes I’m using a screen connected with VGA, but sometimes I’m using HDMI. Someday I will have it left of my laptop, on another day I will have it on the right. So I’m wondering: 1. Is there a way to move a workspace to the primary screen? 2. If not: How can I use a single shortcut to move a workspace away from my laptops monitor?Wed, 08 Apr 2015 07:44:16 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?answer=5756#post-id-5756 1. This is doable. You have to parse the output of `i3-msg -t get_outputs` to figure out which output is primary (I recommend using the json library in Python). Then you have to issue `move workspace to output ???`, where `???` is your workspace. If you don't know how to program (it's never too late to learn!), perhaps someone else fills out the details. 2. Have you tried `move workspace to output right` and `move workspace to output left`? Maybe they will do the job for you? In my config file I have: > bindsym Shift+$mod+bracketright move workspace to output right > bindsym Shift+$mod+bracketleft move workspace to output left Wed, 08 Apr 2015 13:16:30 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?answer=5756#post-id-5756https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?comment=5758#comment-5758Thank you for your answer. It’s a useful suggestion and I will keep your second point in mind, maybe that will be more handy in my case. However @Adaephon answered more directly to my question so I will accept his answer. Thanks again!Wed, 08 Apr 2015 14:09:00 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?comment=5758#comment-5758https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?answer=5757#post-id-5757The output of `xrandr -q` shows which, if any, screen is the primary screen. So a small script can be used to retrieve the name of the primary screen and send a workspace to it using `i3-msg`: #!/bin/sh PRIMARY_SCREEN=$( xrandr -q | awk '/ connected primary/ {print $1}' ) if [ -n "$PRIMARY_SCREEN" ] ; then i3-msg "move workspace to output $PRIMARY_SCREEN" else # there is no primary screen i3-nagbar -m 'No primary screen defined' -t warning fi This script can then be bound to a shortcut of your liking: bindsym $mod+m exec --no-startup-id /path/to/send2primary.sh ---- You can also use i3's IPC interface to retrieve a list of outputs and move workspaces. For example using [ziberna's i3 Python library](https://github.com/ziberna/i3-py): import i3 import sys activeOutputs = filter( lambda x: x[u'active'], i3.get_outputs()) try: primaryOutput = filter( lambda x: x[u'primary'], activeOutputs)[0] except IndexError: primaryOutput = None currentWorkspace = filter( lambda x: x[u'focused'], i3.get_workspaces())[0] currentOutput = filter( lambda x: x[u'current_workspace'] == currentWorkspace[u'name'], activeOutputs)[0] otherOutputs = filter( lambda x: x[u'name'] != currentOutput[u'name'], activeOutputs) # if there is a primary screen move to it, # else move to the first other output (if there is one) if primaryOutput: i3.move('workspace to output', primaryOutput[u'name'] elif len(otherOutputs) > 0: i3.move('workspace to output', otherOutputs[0][u'name']Wed, 08 Apr 2015 13:46:52 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?answer=5757#post-id-5757https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?comment=5760#comment-5760Thanks for telling me. It is fixed now.Wed, 08 Apr 2015 19:59:30 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?comment=5760#comment-5760https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?comment=5759#comment-5759Thank you for your answer. I tested the shell script and it works as expected. Just one small bug: A closing bracket is missing at the end of the first line (`PRIMARY_SCREEN=$(…)`). Thanks for your fast help.Wed, 08 Apr 2015 14:12:57 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5753/move-workspace-to-primary-screen/?comment=5759#comment-5759