What is actually required for i3 to run?
So say I have a headless server. I install I3 (via apt-get (on ubuntu 14.04 server)) and some vnc client, what else do I actually need to get it working? (something like xorg? Or X11? Or some kind of combopackage with them all in?)
I've somehow managed to get startx to work, and i3 to exec, and vnc to work, but all of the keybindings are broken (they all say $mod + null in the config) so I'm trying to work out what I might be missing in my incredibly haphazard mash-install of a system. :D
Edit - When I load up vnc, it gives me an error message with the options to show errors or edit config at the top, show errors just gives a big list of: "ERROR: Duplicate keybinding in config file: modmask 8 with keysym (null), command "focus up"
I've tried manually adding the keys in TNA (for example, changing new terminal to alt + enter just maximises the current container (nano for example) instead of making a new container.
Yes I know I don't need it, it is a headless server. The point is I want to know Why it doesn't work before I don't use it from not needing it. ;)
Have you installed a terminal emulator like xterm, rxvt, ...?
So all keybindings say "$mod+null" in the config. Have you tried replacing any of those with actual keys?
Why don't you keep your headless server headless, and ssh into it from a machine using i3? If there is no need to have a graphical layer running at the server (which it does not sound like), don't do it.