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A screen locker locks an active session — it's distinct from the display_manager (which handles login before a session starts). The locker runs while you're already logged in.
i3lock-color is a popular choice for i3 setups — a fork of i3lock with full color and ring customisation.
Install
yay -S i3lock-color
Key Flags
| Flag | What it controls |
|---|---|
--color | Background color (hex, no #) |
--ring-color | Idle ring |
--keyhl-color | Ring highlight when typing |
--bshl-color | Ring highlight on backspace |
--inside-color | Inside of ring fill |
--line-color | Line between ring and inside |
--verif-color | Ring color during verification |
--wrong-color | Ring color on wrong password |
--ringver-color | Ring during verify |
--ringwrong-color | Ring on wrong password |
--noinput-text "" | Hide "no input" text |
--verif-text "" | Hide verify text |
--wrong-text "" | Hide wrong password text |
--clock | Show clock |
--indicator | Always show ring (not only on keypress) |
--blur 5 | Blur screenshot as background |
--radius | Ring radius in px |
--ring-width | Ring thickness in px |
Example Command
i3lock-color \
--color=1e1e2e \
--ring-color=89b4faff \
--keyhl-color=a6e3a1ff \
--bshl-color=f38ba8ff \
--inside-color=1e1e2e00 \
--line-color=1e1e2e00 \
--verif-color=89b4faff \
--wrong-color=f38ba8ff \
--indicator \
--clock \
--radius 120 \
--ring-width 8
Hook Into i3
# in ~/.config/i3/config
bindsym $mod+l exec --no-startup-id ~/.config/i3/lock.sh
# auto-lock on lid close via systemd
# /etc/systemd/system/lock-on-suspend.service