This is an odd one, but is there a way to change my GNOME lock screen (not Debian's login screen, mind you) to i3WM's super minimalist circle lock screen? I love it but don't want to use i3 all the time just for the lock screen.
Debian 12
1 Answer
Ensure packages are installed
sudo apt update sudo apt install i3lock xss-lock gsettings Create a Lock Replacement script like below
#!/bin/bash # -------------------------------------------------------------------- # End-to-End Script to Replace GNOME Lock Screen with i3lock # # This script: # • Checks for required dependencies (i3lock, xss-lock, gsettings) # • Disables GNOME's built-in lock screen # • Launches xss-lock to trigger i3lock with a custom background image # # Usage: Save this file (e.g., ~/bin/lock-replacer.sh), make it executable, # then run it or add it to your session's autostart. # ---------------------------------------------------------------------- set -e # --- 1. Check Required Dependencies ------------------------------- for cmd in i3lock xss-lock gsettings; do if ! command -v "$cmd" &>/dev/null; then echo "Error: '$cmd' is not installed. Please install it and try again." exit 1 fi done # --- 2. Disable GNOME's Built-in Lock Screen -------------------------------- echo "Disabling GNOME's built-in lock screen..." gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.screensaver lock-enabled false # --- 3. Configure i3lock --------------------------------------------- # Set the path to your desired background image for i3lock. # Ensure this image exists; otherwise, the script will exit. BACKGROUND_IMAGE="$HOME/.config/i3lock/background.png" if [ ! -f "$BACKGROUND_IMAGE" ]; then echo "Error: Background image not found at '$BACKGROUND_IMAGE'." echo "Please set BACKGROUND_IMAGE to a valid image file path." exit 1 fi # --- 4. Start xss-lock with i3lock ---------------------------------- echo "Starting xss-lock with i3lock..." # xss-lock listens for X idle events and launches i3lock. xss-lock -- i3lock -i "$BACKGROUND_IMAGE" & # --- 5. Instructions for Manual Locking ----------------------------- MANUAL_LOCK_CMD="i3lock -i \"$BACKGROUND_IMAGE\"" echo "Setup complete." echo "To manually lock your screen, run:" echo " $MANUAL_LOCK_CMD" echo "Or configure a custom keyboard shortcut with this command." # --- 6. Keep Script Running -------------------------------------------------- # The script waits so that xss-lock stays active. wait Save this file as lock_replacer.sh in your path. Change the permission to executable with following command
chmod +x ~/lock_replacer.sh Assuming the lock_replacer.sh is in your home path.
Use AutoStart in GNOME to get this executable run every time it is booted.
mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart sudo apt install vim vi ~/.config/autostart/i3lock-replacer.desktop In this file configure it like below
[Desktop Entry] Type=Application Name=i3lock Replacer Exec=/home/yourusername/lock-replacer.sh X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true Comment=Replace GNOME lock screen with i3lock Save and close this file.
Run the file with setting custom shortcuts to add the desired shortcut to the above script.
