Fedora 34 Change: i3 Spin (Self-Contained Change proposal)

[Ben Cotton]

https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Fedora_i3_Spin

== Summary ==

Create an official Fedora Spin shipping the popular i3 window manager.
This Spin would be the first Fedora Spin to feature a tiling/window
manager instead of a traditional desktop environment.


== Owner ==

* Names: [[User:Nasirhm|Nasir Hussain]], [[User:Jflory7|Justin W.
Flory]], [[User:X3mboy|Eduard Lucena]], [[User:Defolos|    Dan
Čermák]],

== Detailed Description ==

The Fedora i3 SIG began in May 2020 with a goal of creating an
official Fedora Spin featuring the i3 tiling window manager. Since
then, a community of i3 enthusiasts around the Fedora community has
collaborated to define what an official Fedora i3 Spin would include,
how it might work, and how the Fedora community might differentiate
this Spin from other ready-to-use i3 implementations already in the
open source ecosystem.

The SIG has outlined the following design goals to guide construction
of the Spin (see
[https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/i3/design-goals/ i3 SIG Design
Goals] for details):

# Simple is better than complex.
# Fast is better than features.
# There should be one—and preferably only one—obvious way to do it.
# Now is better than never.

These Design Goals inform and guide decisions regarding the Kickstart.
They are also the basis for the SIG's decisions about future changes
to the i3 Spin.

In summary, this Change is represents the realization of work that
began in May 2020. The goal is to create an official Fedora Spin based
on the i3 SIG's kickstart.


== Benefit to Fedora ==

This Change benefits end-users who run Fedora on a desktop or laptop,
particularly low-end consumer-grade hardware.

An i3 Spin would provide a better initial installation experience for
Fedora users installing i3 for the first time. Currently, end-users
who wish to use i3 on Fedora must install another Edition or Spin of
Fedora, then install the i3 window manager (and related packages)
separately (a process often requiring use of an external guide or
tutorial). Additionally, this "two-step" method adds unnecessary
packages to the user's system, particularly if the end-user does not
wish to use another desktop environment.

Moreover, the i3 SIG hypothesizes an official i3 Spin will have the
lightest footprint (memory and base install size) of any Fedora
Edition or Spin, but testing this hypothesis requires more data.


== Scope ==

* Proposal owners:
** '''Finalize kickstart composition'''. The i3 SIG is finalizing
a
list of packages for an integrated i3 desktop.
** '''Work with RelEng to build'''. The i3 SIG needs to work with
Release Engineering to pick up the i3 Spin in regular composes.
** '''Test Day coordination'''. Work with the Fedora QA team to
plan
and run a series of Test Days to solicit early feedback. An excited
group of users in our IRC/Telegram are ready to help.

* Other developers: N/A (not a System Wide Change)
* Release engineering: [https://pagure.io/releng/issue/9864 #9864]
* Policies and guidelines: N/A (not a System Wide Change)
* Trademark approval:
[https://pagure.io/Fedora-Council/tickets/issue/343#comment-707009
#343]


== Upgrade/compatibility impact ==
Since the Fedora i3 Spin is a Spin, it assumes new installations only.
There is no upgrade/compatibility impact from the Spin.

Eventually, the i3 SIG will also create a package group (composition)
for `i3` and `i3-extended`. Fedora users can more easily switch from
another desktop environment by installing the package group.


== How To Test ==

1. Boot the Fedora i3 Spin ISO image either on bare-metal or in a
virtual machine (V.M.).

2. Confirm successful boot into a configured i3 environment with basic
packages available.

3. Launch Anaconda installer. The Anaconda installer can be launched
either from a terminal or via the application launcher `dmenu`.

4. Confirm no major issues with windows and display. The installed
system uses `lightdm` as the login manager and comes preinstalled with
i3 as the default desktop environment with default applications
present for most uses cases.


== User Experience ==

New Fedora users can install i3 from https://spins.fedoraproject.org
instead of installing another desktop, and then manually installing i3
after the initial install. This reduces the number of steps needed to
start using i3.

Additionally, the i3 Spin intends to be a ready-to-use, integrated i3
configuration. Often a new i3 user must find or set up other system
utilities for things like networking, profile management, and other
common desktop functions. The Fedora i3 Spin offers a ready-to-go
environment that aims to offer an integrated, lightweight environment
without pulling in larger dependency stacks from other desktops.


== Dependencies ==

See `%packages`
[https://pagure.io/i3-sig/Fedora-i3-Spin/blob/master/f/fedora-i3-common.ks...
in fedora-i3-common.ks].


== Contingency Plan ==

* Contingency mechanism: If a blocker bug comes up that breaks
composes of the i3 Spin in time for Fedora 34, the Change can be
bumped to a future Fedora release (e.g. F35).
* Contingency deadline: Change Checkpoint: 100% Code Complete Deadline
(Tue 2021-02-23)
* Blocks release? No


== Documentation ==

* https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/i3/
* https://pagure.io/i3-sig/docs


== Release Notes ==

TBD.

-- 
Ben Cotton
He / Him / His
Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
Red Hat
TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis