jq is Required for i3-restore – What It Means & How to Fix It The error message you’re seeing means that jq (a lightweight JSON processor) is missing, and i3-restore depends on it. This often happens when restoring i3 session layouts because i3 stores workspace layouts in JSON format, and jq is needed to parse and process them.

🛠️ Fix: Install jq on Arch Linux Since you’re using Arch Linux, install jq with:

sudo pacman -S jq

If you use yay for AUR packages, you can also run:

yay -S jq After installing jq, try running i3-restore again.

🔍 What is jq, and Why Does i3 Need It? jq is a JSON parser and processor for handling JSON data in shell scripts. i3 uses JSON to store layouts, window positions, and session states. i3-restore relies on jq to extract and apply window layouts when restoring a session. 📂 Bonus: Manually Restore an i3 Session If you want to manually save and restore your i3 layout, use:

1️⃣ Save Your Layout i3-save-tree --workspace 1 > ~/.config/i3/workspace1.json 2️⃣ Edit the Layout (Optional) Open the file in a text editor and remove unnecessary details:

nano ~/.config/i3/workspace1.json 3️⃣ Restore the Layout i3-msg "workspace 1; append_layout ~/.config/i3/workspace1.json"