i3wm: invoking program via i3 in one workspace, invoking program via terminal in another

Question

I have currently configured my i3 to open Firefox in a specific workspace any time it boots up, but is there a way to have Firefox open in say workspace 2 if it is opened via i3 (mod+d) but open in my active workspace if it is invoked via anything but i3 e.g: googler or direct from my terminal

Answer 1

In your i3/.config file, you can use the assign class functionality described in the i3 User Documentation

Run xprop from your terminal, and then click on the window (e.g., Firefox) to see what class it belongs to. Look for WM_CLASS(STRING).

Then, it's as simple as putting the following line in your .config file:

assign [class="Firefox"] 2 

Don't forget to restart your instance using (default) $Mod + Shift + r