How to make terminal in i3 transparent? (preferences tab not working)

Question

I'm in i3 with terminator and I'm trying to make the terminal a little bit transparent to see my wallpaper but when i right click and go to preferences and i adjust the transparency nothing changes.

Is there any alternatives?

Solution

This can be called status by design, transparency does not work in i3.

The compton FAQ explains why:

Let’s face it: Using transparency (or ARGB background with transparent parts) on any window decorated by i3 is known to break.

The problem is in how i3 adds title bars to windows. Unlike most window managers, i3 creates a completely separate window for the title bar (rather than wrapping it inside a frame window that contains both the application window and its title bar).

Further reading

• i3wm’s reddit: Make terminals transparent?