diff --git a/etc/config b/etc/config
index f6f2f9db..a0f3b84d 100644
--- a/etc/config
+++ b/etc/config
@@ -17,12 +17,21 @@ font pango:monospace 8
 # text rendering and scalability on retina/hidpi displays (thanks to pango).
 #font pango:DejaVu Sans Mono 8
 
-# Before i3 v4.8, we used to recommend this one as the default:
-# font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
-# The font above is very space-efficient, that is, it looks good, sharp and
-# clear in small sizes. However, its unicode glyph coverage is limited, the old
-# X core fonts rendering does not support right-to-left and this being a bitmap
-# font, it doesn't scale on retina/hidpi displays.
+# The combination of xss-lock, nm-applet and pactl is a popular choice, so
+# they are included here as an example. Modify as you see fit.
+
+# xss-lock grabs a logind suspend inhibit lock and will use i3lock to lock the
+# screen before suspend.
+exec --no-startup-id xss-lock --transfer-sleep-lock -- i3lock --nofork
+
+# NetworkManager is the most popular way to manage wireless networks on Linux,
+# and nm-applet is a desktop environment-independent system tray GUI for it.
+exec --no-startup-id nm-applet
+
+# Use pactl to adjust volume in PulseAudio.
+bindsym XF86AudioRaiseVolume exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ +10%
+bindsym XF86AudioLowerVolume exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ -10%
+bindsym XF86AudioMute exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-mute @DEFAULT_SINK@ toggle
 
 # use these keys for focus, movement, and resize directions when reaching for
 # the arrows is not convenient
diff --git a/etc/config.keycodes b/etc/config.keycodes
index 6fc19426..6045ea68 100644
--- a/etc/config.keycodes
+++ b/etc/config.keycodes
@@ -18,12 +18,21 @@ font pango:monospace 8
 # text rendering and scalability on retina/hidpi displays (thanks to pango).
 #font pango:DejaVu Sans Mono 8
 
-# Before i3 v4.8, we used to recommend this one as the default:
-# font -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--13-120-75-75-C-70-iso10646-1
-# The font above is very space-efficient, that is, it looks good, sharp and
-# clear in small sizes. However, its unicode glyph coverage is limited, the old
-# X core fonts rendering does not support right-to-left and this being a bitmap
-# font, it doesn’t scale on retina/hidpi displays.
+# The combination of xss-lock, nm-applet and pactl is a popular choice, so
+# they are included here as an example. Modify as you see fit.
+
+# xss-lock grabs a logind suspend inhibit lock and will use i3lock to lock the
+# screen before suspend.
+exec --no-startup-id xss-lock --transfer-sleep-lock -- i3lock --nofork
+
+# NetworkManager is the most popular way to manage wireless networks on Linux,
+# and nm-applet is a desktop environment-independent system tray GUI for it.
+exec --no-startup-id nm-applet
+
+# Use pactl to adjust volume in PulseAudio.
+bindsym XF86AudioRaiseVolume exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ +10%
+bindsym XF86AudioLowerVolume exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ -10%
+bindsym XF86AudioMute exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-mute @DEFAULT_SINK@ toggle
 
 # Use Mouse+$mod to drag floating windows to their wanted position
 floating_modifier $mod