How to show hidden files on a Mac We explain how to see hidden files and the /Library folder so you can make adjustments. But beware, they are hidden for a reason. Really Mac-simize your skills. By David Nield April 16, 2021 This post has been updated. It was originally published on February 15, 2018. Apple prides itself on the polish and slickness of its. It’s a relatively unknown hidden gem of a Mac app. Please share such hidden gem apps that are truly great and are not as well known. Some apps that I use and would love to find a cool replacement for: GhosteryLite CCleaner, AVG Cleaner Onyx Preview Transmission, WebTorrent Sync iOS AppCleaner.

• Mac Os Versions
• Mac Os Catalina

Macs, like other operating systems, offer a way to cover files and folders, but Mac OS X masks those options and doesn’t make it as easy as it is on Windows and Linux. So, in this post, I will guide you on how to hide and show hidden files on Mac using Terminal.

However, It’s supposed to be so simple and intuitive to do stuff on a Mac that when something isn’t, it’s shocking. There are several ways to “hide” files and show hidden files on a Mac, but just one of them works really well enough for us to suggest. It’s not even about hiding things, so that others can’t see them. You may want to actually cover something sometimes because you want to declutter your system. When you transfer your Windows documents to the cloud, for example, you will find that many programs often use your Documents folder to save. Within Documents games too often build their own files.

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How to Hide and Show Hidden Files on Mac Using Terminal

You can easily hide and find or show hidden files on Mac using Terminal commands. Since these commands work pretty well and without any effort, you can master them without any hassle. And yeah, you don’t need to run the latest macOS version to use this hack, either.

Hide Files and Folders on Mac Using Terminal

Instead of hiding an individual file— though you can do that — you might want to create a hidden folder. We’re going to do this for this example, although this trick will also work to cover individual files.

Step 1. Open or launch the Terminal app. The Terminal app is in the Utilities folder in Applications. To open it, either open your Applications folder, then open Utilities and double-click on Terminal, or press Command – spacebar to launch Spotlight and type “Terminal,” then double-click the search result.

Terminal

Step 2. Now, enter the below-given command. Make sure not to press the Return key as yet.

chflags hidden

Step 3. After entering chflags hidden give a space then Navigate to the file or folder you want to hide, and then drag it to the end of the command in the Terminal window.

Step 4. Now, press the Return key.

Show Hidden Files and Folders on Mac in the Finder

Do you want to unhide or show hidden files or folders on Mac? Well, it’s just as straightforward.

Step 1. Open or launch the Terminal app.

Step 2. Enter the following command.

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean true ; killall Finder

Step 3. Hit the Return key. Now, you can view all of your hidden files in Finder.

Unhide Files or Folders on Mac

If you want to unhide the particular files that you had hidden earlier, you can do so quickly.

Step 1. Open the Terminal.

Step 2. Now, enter the below-given command. Make sure not to press the Return key as yet.

chflags nohidden

Step 3. Next, make sure you include a space at the end of the command. Drag the file to the end of the command, then press the Return key.

Also Read: How to Uninstall Programs on Mac Computer in Two Different Ways 2020

Conclusion

So, this post was all about how to hide and show hidden files on Mac using Terminal. It’s easy to keep all your private files away from your eyes. While they work efficiently, I wish Apple could provide an easy way to hide files on the macOS operating system. It would be easier if the option existed within the configuration setting or the context menu itself.

Mac Os Versions

Many of OS X’s files and folders are hidden when working with the system—most of the Unix-only folders, such as /usr, /etc, and /bin, for instance. If you want to always see these hidden files and folders, you can do just that.

Most of the time, though, I don’t want to see hidden files, as I don’t do much with them. I really only want to see them when I want to open one of them—for editing in a text editor, for instance. For those situations, Snow Leopard offers a new solution to the hidden file dilemma: the ability to see hidden files quickly, but only in Open and Save dialogs.

Mac Os Catalina

In any Open or Save dialog in Snow Leopard, simply press Shift-Command-Period to display hidden files and folders. This command is a toggle; hidden files will be displayed as you navigate various directories in the Open or Save dialog.

To hide the hidden files again, just press Shift-Command-Period again. The setting is temporary, though—hidden files will always be hidden when the Open or Save dialog appears onscreen. (Somewhat obviously, this also only works if you’ve clicked the triangular button to expand the dialogs to show the folder browser.)

I covered this tip in my Six Snow Leopard tips video, but felt it was useful enough to share here, too—just in case not everyone watches the video. Thanks to Mac OS X Hints reader Magno Urbano for finding this hidden Snow Leopard gem.