Do you know how to show hidden files on Mac computers yet? Viewing them will help you to find out more information about the macOS operating system. Give us a minute to explain how to show and hide these important hidden files and folders!
Like other operating systems, macOS also keeps important files and folders hidden to prevent them from being deleted accidentally. The reason is that they perform some significant functions. It's hard to break something you can't see, isn’t it?
Typically, the hidden files and folders in macOS that you won't be able to see by default will start with a dot, e.g., .htaccess file, .bash_profile, or .svn folder. The directories like /usr, /bin, /var, and /etc are hidden out of view, too.
Show hidden files with Mac hidden files showing app If you want to manage your hidden files, you may try Aiseesoft Mac Data Recovery on your Mac OS X EL Captain. Mac Data Recovery enables you to recover deleted or lost files from crashed software on your Mac. Plus, you are also allowed to preview your hidden files on Mac. We then give the alias two commands. The first being: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; This is the command to show hidden files and is ended with a semi-colon; So we can then use the second command: killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app. Way 1: Show and view hidden files or folder with shortcut keys Get this way while you have the detailed location of hidden files or folder. For example, when you need to view hidden iTunes backup on Mac, just press CMD + Shift + G and enter the backup location in pop-up Go to Folder dialog. Then click Go to open the hidden folder on Mac OS X.
Occasionally, in some cases, you may need to show hidden files on your Mac to fix a problem you are having, or to explore the Library folder and clear out old logs, caches, or other junk files.
Finder also offers to view hidden files. Do you want to know how? Below steps will let you know easily. First type the command, after that press ENTER. Then, hold down the option key. Click right on the Finder icon in the Dock. Now, launch it for the changes. Change ‘Yes’ to ‘No’ in the terminal to switch the files back to hidden. Show hidden files through a shortcut.
Below, we have described three easy ways to show hidden files on a Mac.
Three Ways To Show Hidden Files On Mac Computer
One way is to use a keyboard shortcut, one is typing a line of command in Terminal, and the last is to execute an AppleScript.
Let's dive in to find out how to show hidden files and folders on your Mac!
How To Show Hidden Files On Mac With Keyboard Shortcut
The quickest way to view all the hidden files and folders on your Mac is to use the
To make this work, open the Finder app and then press
Unfortunately, this keyboard shortcut is only applicable if your Mac is running the Mac Sierra OS or above.
How To Show Hidden Files On Mac With Terminal Command
If you are more comfortable using the command-line app than the keyboard shortcut to show hidden files and folders, then follow this instruction:
1. Open the Spotlight search bar (
2. Copy the following command, paste it into the Terminal app, and then press the
3. Next, type in the 'killall Finder' command and press the
Both the 'killall' command and 'Relaunch' option will do one thing, to restart the Finder for the change to take effect. Once it's done, you will see hidden files and folders on your Mac.
To switch the files and folders back to hidden, repeat step number #2 and number #3, but change the 'YES' value in the command to 'NO'. The Terminal command should be:
Once it's done, the hidden files and folders on your Mac will become invisible again!
How To Show Hidden Files On Mac With AppleScript
What is AppleScript?
It's a scripting language that was created by Apple to automate repetitive or time-consuming macOS actions. It interacts primarily with apps and Finder to automate tasks for you. Whether it’s a simple task like copying files or as complicated as building a real estate catalog, AppleScript can perform the necessary actions quickly and intelligently.
To make hidden files visible using AppleScript, press the
Next step, you need to copy and paste the following script into the tool.
Show Hidden Files In Mac Os
Lastly, click the
A new dialog will show up to give you two options:
Also, you can save this script as an app to use later! Every time you want to show or hide hidden files and folders, simply click on this saved app and pick the appropriate option.
Final Words
Important files and folders in macOS are typically hidden for a very good reason, namely to protect the operating system and its apps from the user accidentally meddling in a potentially catastrophic way. It's better to leave these files and folders alone unless you absolutely feel the need to make them visible.
The quickest and easiest way to show hidden files on the Mac is to hit the
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Updates
Added shortcut method available on macOS Sierra keyboard.
Method of showing/hiding hidden files tested and working on macOS Sierra.
Method of showing/hiding hidden files tested and working on Mac OS X El Capitan.
It seems like every day I search Google for the command to show hidden files on Mac OS X, not to mention Googling for the command to then hide those hidden files a few minutes later.
Today I decided to make a short and easy to remember alias to speed up the process. All I need do now is type showFiles and hideFiles whenever I need to show/hide OS X's hidden files. Here's how you can do it too.
The Quickest Way to Show/Hide Hidden Files
Since the release of macOS Sierra, when in Finder, it is now possible to use the shortcut:
Press once to show hidden files and again to hide them. If you're using a version earlier than macOS Sierra, see Show/Hide Hidden Files using Terminal Aliases to setup a toggle command via terminal.
Thanks to Guido Schlabitz for making me aware of this new shortcut.
Show/Hide Hidden Files the Long Way
The long way to show hidden Mac OS X files is as follows:
- Open Terminal found in Finder > Applications > Utilities
- In Terminal, paste the following:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES - Press return
- Hold the 'Option/alt' key, then right click on the Finder icon in the dock and click Relaunch.
This will show all hidden files. To hide them again, follow the same steps but replace the Terminal command with:
How To See Hidden Files On Mac
It's not the longest set of instructions or the biggest command to commit to memory but if you're doing this a lot, it's worth spending a few minutes now to save yourself a lot more time in the future.
Show/Hide Hidden Files using Terminal Aliases
A Terminal alias is a name or shortcut for one or multiple commands. Using an easy to remember alias, we can turn the above four step process into just one.
Look For Hidden Files On Mac
An alias can be made temporarily (just for the use of one terminal session) or permanently. As we want this to be a shortcut used now and in the future, let's make it permanent:
- Open Terminal found in Finder > Applications > Utilities
- In Terminal, paste the following:
sudo nano ~/.bash_profile - Enter your Mac's administration password if required, then hit return
- At the bottom of the open .bash_profile file, paste the following:
alias showFiles='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app' Below that, paste the following:
alias hideFiles='defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO; killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app'- Press ctrl + O and hit return to save the file
- Press ctrl + X to exit the file and return to the command line
- In Terminal, paste the following:
source ~/.bash_profileto refresh your profile and make the aliases available
Now when you want to show hidden files, all you need type in Terminal is showFiles, then hideFiles when you want to hide them.
If you want to modify the behaviour or alias names, let's take a closer look at the commands you just added:
alias tells Terminal we're adding a new alias.
How To Open Hidden Files On Mac
showFiles is the name of the alias. Change this to what you wish.
We then give the alias two commands. The first being:
This is the command to show hidden files and is ended with a semi-colon ; so we can then use the second command:
This will relaunch the Finder (to replicate the step of holding the 'Option/alt' key then right clicking the Finder icon in the dock).
Conclusion
With the aliases set up, all you need do in the future is type showFiles and hideFiles to show and hide Mac OS X's hidden files respectively.
Show Hidden Files On Mac
Aliases can be used to speed up your interaction with the Terminal. Set up an alias for navigating to your most used directories, to commit to a GitHub repo and so on.
Mac Show Hidden Files Terminal
Ian Lunn is a Front-end Developer with 12 years commercial experience, author of CSS3 Foundations, and graduate of Internet Technology. He creates successful websites that are fast, easy to use, and built with best practices.
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