How to see hidden files mac os

Below that, paste the following: alias hideFiles=’defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO; killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app’

/.bash_profile to refresh your profile and make the aliases available

Adding aliases to .bash_profile via Terminal

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.

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.

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.

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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Question: Q: How to find hidden folders using Finder

Really frustrated! I want Finder to show hidden files and folders. I’ve tried everything I could find in this forum and others to do so. This is what I have tried (repeatedly):

Finder>Go hold the option key

If you need to show it permanently

Open your Finder>Go> Home folder then command J to see view options

Then, relaunch Finder

Show Hidden Files Mac OS X El Capitan:

1. Click “Finder” icon on your Mac dock.
2. Open Terminal. Terminal is a utility that provides access to the OS X El Capitan operating system. It can be opened in one of two following ways:
3. Select “Applications” on the left side, then on “Utilities“, and double-click on “Terminal“
4. Open the OS X El Capitan Launchpad. Click the “Utilities” folder. Then, double click on “Terminal.”
5. Enter the following text into the Terminal window, then press “Enter“: “defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES”
6. Exit the Terminal program. This can be done by selecting “Quit Terminal” from the Terminal menu.
7. Restart Finder. Your new setting will take effect after you relaunch finder. To do so, hold down the “Alt” key and right-click or two-fingered click on the Finder icon. Select “Relaunch.”

Neither of these work for me. 🙁 Am using Macbook Air and El Capitan Version 10.11.4

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Jun 5, 2016 4:48 AM

Actually you post the screenshot the same way you posted the first screenshot. You don’t need the advanced editor. But, you found the folder you wanted. As far as why the Finder doesn’t, it doesn’t look in Hidden Folders. If you want to find everything on your Mac, I would recommend installing EasyFind from the App Store. It can locate any type of file/folder.

Posted on Jun 9, 2016 3:23 AM

Helpful answers

Spotlight (and thus Finder) will not search system folders by default and your user Library falls into that category. You can make it search system folders if you need to.

As already mentioned, if you know the path, just use Go to Folder.

In this case use this as the path

/ is an alias to your home folder.

Aalso note that the Profiles filed is likely not hidden, only the user Library folder is hidden.

You can acces the Library directly in Finder by holding down the Option key and selecting Library from the Go menu.

You can show the Library always by typing p,

cmd-h, cmd-j in the Finder, then check the box to show the Library folder.

You seem to know about both, so where does each of those options fail?

I Don’t use Thunderbird, so it may be that they hid their sub folders which would double down on Apple’s stupidity in hiding the Library folder.

Jun 9, 2016 3:15 AM

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Do not include the quotes.

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Jun 5, 2016 5:05 AM

Which «hidden» folders are you trying to show?

The «Show Library Folder» option in View Options merely shows the user Library. It doesn’t show all hidden items in the file system.

If trying to show the user Library, what part doesn’t work?

Can you find the setting?

Can you check it?

There is no need to relaunch the Finder.

Jun 5, 2016 5:06 AM

You could make an AppleScript application that you place in your Dock, or even the Finder toolbar, and each time that you click it, hidden files/folders appear or disappear. If you decide to remove from the Finder window toolbar, then press the command key and click/drag the icon off. The following was tested on OS X 10.11.5.

Launch your Script Editor (Launchpad : Other : Script Editor). Copy and paste the following (see below) AppleScript into the Script Editor. Click the compile button (hammer icon). Now run it (black triangle button) with an open Finder window on your home directory. You want to save the content twice:

1. Save the source code that you have just pasted as Text
   1. File Format: Text (this adds an applescript extension to your filename
   2. Save in Documents or your location choice for safe keeping.
   3. No check boxes selected
2. Save as an Application (option + File menu : Save As…)
   1. File Format: Application
   2. Location: /Applications

      Drag and drop from Applications to your Dock, or to the Finder window toolbar (short filename e.g. Nohide)

   3. Checkbox: Hide Extension
   4. Quit Script Editor

AppleScript:

— Attribution to, and submitted by Baltwo on Apple Support Community

try

do shell script «defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles»

on error

do shell script «defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles False»

end try

if ( do shell script «defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles») is equal to «False» then

do shell script «defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles True»

else

do shell script «defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles False»

end if

do shell script «killall Finder»

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Showing hidden files and folders on a Mac

Many files and folders are hidden on a Mac. There’s a good reason for this: Hiding files and folders prevents users from accidentally damaging the operating system. Nevertheless, sometimes you may need to access these files and folders. We’ll show you various options for viewing hidden files and folders on a Mac. However, use extreme caution: If you change or damage system files, it can have serious consequences for your operating system.

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Why are some files and folders hidden?

There are good reasons for hiding files and folders in operating systems. Computer manufacturers and administrators hide files to prevent users from accidentally deleting or damaging system-related files and folders. Other times, your employer may hide files and folders that are essential for the smooth exchange of data with customers and business partners. In most cases, you won’t notice these files at all, even though they perform important tasks.

However, if you still want to view and access the hidden folders and files on your Mac, you should be extremely careful to avoid damaging your operating system.

Mac Finder: showing hidden files using keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are probably the easiest way to display hidden files and folders in the Finder on a Mac. You can show hidden files by pressing the Command, Shift, and Period keys at the same time.

Step-by-step guide

Follow these few steps to show or hide files in the Finder:

1. Open Macintosh HD or the folder where you want to display the hidden files in the Finder.
2. Hold down the Command, Shift and Period keys: cmd + shift + [.]
3. The hidden files and folders on your Mac will then appear partially transparent.
4. You can hide the files again using the same keyboard shortcut.

Your hidden files appear transparent on your Mac.

Showing the hidden Library folder in the Finder

The above keyboard shortcut for showing hidden files on a Mac works in any folder in the Finder. One exception is the Library folder, which is usually hidden. It mainly contains system files and automatically saved copies of Microsoft Office documents. Showing the Library folder is especially useful when you’re looking for old Word documents and are unable to find them. If your computer crashes before you could save your data, you should look in the Library folder. You can access this folder using the following shortcut:

1. In the Finder, press the Option key (Alt).
2. In the menu bar, click “Go”.
3. Click “Library”.

Open the Library by pressing the Option key and selecting the folder under “Go”.

Since the Library automatically saves Microsoft Office documents as hidden files, you may see a large number of unorganized files in this folder.

The Option key is one of the most useful and commonly used keys on a Mac. Find out more about the Option key on a Mac and learn about its functions and commands.

Showing hidden files on a Mac using Terminal commands

Instead of using keyboard shortcuts and the Finder, you can also use Terminal in conjunction with commands on your Mac to show hidden files and folders. Terminal is a built-in command-line interface included in the Mac operating system. You can use commands in Terminal to replace sequences of multiple steps in the Finder and perform an action. To view hidden files and folders using Terminal, proceed as follows:

Step 1: Open Terminal

To launch Terminal on your Mac, use the following keyboard shortcut: Cmd + Space. After pressing the Command key and the space bar, type “Terminal” in the Spotlight search field. Then double-click the search result.

Here’s what Terminal looks like on a Mac.

Alternatively, you can launch Terminal by double-clicking “Terminal” in the Utilities Window. You can find this option either under “Go” in the menu bar or under “Applications”, which you can select in the Dock at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: Entering a command to see hidden files on a Mac

Viewing hidden files and folders on a Mac using Terminal involves entering two commands and pressing the Enter key. Type the following into Terminal:

Type the commands into Terminal as described to see the hidden files and folders on your Mac.

Step 3: View the hidden files on your Mac

Now the hidden files and folders on your Mac are displayed in the Finder. As mentioned above, the files appear transparent. The folders look slightly paler than folders that are not hidden.

Step 4: Hide the files again

You can hide the files again by replacing “true” with “false” in the command above. The command then looks like this:

Terminal is a helpful interface for performing basic and advanced support, repair, and maintenance tasks. Another standard tool that you can use to perform these tasks is the Mac Task Manager. It can be especially useful if you’re already familiar with the Task Manager in Windows operating systems.

How to hide files on a Mac using Terminal

You can use Terminal not only to show or hide the hidden folders on your Mac. You can also use it to hide specific files from nosy users who may have access to your computer. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Type in the following code into Terminal:

1. Drag the files or folders you want to hide into the Terminal window with the mouse. The file location is displayed in the window.
2. Press Enter to hide the files.

You can use these commands to hide files and folders on a Mac.

You can use the same procedure if you want to show the hidden files and folders on your Mac as usual again. To do this, simply type “chflags nohidden” instead of “chflags hidden”.

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Viewing hidden files on a Mac using file managers

Third-party file managers like Forklift offer an easy way of working with hidden files and folders on a Mac. They allow you to show hidden files directly in the interface of the app, without having to use keyboard shortcuts or commands that can be somewhat daunting for less tech-savvy users.

There are many different file managers available with a variety of features. Many of these file managers let you easily show hidden files and folders on a Mac without using the Finder. We’ll use the example of Forklift to show you how a file manager can help you view hidden files. Open the Forklift app and do the following:

1. Click View.
2. Select “Show Hidden files”.

View hidden files and folders on a Mac from the Forklift menu.

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