Search Hidden Files Mac App
May 24, 2019 Click or tap on Finder and navigate to your Macintosh HD. It is located in the Computer folder under the Go drop-down menu. Once inside the correct folder, press Cmd + Shift + Dot on your keyboard to make the hidden files visible. If you want to hide.
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The show hidden files Mac OS X guide!
Did you know how to show hidden files on Mac OS X computer yet? It’s not similar to what you do in Windows. There is a bit more complicated and require you to type a few commands in Terminal in Mac OS X to show those hidden files.
My story is that I just switched to Mac OS X a few months ago. At that moment, I was just learning how to use this new operating system, from how to install or uninstall apps, copy and paste files, as well as, take screenshots. One day, I was wondering how to view system files that are hidden like in Windows? With the help of Google and information from a few sources, show or hide hidden files never been easier, especially doing that using short alias commands instead of typing long commands, which aren’t easy to remember.
In Mac OS X, by default, all files that starting with a dot (“.”) before the file name are always invisible, including .bash_profile, .svn directory, or even .htaccess file. If you want to access these files, you need to make it visible.
[full-related slug1=”how-to-print-screen-mac-os-x” slug2=”how-to-force-quit-mac-apps-with-shortcut”]Before reading this guide, you may think to make hidden files to viewable is hard. But don’t worry! Today, I write this simple guide to show you the easiest way to show hidden files on Mac OS X computer. You only need to type a few long commands in Terminal application once. Next time, you just need to use showFiles and hideFiles commands to show or hide hidden files on Mac.
Use Terminal Commands To Show Hidden Files Mac OS X
To show hidden files on Mac, click on the Finder icon in the bottom Dock and then go to Applications > Utilities and then open Terminal application.
In the next step, type the command below, or just copy & paste it, and then press the Enter key.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
Next, press and hold the “Option” key, and then right-click on the “Finder icon” in the bottom dock and select “Relaunch“.
This action will refresh the Finder and show all hidden files on Mac OS X. If you want to hide these files again, type the following command in Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO
If you can remember these commands, it’s very easy for you to show or hide hidden files. However, in case you can’t remember these commands, you will have to search for it on Google whenever you need to show or hide these files.
Show And Hide Hidden Files On Mac OS X With Terminal Aliases
What’s a Terminal alias? It’s a shortcut for one or more commands. By creating aliases for the show hidden files or hide hidden files commands, you only need to remember aliases, and then you can show or hide files quicker.
To create aliases, open Terminal and then type:
sudo nano ~/.bash_profile
It will ask you to provide the administrator’s password. Just enter your password and press the Enter key on your keyboard.
At the end of the .bash_profile file, just paste these code:
alias showFiles=’defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app’
And then:
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alias hideFiles=’defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles NO; killall Finder /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app’
In the next step, press Control + O (or Ctrl + O) and then press Enter to save the modification on the file.
Next, press Control + X (or Ctrl + X) to exit the editor to return to the Terminal window.
In the Terminal, type:
source ~/.bash_profile
to make two above aliases available.
In the next time when you want to show hidden files or hide hidden files, just type:
showFiles
or
hideFiles
in Terminal, respectively.
showFiles and hideFiles to Show or Hide Hidden Files Mac OS X
With these aliases, it will help you to speed up the show or hide hidden files process. You can also create aliases for long commands in Terminal to do any tasks quicker.
If you have any questions about this show hidden files Mac guide, feel free to ask me by leaving your comment below.
Like Windows, macOS also has secret files that are hidden so that a user doesn’t meddle with it but sometimes you need to access the hidden files.
If you want to tweak a setting to perform a troubleshooting step (like finding a log or deleting a preference file), you need to make some changes in those hidden files. Some of you also want to get rid of the files from the hidden folder as they take way too much space.
So the question is “how to access the hidden files?”
Well, we have a solution for it. With the help of terminal and simple command, you can get your Mac’s hidden files and folders.
Must Read:How To Rename Multiple Files At Once On Mac
In this article, we have discussed how to view hidden files and folders on Mac with Terminal.
Launch Terminal
- You can launch Terminal via Spotlight.
- Go to Finder bar and look for a magnifying glass like icon and click on it to open Spotlight.
- Type Terminal, Spotlight will open a terminal for you.
- You can also locate Terminal:
- On OS X, open your Applications folder.
- Go to Utilities folder.
- Open the Terminal application.
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View Hidden Files and Folders:
- Now that you have accessed Terminal.
- Type or copy/paste the following commands into the Terminal window:
“defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE” (This command tells the Finder to show all files, irrespective of the hidden flag setting )
Search Hidden Files In Mac
“killall Finder” (This command will stop and restart Finder, so that the changes can take place)
- Press the return or enter key after you enter each line of text.
- These commands will allow you to use Finder to find all the hidden files on your Mac.
Note: It is normal to see the Desktop screen vanish and reappear while executing the commands.
Mac Show Hidden Files Sierra
Once these commands are executed, you will be able to see a file named.DS_Store. The .DS_Store file consists of information about the folder, you are currently in, including the icon, the location of the window and other bits of information the system requires. Moreover, you get the access to the important hidden folders such as the Library folder inside your Home folder. The Library folder contains many files and folders which is related to a particular apps and services that you use on your Mac.
Note: It is recommended to take a good look at your Library folder and target the issue that you are having, then make any changes.
Hide The Files:
Now that you have seen the hidden folders or you are done with the troubleshooting, you must hide the folders to keep them safe.
Access Hidden Files Mac
- Open Terminal (Follow the steps to launch Terminal)
- Type the below commands into the Terminal window:
“defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE?”
“killall Finder”
Press return key or enter key to execute the command and done, the hidden files are hidden once again.
In this way, you can hide and show the hidden folders of Mac with the help of Terminal. Try it and let us know what worked for you.
Next Read: How To Use Mac’s General Preferences Pane
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