- In this guide we will see how to show or hide hidden files in Mac OS. All you need to do is type a simple command in terminal. Later, in this guide we will also see how to create aliases to make things faster so that the users can quickly show and hide hidden files. Show hidden Files in Finder using Terminal.
- Hide a File or Folder on a Mac. RELATED: How to Hide Files and Folders on Every Operating System.
- Show or Hide 5.3 for Mac can be downloaded from our website for free. This free Mac app is a product of Dylan Langston. The application's installation files are generally known as showorhide5.3.7.pkg.zip or Show or Hide 5.3.7.pkg.zip etc. The most popular version among the application users is 5.3.
- Its interface is simple, with buttons to hide and show files, although some advanced features could be less intuitive to the average Mac user. The largest buttons, as would be appropriate, are for.
- Show Hide Mac App Shortcut
- Show Hide Application Mac
- Show Hide Hidden Files Mac App
- Show Hide Mac App Download
Updates
Uncheck the box next to “Show recent applications in Dock” to hide the recent apps from the Dock in Mac OS Once you toggle off the “Show recent applications in Dock” switch, the app icons shown in the Recent Apps section will immediately disappear from the Mac Dock, shrinking the Dock down a bit.
- 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:
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.
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_profile
to 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.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 Hide Mac App Shortcut
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.
Want to view hidden files or folder on Mac OS X? Here three ways are available for you to choose, especially the first two are recommended to show hidden files or folder in Finder.
3 Ways to show or hide hidden files or folder on Mac OS X:
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.
Way 2: Show and view hidden files or folder with Terminal
Terminal would always work while you need to show or hide hidden files or folder on Mac OS X.
Command to show or hide hidden files via Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO
Step 1: Run Terminal on Mac OS X.
Open FinderApplicationsUtilities, and you could find Terminal there. Double-click it to run on Mac OS X.
Show Hide Application Mac
Step 2: Show hidden files on Mac with Terminal.
1. Enter or paste the following command in Terminal and press Enter.
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
2. Hold on Option (Ctrl +Alt) and click Finder. Select Relaunch from pop-up menu to reopen Finder.
3. Go to the user 'deger' and hidden files and folder are shown.
For example, you can see the Library that saves iTunes backup appears. You can open it to see iTunes backup file. As you know, when hidden files are not shown, you cannot open iTunes backup file with this method in Finder.
Step 3: Hide hidden files or folder with Terminal.
Go back to Terminal and type the following command. Press Enter and hidden files or folder would become hidden again after Finder relaunches.
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO
Compared to above feature provided by Mac to show or hide hidden files or folder, third-party app would work more easily, especially when you need to usually show and hide some files or folder. It is worth trying but the security of the apps cannot be promised or guaranteed.
Way 3: Show and view hidden files or folder with third-party app
Show Hide Hidden Files Mac App
Choose one from them if you prepare to show or hide hidden files on Mac with third-party software.
1. ShowAllFiles
Download the app and double-click the zip file you get. Then it would run on Mac OS X. With two buttons on the app, 'Show Special Files' and 'Hide Special Files', you will be able to show or hide hidden files easily. When all files are shown, and if you want to make some of them invisible, just need to drag them to the box on the app.
http://gotoes.org/sales/ShowHiddenFilesMacOSX/How_To_Show_Hidden_Files.php
2. Funder
With only the option 'Show Hidden Files' on Funder, you could show hidden files or hide files by turning it on or off.
https://nektony.com/products/funter/download
Show Hide Mac App Download
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