How do I view hidden files on a Mac?

Summary

Instructions for viewing hidden files on a mac.

Body

To view hidden files on a Mac, do the following:

  1. Open the Terminal (picture below shows where to find it).

    Go menu with Utilities option. In Utilities menu, Terminal app
     
  2. Type the following into the terminal, without the quotation marks: “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES”.
  3. Hit the Return key on your keyboard.
  4. Restart Finder. (Follow the numbers on the screenshot below)

    Apple icon menu with Force Quit Finder option. Select Finder app and Relaunch option
     
  5. You can now see hidden files. To undo this action, repeat Steps 1 to 4 but replace the “YES” part in Step 2 with a “NO”. (Do not include the quotation marks)

Details

Details

Article ID: 295
Created
Fri 2/28/20 1:18 PM
Modified
Tue 7/21/26 12:57 PM