02 Feb How to Show Hidden Files on Mac

Your macOS hides many files for different reasons, for example, to save some important files from unauthorized access. Most of them are important and some others may not be very important to you. Whatever maybe the case, if you need to access any of your files or folders, read this post to perform the required task.

View Hidden Files on Mac using Finder

You can use this quick way to see all the hidden files on your Mac. Simply, launch Finder and press these three keys on your keyboard: CMD + SHIFT +.

If you want to hide them, press these keys again. However, if you know which ~/Library folder contains the file you’re looking for, you can do the following steps to reach the file right away:

• Launch Finder
• Long press Alt on your keyboard and hit the Go button on your Mac screen
• Go to the Library to see your hidden files

However, these steps will flood your documents with numerous files that had been hidden up until now.

Show Hidden Files on Mac using Terminal

Terminal (also known as Command-Line) is basically for advanced users as it has a complex range of instructions to give commands to your Mac. Some users prefer it because it gives more control and some do diagnostic tasks on their Mac. There are many other reasons as well.

If you’re a command-line enthusiast, you can use these steps in Terminal: (You can open Terminal through Finder or Spotlight.)

• Launch Terminal
• Type this command:

defaults write com. apple. Finder AppleShowAllFiles trueย [Press Return] killall Finder

• It will show the hidden files on your Mac. To hide the files again, type the same command with a very simple modification:

defaults write com. apple. Finder AppleShowAllFiles false [Press Return] killall Finder

There’s a very useful way to hide any of the files and folders you like to stop others from accessing these files in the Finder or anywhere on your Mac. Follow these steps:

• In Terminal, type this command: chflags hidden [Press Space]
• Drag the data that you want to hide into this Terminal window
• Press Return to hide

You can make these files visible again by following the same steps but this time, using chflags is not hidden instead.

Cleanup Unnecessary Hidden Files and Folders Automatically

Different users try to access hidden files on their Mac for different reasons. One of those reasons is cleaning up the clutter because the system is not performing properly. While you can find and remove unwanted hidden files on your macOS by following the steps given above, using a specialized Mac cleaner app is a smarter way to do so.

Mac Optimizer Pro scans and deletes all unnecessary hidden files along with other clutter (such as outdated cache, temporary files, duplicates, useless internet downloads, etc.) to speed up your Mac. Once you install the app, it will run in the background and will notify you whenever the clutter such as hidden files needs cleanup.