Mac OS X – Show Hidden Files in Finder
Posted on: September 19, 2007
- In: hardware | mac | os x
- 7 Comments
One annoying thing about my MacBook pro and OS X is not easily been able to show hidden files.
Showing hidden files
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
Hide the files again
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
Thanks to Matt for pointing out an error in my screen shots
AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition
7 Responses to "Mac OS X – Show Hidden Files in Finder"
[...] 23, 2007 Ok, so in my last post about showing the hidden files in finder I talked about the terminal commands but thats not always convenient for fast [...]
September 30, 2007 at 1:39 pm
um.. im kinda a noob to mac’s… where do i type that comand?.
cound u giv a link of a picture showing where to type it ty 
September 30, 2007 at 1:42 pm
You need to use “Terminal” Use spotlight to search for it or look in Applications > Utilities > Terminal
November 2, 2007 at 5:42 am
When you type in “killall Finder”, the Finder has to be capitalized or it won’t kill Finder and you get the error messages shown in your screen captures.
December 1, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Hmm, shows files but not folders. I tried thinking logically and the following worked for me:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFolders TRUE
killall Finder
Nice tip, thanks!
March 19, 2011 at 5:26 am
Thanks so much!
The second line of command is critical but which is missing in most other website tutorials.
September 20, 2007 at 11:29 am
Also, for those who don’t feel comfortable with using Terminal, or would simply like another way to show hidden files, you can use a system/disk utility such as Onyx or
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