Show Hidden Files in Mac OS X Finder

I recently switched over from PC to Mac and when I was looking through my folders I realized some things were missing. The folders missing all were named with a period coming before the name. The purpose was for them to arrange themselves at the top when folders are arranged alphabetically. However, on a Mac, in OS X a period before the name means that it becomes a hidden folder / file.
Below is the command to show the hidden files in the Mac OS X Finder.

Open up the terminal and type the following commands:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder

Also, to revert back to normal, here is the command:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder

  • Matt

    Brian,

    You probably know this, but some text editors (TextMate) give you the option of seeing the invisible files like .htaccess and some FTP clients do as well.

    -Matt

  • http://www.google.com GarykPatton

    I have been looking looking around for this kind of information. Will you post some more in future? I’ll be grateful if you will.

  • http://megadorcheg.co.cc CrisBetewsky

    It’s a pity that people don’t realize the importance of this information. Thanks for posing it.