Dec 23,2019 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

Dec 12, 2016 From the Mac OS Finder, go to the Users home folder Pull down the “View” menu and choose “View Options” Choose “Show Library Folder” in the settings options for the User home folder.

Jan 22, 2019 If you follow the first method in Sierra the hidden files and folders will remain in view until you press Cmd + Shift +. (dot) a second time. If you’re using a pre-Sierra version of macOS, there are ways to keep the hidden /Library folder visible. The easiest way is to drag the hidden Library icon from the Finder window to the Finder sidebar. Still in the Finder, choose View Show View Options (or press Command-J). Near the bottom of the resulting View-Options palette is a setting called Show Library Folder. Enable this option. Sep 27, 2016 Next, click “View” in the menu bar followed by “Show View Options.” Alternatively, you can press Command+J on your keyboard. The View Options window will pop up. Make sure “Show Library Folder” is checked. Close the window, and the Library folder will be revealed. The Library folder is no longer hidden, and will stay visible until you change this setting back. Mar 21, 2018 Alternatively, do this to view your Library folder: Click on the Finder in the Dock. Click on the Go menu and choose Go to Folder. In the window that opens, type “/Library” With both these methods, your Library folder will disappear again when you close the Finder window.

“I just encounter some problem on my Mac and I need to get access to hidden files for troubleshooting purpose. So, can you tell me how to see hidden files on Mac?”

Just like other operating systems, Mac OS also hides some files from users. In general, this is reasonable to protect crucial files from being deleted and protecting macOS from being damaged. But, sometimes you may need to view hidden files such as for troubleshooting purpose or you want to wipe out junk files on your Mac. Fortunately, you can easily view hidden files on Mac and there are numerous methods to do that.

Part 1. Overview of Mac Hidden Files

Before you learn how to find hidden files on Mac, you need to first understand what hidden files are actually, and what makes them hidden from you.

1. What Are the Hidden Files on Mac?

Hidden files on Mac are those files hidden from the eye of users. Even though these files are hidden or invisible to you, the way they take up memory on Mac is the same normal files do. Apple hides files, such as caches, logs, preferences, and other files of apps and macOS system by default.

Most of the hidden files are stored in the Library folder. This folder contains your application-support files and personal data. You will see “.” in front of every hidden file name. You can’t view them until you modify your Mac system to see them manually.

Moreover, there are also some special apps that enable you to hide normal files so that you can protect them from unauthorized access.

There are a lot of users who may hide some files and afterward, forget about those files. Sometimes, they fail to realize how much invisible files present on their Mac system. Nevertheless, have you ever wondered why some files are hidden from you on Mac by Apple?

2. What Make the Files Hidden or Invisible?

There are a number of reasons why Apple hides some files on Mac. Here, we are going to mention six common ones you need to know:

The first and foremost reason why Apple hides files from you is to protect them from being damaged by inaccurate operations.
Sometimes, you accidentally delete some important files when you are trying to free up storage space on your Mac. That’s why core system files are hidden to protect them from accidental deletion or human error.
Unlike other files such as photos and videos, there are some system related files on Mac and if they do any changes in those files, then it can stop your Mac system to function properly. That’s why these files are invisible to you.
Another reason why some files are hidden because if they were all visible to you, then your Mac would appear to be horribly cluttered.

So, keep in mind that modifications of these files can be quite dangerous as it can seriously damage your Mac system or lose your data. However, there are also lots of files and data from previously-removed applications that are useless now, and still taking up useless storage space on your Mac. That’s why we come up with this guide to help you to view invisible files on Mac.

Show Hidden Library Folder Mac

Four Ways to Show Hidden Files on Mac

There are a lot of methods available out there to view invisible files on Mac. But, here we are going to mention the easiest methods to show hidden files on Mac. You can choose any of the below-mentioned methods as per your choice.

1. Use Keyboard Shortcut to View Hidden Files on Mac

Modern versions of macOS provide an easy and super-fast way to view invisible files on Mac, and all you have to do is to use Keyboard shortcut.

If you are using macOS high Sierra, macOS Sierra or above, then you can easily show hidden files on Mac with a keystroke and you can hide them again with another strike too. Using the keyboard shortcut for Show Hidden files is quite simple and here is how you can do it:

To start with, go to the folder where you think hidden files present from Finder of your Mac.
After that, you need to press “Command + Shift + Period” to toggle to view hidden files.

You can hide files again using the same keyboard shortcut that you used to show the hidden files. And if you are using Mac version earlier than OS Sierra, then try the next methods to show invisible files on Mac.

2. Use the Finder to See Hidden Files on Mac

With the help of keyboard shortcut, you can easily view the hidden files on your Mac. There is also another easiest way to see hidden files, and it is using the Finder.

To start with, open Finder.
Next, you need to hold down “Alt (Option)” and select “Go” from the drop-down menu.
Now, you will view the hidden ~/Library folder

In this way, the hidden ~/Library folder will remain visible to you until you close Finder window. With keyboard shortcut, hidden files will remain visible until you again press “Cmd + Shift + Period”. But, you can also keep the invisible ~/Library folder always visible. All you have to do is to drag the invisible Library icon from Finder window to Finder sidebar.

3. Use Terminal to Show Hidden Files on Mac

Mac Hidden Library Folder

Another method to show hidden folders on Mac is using the terminal. Well, Terminal is a command-line interface of Mac OS and it is included within macOS by default, and let you use command prompt or cmd so that you can control your Mac system. If you are already familiar with how to use Terminal, it is quite easy and straightforward to show hidden files on Mac using Terminal.

Follow the below steps on to carry out the process for Mac terminal show hidden files:

To commence the process, run Terminal. You can do it using Spotlight search or from “Finder”>” Utilities”.
Next, you need to type in: “defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE”. Next, press Enter and after that, you need to type: “killall Finder”. And press Enter.
Now, you are done and your hidden files will be visible.

This command executes two tasks. The first part before True changes a setting in macOS to show all hidden files automatically. And the second one “killall Finder” restarts the Finder and refresh to show all hidden files. If you want to hide the files again, then all you have to do is to run the same command, but you need to change “true” to “false” value.

4. Use Recoverit to Recover Invisible Files on Mac

What if all above methods fail to find desired hidden files you’re looking for on your Mac? All you need to do is to use Recoverit Data Recovery Mac, easy-to-use data recovery software that can help you to recover invisible files on your Mac with ease and high success rate. It is known as one of the most reliable data r

See Hidden Library Folder Mac