When you reveal hidden files, you’ll see folders like /.Trashes , /.fseventsd , and /.DS_Store . Leave them alone. macOS manages these automatically.
More dangerously, you might be tempted to delete “mysterious” files to free up space. Don’t. A 4KB .bash_history isn’t the reason your startup disk is full.
Open (in /Applications/Utilities/ ) and run:
This method is global — it keeps hidden files visible even after reboots until you manually turn it off. It’s the preferred approach for developers who live in dotfiles. To understand how to show hidden files, you need to know why they’re hidden.
Apple assumes — reasonably — that most users don’t need to see these files. They add clutter. They invite accidents.
Here’s a feature-style article on the topic, written for a tech-savvy but non-expert audience. Every Mac user has been there. You’re trying to find a stray preference file, clear out application leftovers, or edit a .bashrc — but the file is invisible. It exists on your drive, macOS knows it’s there, but Finder refuses to show it.
Here’s how to unlock macOS’s hidden files, why they exist, and what to do once you see them. If you take away only one thing from this guide, remember this keyboard command: