If you quickly want to know how to see all the files on your Mac hard drive, then the Finder is the place to go. No matter your reasons, from troubleshooting and curiosity to cleaning up, let's look at the different ways to unhide and view all files on your Mac.ĭid you know? There are actually 3 Library folders on your Mac! Surprising to many, one of these - /System/Library - is well and truly hidden, as it contains all the necessary files needed for use by the macOS. So, here's how to see all files on your Mac. But sometimes, you may need to access them to fix a problem or investigate an issue. Here are a few reasons why you might want to see all the files on your Mac:Īpple has been hiding some system files to prevent users from accidentally deleting those. I've got the answers why and some simple tips on how to view all the files on your Mac, even the hard-to-reach ones. Of course, anyone can find these files using the methods listed above, so this is not a real substitution for file encryption or any other legitimate security measures.Your Mac is hiding something from you, well, quite a lot, actually, in the form of hidden files and folders. Open Terminal and write the following:ĭrag the file you wish to hide into the Terminal window to display its path This would be most helpful if you have password-protected files or just want to prevent anyone who uses your Mac from messing around with something that's not already hidden. This method might seem less helpful than going through Finder, but Terminal can also help you hide individual files and folders on your computer. Type defaults write AppleShowAllFiles false and press Enter When you want to hide these files again, replace the value true with false, which would look like: Once both lines of code run, you should see your hidden files in Finder and any temporary files saved on the desktop. Type defaults write AppleShowAllFiles true and press Enter Find Terminal under Launchpad > Other > Terminal, then run the following commands:

How to Set Up Two-Factor AuthenticationĪnother way of performing this task is by using the macOS Terminal app, which gives you text-based access to the computer's operating system.

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Select all files on mac