How to use invisible files in macOS

There are myriad reasons why users wish to view the invisible parts of the filesystem on their Macs. These include installing 3rd-party UNIX tools, installing developer tools and packages, changing login scripts, removing hidden preferences, removing 3rd-party installer files, etc. Users potentially might also want to hide files and folders in invisible locations for security reasons.

Chip Loder for AppleInsider:

There’s a lot of additional functionality beyond basic Finder use. Mac users love their machines for their clean, simple design, ease of use, and minimalist UI, but underneath all that elegance is a full-blown powerful UNIX operating system.

UNIX was invented at Bell Labs in 1969 and was originally designed to run on mainframe computers with time-sharing terminals. In 1997 when Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company decided to transition the Mac to a new modern UNIX-based system based on the NeXTSTEP OS, which was developed at Steve’s other company NeXT.

NeXTStep and Mac_OS_9 were combined to create Mac OS X, which Apple shipped in 2000 – now simply called macOS.

The original UNIX filesystem was complex, containing hundreds of directories, thousands of small programs, and a variety of other tools, including a terminal shell and scripting languages — nearly all visible and routinely accessible to the user.

Today on macOS, most of the original UNIX system is still present but hidden away from the user, who rarely needs to see it.

Before we dive into how to show all invisible files on your Mac, be aware that moving, deleting, or renaming invisible parts of the filesystem can render your Mac unbootable, so proceed with caution. Accessing invisible parts of the OS is not recommended unless you know what you’re doing.

MacDailyNews Note: In the Finder, we use the Command-Shift-period key combo to toggle invisible files on and off. There’s a lot more info in the recommended full article here.

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