View hidden files and directories with Finder in OS X Mavericks

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Josh Smith

With the release of OS X Mavericks the old Terminal command that causes Finder to show hidden files and directories no longer works. If you want to see hidden files, such as a .gitignore file in your repository, open a Terminal window and run this command:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean true

Then refresh all Finder windows so that they honor the new configuration setting:

killall Finder

To revert back to hiding these files and directories, run the first command but change true to false.

Check out my next blog post to see how this task can be automated by writing a custom Terminal command!

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4 Responses to View hidden files and directories with Finder in OS X Mavericks

  1. Pingback: Customizing the Mavericks Terminal to show/hide hidden files | iJoshSmith

  2. Snap says:
    December 23, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    For crying out loud… FINALLY, someone knows what they are are talking about. It works in Mavericks 10.9.1. Thanks.

  3. carolgwahl says:
    March 3, 2014 at 12:18 am

    You have given the perfect solution, I’ve seen this solution at multiple places but it just will not work on my MacBook with Mavericks. I receive software updates from a vendor that include folders named .Net2.0 and .Net4.0 and they are invisible. Are there any other fixes? Or should I go for apps that show system files mac easily?

  4. sam says:
    June 20, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    how to undo it???, works good

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