28

How do I toggle hidden files on/off?

In previous versions of OSX this was ⌘ Command⇧ Shift.

It's not working anymore for me on macOS Big Sur.

Allan
  • 101,432
caramba
  • 407

3 Answers3

36

⌘ Command⇧ Shift. still works. Check Keyboard Shortcuts to see if you have a shortcut overriding the toggle hidden files action

To permanently show hidden files, open terminal and type:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true; killall Finder
Allan
  • 101,432
twlscnds
  • 1,077
3

I can confirm it works on Big Sur 11.1 (20C69). However I can also explain why it doesn't work sometimes.

Apple decided to create shortcuts to go backward and forward in the history, which is great! However they use the following key combinations:

  • backward: ⌘ Command⇧ Shift,
  • forward: ⌘ Command⇧ Shift.

The forward shortcut takes precedence over the one used to toggle hidden files. So, if you want to show hidden files, make sure to be at the end of your history so you cannot go forward, that way you will be able to toggle hidden files.

Nesk
  • 131
  • End of your history??? What do you mean? I found an application showing hidden files https://nektony.com/funter – hipertracker Aug 03 '21 at 21:48
  • I mean when you can't go forward in your history (the right arrow is disabled), because you are at the end of the it :) – Nesk Aug 04 '21 at 12:00
2

on macOS Big Sur 11.1 I had to use YES and NO instead of true or false as parameters to:

$ defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles

Ex:

$ defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; killall Finder
Saber Nouira
  • 31
  • 1
    fwiw, defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true; killall Finder worked fine for me on macOS Big Sur 11.1. – Josh Enders Dec 25 '20 at 02:27