In the past, the only way I knew how to show hidden files on a mac was to run a terminal command which I had the commands show and hide aliased to.
# Show/hide hidden files in Finder
alias show="defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true && killall Finder"
alias hide="defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false && killall Finder"
This works great but is not the easiest command to remember and you have to open a terminal to run them. With the release of macOS Sierra Apple added a Finder keyboard shortcut that makes it possible to quickly show all the hidden files and folders. You just need to do the following:
- Open the Finder
- Browse any folder with hidden files
- Hold down Cmd + Shift + . to toggle showing and hiding of files
This tip came from another great episode from Syntax.fm podcast. Be sure to check it out!