Apr 05, 2026
Helpful Mac Finder Customizations
Terminal commands to customize Mac Finder for development, including showing the Library folder, hidden files, path bar, and status bar.
Finder Mac Terminal Defaults Development
A few terminal commands to make Finder more useful for development.
Show Library Folder
The ~/Library folder is hidden by default. To make it visible:
chflags nohidden ~/Library
Show Hidden Files
Display dotfiles and other hidden files in Finder:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
Show Path Bar
Add a path bar at the bottom of Finder windows showing the full directory path:
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowPathbar -bool true
Show Status Bar
Add a status bar at the bottom of Finder showing item count and available disk space:
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowStatusBar -bool true
Apply Changes
Restart Finder to apply all changes:
killall Finder
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