Show your hidden Library folder — via Adam Engst, TidBITS

Hidden settinglow riskmacOS 14 Sonoma and later

Your user Library folder (~/Library) holds app settings, caches and support files. It's hidden by default, but troubleshooting guides often send you there. You can show it permanently with a checkbox, or open it once from the Go menu.

Takes effect right away

How to do it

Open your home folder in Finder (Go > Home).
Choose View > Show View Options (Command + J) and tick Show Library Folder. The checkbox only appears when the home folder is the frontmost window.
For a one-off visit, hold Option while opening the Go menu and choose Library.

Untick the same checkbox to hide it again. Don't delete things in Library unless you know which app they belong to.

Sources

How to Keep the User Library Folder Visible in macOS — by Adam Engst, TidBITS

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

Oddbyte.Me hasn't tried this on every macOS version, so keep the undo handy.

library folder~/Libraryhiddenfinderapplication support

Cut and paste files in Finder (move instead of copy) — via Apple Support

Tricklow risk

Finder has no Cut command in the Edit menu for files, which confuses people coming from Windows. There is a hidden equivalent: copy as normal, then paste with Option held down, and the file moves instead of being duplicated.

Keep folders above files when sorting by name — via Apple Support

Hidden settinglow risk

Normally Finder mixes folders and files together alphabetically. With this on, folders are listed first, then files, the way Windows Explorer does it. It can be set for windows and, separately, for the desktop.

Stop .DS_Store files on network shares (faster SMB browsing) — via Apple Support

Commandlow risk

Finder leaves .DS_Store files in every folder it opens to remember view settings, and on network shares reading them slows browsing. Apple documents a setting that stops this on SMB shares, so folders list faster. Windows and Linux users of the share will thank you too.

Show your hidden Library folder — via Adam Engst, TidBITS

How to do it

Sources

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