Three Ways to Access the Library Folder on Your Mac

Learn how to open this important folder

By
Tom Nelson
Tom Nelson
Writer

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

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Updated on April 19, 2021
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Christine Baker
Reviewed by Christine Baker
Christine Baker is a marketing consultant with experience working for a variety of clients. Her expertise includes social media, web development, and graphic design.
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What to Know

  • Open Terminal and enter chflags nohidden ~Library.
  • From Finder or desktop, hold down Option as you select the Go menu. Choose Library.
  • From the Home folder in Finder, choose View > Show View Options, and select Show Library Folder.

This article describes three ways to find and display the hidden-by-default Libary folder in macOS Big Sur (11) through OS X 10.7 (Lion).

How to Make the Library Visible Permanently

Apple hides the Library folder by setting a file system flag associated with the folder. You can toggle the visibility flag for any folder on your Mac. Apple chose to set the Library folder's visibility flag to the off state by default. Here's how to change it.

  1. Launch Terminal, located in /Applications/Utilities.

    Terminal icon in macOX Utilities folder

  2. Enter chflags nohidden ~Library at the Terminal prompt:

    chflags nohidden ~/Library command in macOS Terminal app

  3. Press Return.

  4. After the command executes, quit Terminal. The Library folder will now be visible in the Finder.

Unhide the Library Folder From the Go Menu

You can access the hidden Library folder without using Terminal. However, this method makes the Library folder visible only for as long as you keep the Finder window for the Library folder open.

  1. With either the desktop or a Finder window as the frontmost application, hold down the Option key and select the Go menu.

  2. The Library folder appears as one of the items in the Go menu.

    Library folder shown in macOS Finder's Go menu

  3. Select Library. A Finder window opens, showing the contents of the Library folder.

  4. When you close the Library folder's Finder window, the folder is once again hidden from view.

Access the Library the Easy Way (OS X Mavericks and later)

If you use OS X Mavericks or later, you have the easiest way of all to permanently access the hidden Library folder. This method is recommended for anyone who wants permanent access and isn't worried about accidentally modifying or deleting a file from the Library folder.

  1. Open a Finder window and navigate to your Home folder.

  2. From the Finder menu, click View > Show View Options.

    The keyboard shortcut is Command+J.

    Show View Options item in the View menu in macOS Finder

  3. Place a check mark in the box labeled Show Library Folder.

    Show Library Folder checkbox in View Options panel in macOS Finder

The Library folder contains many of the resources that installed applications need to use, including preferences, support documents, plug-in folders, and the files that describe the saved state of applications. It has long been a go-to location for troubleshooting issues with individual applications or components shared by multiple applications.

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