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<li id="toc-DOS_and_MS_Windows" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#DOS_and_MS_Windows"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>DOS and MS Windows</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-DOS_and_MS_Windows-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" 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Available in 8 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-8" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">8 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81_%D9%85%D8%AE%D9%81%D9%8A_%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%AF_%D9%85%D8%AE%D9%81%D9%8A" title="ملف مخفي ومجلد مخفي – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="ملف مخفي ومجلد مخفي" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versteckte_Datei" title="Versteckte Datei – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Versteckte Datei" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier_et_r%C3%A9pertoire_cach%C3%A9" title="Fichier et répertoire caché – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Fichier et répertoire caché" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkas_dan_direktori_tersembunyi" title="Berkas dan direktori tersembunyi – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Berkas dan direktori tersembunyi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verborgen_bestand" title="Verborgen bestand – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Verborgen bestand" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skjulte_filer_og_skjulte_mapper" title="Skjulte filer og skjulte mapper – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Skjulte filer og skjulte mapper" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik_ukryty" title="Plik ukryty – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Plik ukryty" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9A%B1%E8%97%8F%E6%AA%94%E6%A1%88%E6%88%96%E9%9A%B1%E8%97%8F%E7%9B%AE%E9%8C%84" title="隱藏檔案或隱藏目錄 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="隱藏檔案或隱藏目錄" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q721795#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div 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title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&oldid=1272187059" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a 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</div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Hidden file">Hidden file</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Object in a filesystem marked to not be displayed by default</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Dot file" redirects here. For the computer language which uses the .dot extension, see <a href="/wiki/DOT_(graph_description_language)" title="DOT (graph description language)">DOT (graph description language)</a>.</div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Computing" title="Computing">computing</a>, a <b>hidden folder</b> (sometimes <b>hidden directory</b>) or <b>hidden file</b> is a <a href="/wiki/Folder_(computing)" class="mw-redirect" title="Folder (computing)">folder</a> or <a href="/wiki/Computer_file" title="Computer file">file</a> which <a href="/wiki/Filesystem" class="mw-redirect" title="Filesystem">filesystem</a> utilities do not display by default when showing a <a href="/wiki/Directory_(computing)" title="Directory (computing)">directory</a> listing. They are commonly used for storing user preferences or preserving the state of a utility and are frequently created implicitly by using various utilities. They are not a security mechanism because access is not restricted – usually the intent is simply to not "clutter" the display of the contents of a directory listing with files the user did not directly create.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Unix_and_Unix-like_environments">Unix and Unix-like environments</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Unix and Unix-like environments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Unix-like" title="Unix-like">Unix-like</a> operating systems, any file or folder that starts with a <a href="/wiki/Full_stop" title="Full stop">dot</a> character (for example, <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886049734">.mw-parser-output .monospaced{font-family:monospace,monospace}</style><span class="monospaced">/home/user/.config</span>), commonly called a <b>dot file</b> or <b>dotfile</b>, is to be treated as hidden – that is, the <code><a href="/wiki/Ls" title="Ls">ls</a></code> command does not display them unless the <code>-a</code> or <code>-A</code> <a href="/wiki/Command-line_argument" class="mw-redirect" title="Command-line argument">flags</a> (<code>ls -a</code> or <code>ls -A</code>) are used.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In most <a href="/wiki/Command_line" class="mw-redirect" title="Command line">command-line</a> <a href="/wiki/Shell_(computing)" title="Shell (computing)">shells</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wildcard_character#Files_and_directories" title="Wildcard character">wildcards</a> will not match files whose names start with <code>.</code> unless the wildcard itself starts with an explicit <code>.</code> . </p><p>According to <a href="/wiki/Rob_Pike" title="Rob Pike">Rob Pike</a>, the <b>dot file</b> was an unintended consequence of the implementation of <a href="/wiki/Hierarchical_file_system" title="Hierarchical file system">hierarchical file systems</a> during the <a href="/wiki/Research_Unix#Versions" title="Research Unix">UNIX 2nd Edition</a> re-write, which introduced the <code><a href="/wiki/Current_directory" class="mw-redirect" title="Current directory">.</a></code> and <code><a href="/wiki/Parent_directory" class="mw-redirect" title="Parent directory">..</a></code> file entries within all directories, and necessitated the omission of <b>dot files</b> from the directory listing produced by <code>ls</code>. Due to the implementation of omitting the hierarchical files from directory listings, all files prefixed with a <b><a href="/wiki/Full_stop" title="Full stop">.</a></b> character were omitted, resulting in the introduction of a mechanism for hidden files.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A convention arose of using dotfiles in the user's home directory to store per-user configuration or informational text. Early uses of this were the well-known dotfiles <code><a href="/wiki/.profile" class="mw-redirect" title=".profile">.profile</a></code>, <code><a href="/wiki/.login" class="mw-redirect" title=".login">.login</a></code>, and <code><a href="/wiki/.cshrc" class="mw-redirect" title=".cshrc">.cshrc</a></code>, which are configuration files for the <a href="/wiki/Bourne_shell" title="Bourne shell">Bourne shell</a> and <a href="/wiki/C_shell" title="C shell">C shell</a> and shells compatible with them, and <code><a href="/wiki/.plan" class="mw-redirect" title=".plan">.plan</a></code> and <code><a href="/wiki/.project" class="mw-redirect" title=".project">.project</a></code>, both used by the <code>finger</code> and <code>name</code> commands.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Many applications, from <a href="/wiki/Bash_(Unix_shell)" title="Bash (Unix shell)">bash</a> to desktop environments such as <a href="/wiki/GNOME" title="GNOME">GNOME</a>, now store their per-user configuration this way, but the Unix/Linux <a href="/wiki/Freedesktop.org" title="Freedesktop.org">freedesktop.org</a> <i><a href="/wiki/XDG_Base_Directory_Specification" class="mw-redirect" title="XDG Base Directory Specification">XDG Base Directory Specification</a></i> aims to migrate user config files from individual dotfiles in <code>$HOME</code> to non-hidden files in the hidden directory <code>$HOME/.config</code>.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Android">Android</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Android"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Android_(operating_system)" title="Android (operating system)">Android</a> operating system uses empty <code>.nomedia</code> files to tell <a href="/wiki/Smartphone" title="Smartphone">smartphone</a> <a href="/wiki/Mobile_app" title="Mobile app">apps</a> not to display or include the contents of the folder. This prevents <a href="/wiki/Digital_photo" class="mw-redirect" title="Digital photo">digital photos</a> and <a href="/wiki/Digital_music" class="mw-redirect" title="Digital music">digital music</a> files from being shown in picture galleries or played in <a href="/wiki/MP3_player" class="mw-redirect" title="MP3 player">MP3 player</a> apps. This is useful to prevent downloaded <a href="/wiki/Voicemail" title="Voicemail">voicemail</a> files from playing between the songs in a <a href="/wiki/Playlist" title="Playlist">playlist</a>, and to keep <a href="/wiki/NSFW" class="mw-redirect" title="NSFW">personal</a> photos private while still allowing those in other folders to be shared in person with friends, family, and colleagues. The <code>.nomedia</code> file has no effect on the filesystem or even the <a href="/wiki/Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating system</a>, but instead depends entirely on each individual app to respect the presence of the different files. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="GNOME">GNOME</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: GNOME"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the <a href="/wiki/GNOME" title="GNOME">GNOME</a> <a href="/wiki/Desktop_environment" title="Desktop environment">desktop environment</a> (as well as all programs written using <a href="/wiki/GLib" title="GLib">GLib</a><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>), filenames listed in a file named <code>.hidden</code> in each directory are also excluded from display. In GNOME's file manager, the keyboard shortcut <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1249182868">.mw-parser-output .keyboard-key{border:1px solid #aaa;border-radius:0.2em;box-shadow:0.1em 0.1em 0.2em rgba(0,0,0,0.1);background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);background-image:linear-gradient(to bottom,var(--background-color-neutral,#eaecf0),var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa),var(--background-color-neutral,#eaecf0));color:var(--color-base,#202122);padding:0.1em 0.3em;font-family:inherit;font-size:0.85em}</style><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">Ctrl</kbd>+<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1249182868" /><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">H</kbd> enables the display of both kinds of hidden files. </p><p><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Screenshot_Nautilus_hidden_file.png" class="mw-file-description" title="GNOME Files featuring a hidden directory"><img alt="GNOME Files featuring a hidden directory" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Screenshot_Nautilus_hidden_file.png" decoding="async" width="837" height="568" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="837" data-file-height="568" /></a></span> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="macOS">macOS</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: macOS"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In addition to the "dotfile" behaviour, files with the "Invisible" attribute are hidden in <a href="/wiki/Finder_(software)" title="Finder (software)">Finder</a>, although not in <code><a href="/wiki/Ls" title="Ls">ls</a></code>. The "Invisible" attribute can be set or cleared using the <code>SetFile</code> command; for example, invoking <code>SetFile -a V jimbo</code> will hide the file <code>jimbo</code>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Starting in <a href="/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Snow_Leopard" title="Mac OS X Snow Leopard">Mac OS X Snow Leopard</a>, the <code><a href="/wiki/Chflags" class="mw-redirect" title="Chflags">chflags</a></code> command can also be used; for example, <code>chflags hidden jimbo</code> will hide the file <code>jimbo</code>.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="DOS_and_MS_Windows">DOS and MS Windows</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: DOS and MS Windows"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/DOS" title="DOS">DOS</a> systems, file directory entries include a Hidden <a href="/wiki/File_attribute" title="File attribute">file attribute</a> which is manipulated using the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced">attrib</span> command. Using the command line command <code>dir /ah</code> displays the files with the Hidden attribute. In addition, there is a System file attribute that can be set on a file, which also causes the file to be hidden in directory listings. Use the command line command <code>dir /as</code> to display the files with the System attribute. </p><p>Under <a href="/wiki/Windows_Explorer" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows Explorer">Windows Explorer</a>, Hidden files and directories are, by default, not displayed - though they are still accessible by entering the full path into the explorer address bar. System files <i>are</i> displayed, unless they are also hidden. There are two options that enable the display of hidden files. The main "Hidden files and folders" option can be used to turn on the display of hidden files but this won't, on its own, display hidden <i>system</i> files. A second option, "Hide protected operating system files" additionally needs to be turned off in order for hidden system files to be shown. Hidden files are displayed with a slight transparency, so even when they are visible they are visually delineated from non-hidden files. </p><p>Under <a href="/wiki/Windows_Explorer" class="mw-redirect" title="Windows Explorer">Windows Explorer</a>, the content of a directory can also be hidden just by appending a pre-defined <a href="/wiki/Universally_unique_identifier#CLSID" title="Universally unique identifier">CLSID</a><sup id="cite_ref-guid_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-guid-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> to the end of the folder name. The directory is still visible, but its content becomes one of the Windows Special Folders.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, the real content of this directory can still be seen using the CLI command <code>dir</code>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150403103903/http://windows.microsoft.com/en-nz/windows/what-is-hidden-file#1TC=windows-7">"What is a hidden file?"</a>. <i>Microsoft.com</i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-nz/windows/what-is-hidden-file">the original</a> on 2015-04-03.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Microsoft.com&rft.atitle=What+is+a+hidden+file%3F&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwindows.microsoft.com%2Fen-nz%2Fwindows%2Fwhat-is-hidden-file&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://new.linuxfocus.org/English/March1998/article24.html">"Configuring X: What are all those dotfiles for anyway?"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Linux_Focus" class="mw-redirect" title="Linux Focus">Linux Focus</a>. March 1998<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2013-09-08</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Configuring+X%3A+What+are+all+those+dotfiles+for+anyway%3F&rft.pub=Linux+Focus&rft.date=1998-03&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnew.linuxfocus.org%2FEnglish%2FMarch1998%2Farticle24.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/sample-bashrc.html">"Sample .bashrc and .bash_profile Files"</a>. Linux Documentation Project.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Sample+.bashrc+and+.bash_profile+Files&rft.pub=Linux+Documentation+Project&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Ftldp.org%2FLDP%2Fabs%2Fhtml%2Fsample-bashrc.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFSubodh_Soni2001" class="citation web cs1">Subodh Soni (2001-12-01). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-config/index.html">"Understanding Linux configuration files"</a>. <i>IBM Developer</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2019-04-26</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=IBM+Developer&rft.atitle=Understanding+Linux+configuration+files&rft.date=2001-12-01&rft.au=Subodh+Soni&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibm.com%2Fdeveloperworks%2Flibrary%2Fl-config%2Findex.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://linux.die.net/man/1/ls">"ls(1) - Linux man page"</a>. linux.die.net<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2020-08-23</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=ls%281%29+-+Linux+man+page&rft.pub=linux.die.net&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Flinux.die.net%2Fman%2F1%2Fls&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFRob_Pike2012" class="citation web cs1">Rob Pike (August 3, 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20141205101508/https://plus.google.com/+RobPikeTheHuman/posts/R58WgWwN9jp">"A lesson in shortcuts"</a>. Google Plus. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://plus.google.com/+RobPikeTheHuman/posts/R58WgWwN9jp">the original</a> on 2014-12-05.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=A+lesson+in+shortcuts.&rft.pub=Google+Plus&rft.date=2012-08-03&rft.au=Rob+Pike&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fplus.google.com%2F%2BRobPikeTheHuman%2Fposts%2FR58WgWwN9jp&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">One user could lookup another by using the command along with the <a href="/wiki/Username" class="mw-redirect" title="Username">username</a> (and <a href="/wiki/Hostname" title="Hostname">hostname</a> if not on the <a href="/wiki/Local_host" class="mw-redirect" title="Local host">local host</a>), and the <a href="/wiki/Finger_(protocol)" title="Finger (protocol)">finger</a> <a href="/wiki/Daemon_(computing)" title="Daemon (computing)">service</a> would respond with the other user's current status, and the contents of the <code>.plan</code> and <code>.project</code> files in that user's <code>$HOME</code> folder.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFBastianLortiePoettering2010" class="citation web cs1">Bastian, Waldo; Lortie, Ryan; <a href="/wiki/Lennart_Poettering" title="Lennart Poettering">Poettering, Lennart</a> (November 24, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html">"XDG Base Directory Specification"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 4,</span> 2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=XDG+Base+Directory+Specification&rft.date=2010-11-24&rft.aulast=Bastian&rft.aufirst=Waldo&rft.au=Lortie%2C+Ryan&rft.au=Poettering%2C+Lennart&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fstandards.freedesktop.org%2Fbasedir-spec%2Fbasedir-spec-latest.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://git.gnome.org/browse/glib/commit/?id=510ba9b4efe1813e24c6dfa7405c3547bf9efdd7">"GLib commit: Support for .hidden files"</a>. 28 November 2012<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2013-08-07</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=GLib+commit%3A+Support+for+.hidden+files&rft.date=2012-11-28&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fgit.gnome.org%2Fbrowse%2Fglib%2Fcommit%2F%3Fid%3D510ba9b4efe1813e24c6dfa7405c3547bf9efdd7&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><code><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/SetFile.1.html">SetFile(1)</a></code></span> – <a href="/wiki/Darwin_(operating_system)" title="Darwin (operating system)">Darwin</a> and <a href="/wiki/MacOS" title="MacOS">macOS</a> General Commands <a href="/wiki/Man_page" title="Man page">Manual</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"><code><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://keith.github.io/xcode-man-pages/chflags.1.html">chflags(1)</a></code></span> – <a href="/wiki/Darwin_(operating_system)" title="Darwin (operating system)">Darwin</a> and <a href="/wiki/MacOS" title="MacOS">macOS</a> General Commands <a href="/wiki/Man_page" title="Man page">Manual</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-guid-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-guid_12-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/controlpanel-canonical-names?redirectedfrom=MSDN">"Canonical Names of Control Panel Items - Win32 apps"</a>. <i>Microsoft</i>. 29 April 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Microsoft&rft.atitle=Canonical+Names+of+Control+Panel+Items+-+Win32+apps&rft.date=2022-04-29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fwindows%2Fwin32%2Fshell%2Fcontrolpanel-canonical-names%3Fredirectedfrom%3DMSDN&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thewindowsclub.com/the-secret-behind-the-windows-7-godmode">"The Secret BEHIND the Windows 7 GodMode"</a>. <i>The Windows Club</i>. 5 January 2010.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Windows+Club&rft.atitle=The+Secret+BEHIND+the+Windows+7+GodMode&rft.date=2010-01-05&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewindowsclub.com%2Fthe-secret-behind-the-windows-7-godmode&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHidden+file+and+hidden+directory" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Bellevue Linux Users Group: <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071017224738/http://bellevuelinux.org/hidden_file.html">Hidden files in Unix-like operating systems</a> at the <a 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a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Computer_files" title="Template:Computer files"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Computer_files" title="Template talk:Computer files"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a 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</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Organisation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Directory_(computing)" title="Directory (computing)">Directory/folder</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/NTFS_links" title="NTFS links">NTFS links</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Temporary_folder" title="Temporary folder">Temporary folder</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Directory_structure" title="Directory structure">Directory structure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/File_system" title="File system">File system</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Filesystem_Hierarchy_Standard" title="Filesystem Hierarchy Standard">Filesystem Hierarchy Standard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grid_file_system" title="Grid file system">Grid file system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semantic_file_system" title="Semantic file system">Semantic file system</a></li></ul></li> <li><a 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vector-sticky-header-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-sticky-header-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-sticky-header-toc-label" for="vector-sticky-header-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-sticky-header-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div class="vector-sticky-header-context-bar-primary" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidden file and hidden 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data-event-name="history-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-history mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-history"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only mw-watchlink" id="ca-watchstar-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="watch-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-star mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-star"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="wikitext-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikiText mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-wikiText"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-ve-edit-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-edit mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-edit"></span> <span></span> </a> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only" id="ca-viewsource-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ve-edit-protected-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-editLock mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-editLock"></span> <span></span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-buttons"> <button class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet mw-interlanguage-selector" id="p-lang-btn-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-wikimedia-language"></span> <span>8 languages</span> </button> <a href="#" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive" id="ca-addsection-sticky-header" tabindex="-1" data-event-name="addsection-sticky-header"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-speechBubbleAdd-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-speechBubbleAdd-progressive"></span> <span>Add topic</span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-header-icon-end"> <div class="vector-user-links"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mw-portlet mw-portlet-dock-bottom emptyPortlet" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul> </ul> </div> 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