To show hidden files on a Mac, the easiest method is to use Finder and press the keyboard shortcut:

• Press Command + Shift + . (period) together.

This toggles the visibility of hidden files, which will appear translucent. Pressing the same keys again will hide the files. This works in any Finder folder, including the desktop and system folders.

Alternatively, from the Terminal app, you can permanently show hidden files by running these commands:

• defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true
• killall Finder

To hide them again, replace true with false and run the commands again.

These methods let you access files and folders that macOS hides by default to prevent accidental changes.