
Open Finder and head to your Home folder using the left pane or pressing Cmd + Shift + H. If you access the Library folder often, you can permanently show the Library option on the Go menu and the Library folder in your Home folder. Show the Library Folder Permanently in Finder

If you’re using a Windows keyboard with your Mac, press the Alt key.

Keep the Option key pressed while you move your mouse down the menu and select Library. The Library folder shows up between Home and Computer on the Go menu. To temporarily show the Library option on the Go menu, open the menu and press the Option key. The Library folder is available on the Go menu in Finder, but it doesn’t show on the menu by default. Type: open ~/Library at the prompt and hit Enter.Īccess the Hidden Library Menu Option in Finder You can also use the Terminal to open the Library folder in a Finder window. You can work with the files in the Library folder directly on the command line. You can type: ls at the prompt to get a detailed folder listing. To access the Library folder directly in the Terminal, type: cd ~/Library at the prompt to switch to the Library folder. Go to Utilities > Terminal in the Applications folder. If you prefer using the command line, you can access the Library folder using the Terminal. If no Finder windows are open, a new one opens to the Library folder.Īccess the Library Folder Using the Terminal If you have one or more Finder windows open, the Library folder opens in the currently active window. Type: ~/Library in the Go to the folder box on the dialog box and click Go or press Enter. Head to Go > Go to Folder, or hit Cmd + Shift + G. Open Finder or just click on the desktop. If you want to access the Library folder occasionally, you can use the Go to Folder option in Finder. For example, on my Mac, that would expand to /Users/lorikaufman/Library.Īccess the Library Folder Using the Go to Folder Option The tilde (~) character is a shortcut for your home directory.

The Library in your home folder is written as ~/Library. Today we’re going to cover different ways of accessing the hidden Library folder in your home folder and how to make it permanently available in Finder. So, if you decide you want to access the Library folder, be very careful. It’s hidden, so you don’t accidentally delete settings and data, damaging apps in the process. As of Mac OS X Lion (10.7), the Library folder in your home folder is hidden by default.
