Nov 09, 2012 The Library folder under each account user name (the /Library) is, by default, invisible in Lion and Mountain Lion versions of OS X. It is the folder that stores settings and information for various apps, among other things, and is the one that we will be revealing in this tutorial. Sep 27, 2016 A lot of Mac tutorials mention the Library folder, which is where your macOS applications store things like settings and caches. Some settings can only be changed by editing files in the Library. But the Library is hidden by default. Before going ahead with the steps to Access the Hidden Library Folder on your Mac, you need to be aware that /Library Folder contains important Data and Files related to Mac User Accounts. Hence, make sure that you are accessing the Library Folder for a good reason and you do know as to what you are trying to achieve. With the release of Mac OS X Lion way back in 2011, Apple removed easy access to the user’s Library folder. Although arguably well-intentioned, this change was frustrating for longtime Mac power. Dec 20, 2018 Your user library instantly populates in your user folder; Unhide Folders to See User Library and a Heck of A Lot More! Another command we can leverage is the Unhide Keystroke of Command+Shift+Period. This action makes any hidden files or folders visible in your Finder, including the user library and all other hidden files. This command causes.

10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder | 18 comments | Create New Account

Click here to return to the '10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder' hint

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

I am getting 'permission denied'. I am the administrator so I don't understand why I am getting this.

You might have to sudo. On my Snow Leopard, I see that the directory is root:admin, so you shouldn't need to sudo, but you might as well try it anyway.

sudo did the trick. Thanks.

Alternatively, after opening the library folder, using the Go menu, you can drag the folder's icon in the title bar to the Dock, Tool Bar, and/or the Side Bar.

Let me rephrase for clarity:
After opening '~/Library' using the 'Go...' menu, you can drag the proxy icon (the icon in the titlebar) to the sidebar, etc.

Mac Library Folder Hidden

Freeware for that - allows you to temporarily (or permanently) hide / unhide files and folders. Basically, a GUI for those who don't want to mess with terminal.
http://gotoes.org/sales/ShowHiddenFilesMacOSX/

That utility is for globally turning off and on the behaviour of hiding files. I don't have Lion yet, but I imagine by showing hidden files globally that way, you'd be able to Get Info on a file and turn off its individual visibility.

All you need to do, on a per use basis, is hold down the OPTION key while selecting GO from the FILE MENU; Library automagically appears in the list.

To save Snow Leopard users time: this doesn't work in Snow Leopard.

I tried it and got this result: dyld: shared cached file was build against a different libSystem.dylib, ignoring cache

This is a simple but important hint. Thank you.

What would be a good way to check visibility of a folder, so visibility can be toggled?

This works for toggling visibility of the user library folder. Is there a better way?

how do i install Quartz Composer? i can't find it in installer.

Works great, thanks for the hint. I did run into one hiccup though. I think this was just a random isolated instance but just in case anyone else gets weird behavior, repair your permissions. I changed the permissions of my Library folder and my downloads folder would appear empty (it wasn't empty before) and random files ranging from resource folders to language files and pretty much anything else you can think of was constantly appearing and disappearing.
I performed this hint on a fresh install of lion and it worked perfectly.
End result: Hint works as described, if you run into weird behavior just repair your permissions and try again.

A pure AppleScript way to toggle user library folder visibility:

Thanks! I've been looking for this folder for weeks.

It's worth mentioning that installing the system update from 10.7.2 to 10.7.3 resets the user Library to be hidden again, so you'll need to run this command after any system update.

When you launch Terminal, you're in your user home folder anyway, so you only need to type
chflags nohidden Library
The tilde and slash are superfluous.

Learn how to access the hidden Library folder in your Home folder on your Mac so you can tweak app settings and access app files.

Inside the home folder on your Mac is a Library folder that stores app-specific files and settings, personal settings, and some data. The files and settings in the Library folder should be left alone for the most part. But, you may want to tweak the settings for an app, which may require accessing the Library folder. Or, maybe an app backs up data to the Library folder and you want to copy that to an external drive.

As of Mac OS X Lion (10.7), the Library folder in your home folder is hidden by default. That doesn’t mean you can’t get to it. It’s hidden so you don’t accidentally delete settings and data, damaging apps in the process. So, if you decide you want to access the Library folder, be very careful.

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.

What is the Path to the Library Folder?

Mac User Library Folder Missing

The Library in your home folder is written as ~/Library. The tilde (~) character is a shortcut for your home directory. For example, on my Mac, that would expand to /Users/lorikaufman/Library.

Mac User Library Folder Hidden On Mac

Access the Library Folder Using the Go to Folder Option

If you want to access the Library folder only occasionally, you can use the Go to Folder option in Finder.

Open Finder or just click on the desktop. Head to Go > Go to Folder, or hit Cmd + Shift + G.

Type:~/Library in the Go to the folder box on the dialog box and click Go or press Enter.

If you have one or more Finder windows open, the Library folder opens in the currently active window. If no Finder windows are open, a new one opens to the Library folder.

Access the Library Folder Using the Terminal

If you prefer using the command line, you can access the Library folder using the Terminal.

Go to Utilities > Terminal in the Applications folder. To access the Library folder directly in the Terminal, type:cd ~/Library at the prompt to switch to the Library folder.

You can type:ls at the prompt to get a detailed folder listing. You can work with the files in the Library folder directly on the command line. Just be careful.

You can also use the Terminal to open the Library folder in a Finder window. Type:open ~/Library at the prompt and hit Enter.

Access the Hidden Library Menu Option in Finder

The Library folder is available on the Go menu in Finder, but it doesn’t show on the menu by default.

To temporarily show the Library option on the Go menu, open the menu and press the Option key. The Library folder shows up between Home and Computer on the Go menu. Keep the Option key pressed while you move your mouse down the menu and select Library.

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

Show the Library Folder Permanently in Finder

If you access the Library folder often, you can permanently show the Library option on the Go menu and the Library folder in your