While OS X Lion offers many improvements and new features, it also takes some away. One that jumped out to me right away was the missing Library folder. By default, Apple now hides this folder to prevent users from messing up their system. While this might not seem substantial to the average user, more advanced users might not like this change. Fortunately, this change can be reversed, as I’ll show you in this video.
Michael Steeber is a student who is obsessed with everything Apple. He enjoys making videos and runs the MSComputerVideos YouTube channel in his free time. You can follow him on Twitter as well.
50 responses to “Re-Enable Your Library Folder In OS X Lion [Video How-To]”
Thanks for posting. How’d ya get that Terminal blurred background?
An option, when using the Go Menu, to show the Library folder is to go the Go menu, and press the Option key, which enables a lot of hidden features in OS X. You’ll then see that the Library folder is displayed in the Go menu pull-down menu.
Thank you. Maybe I will get a diamond charm for showing him this article :)
if you have to be told how to re-enable this rather than figuring it out on your own, you shouldn’t be messing around with the Library folder in the first place
You made a video for a 27 character terminal command?! You should at least parrot the command in your text.
chflags nohidden ~/Library/
His Terminal is not blurred. It’s translucent. You can probably find the instructions for doing this online.
Nice, classic snotty nerd comment!
Or, you can just use the ‘Go’ menu in Finder and hold the option key. Just as fast as navigating to the folder in the first place.
neat tip.
it’s called Aerogel, bundled with Lion.
useful comment.. thanks
Just hold the option key while clicking on “GO” in the finder menu bar. Simple.
If you haven’t yet installed Lion move the library folder to the sidebar in finder before making the move and it will stay there.
Showing off your brilliance. Or at least attempting to.
This was NOT a topic that needed a video. Then again, most of them don’t. 3 bullet points would have been enough. For that matter one would be fine. Anyone grown up enough to play in his Library Folder is grown up enough to try Go to Folder: ~/Library and find that there it is waiting for him
Aerogel? Do they sell that next to the Astroglide?
Why would you want to go through Terminal if a simple setting will do the trick?
Just go to Finder Settings -> Navigation and select one or both devices ‘iMac of…’ or ‘Hard disks’. That’ll do the trick neatly.
… guys i have a question if I go to Terminal and hide the Send Registration icon … will this affect my MacBook or no? and do i use (((( chflags hidden ~/Send Registration )))
I found this new apple blog and its great!
http://applefanboynews.com/
You are a douche
@lucascott Agree with fd. This is a decent topic worth explaining. when was the last time you ever helped anyone out? you are a loser
awesome tip. thanks!
Just because I don’t see the need to try to look cool by making ‘nifty’ and questionable done videos doesn’t mean that I don’t help folks out. Or that I couldn’t do a better job than you, FD or Michael.
And I never said it wasn’t a topic ‘worth explaining’. I just disagree that a video was the right way to do it. And even if it was, that this video was done well.
Doesn’t work. Said folder is flagged to be hidden, so it will be hidden whether you go to the hard drive first, the home folder first etc
What you will see is the system library folder bit not your user folder where all the good stuff is
You can also open a finder window and put it into multicolumn mode then do the Option+Go menu to open the Library in that window. If you scroll ‘back’ you will see the Library folder in the column and you can grab it and put it in the sidebar
Couldn’t you just post what you actually do as text so I don’t have to listen to you blabbing about it? I know what the problem is I want to know what to do!
To bad your solution didn’t work. Got the message no such file.
Called Apple, they gave me a very easy solution:
Open finder
click on “go”
push the “ALT”key and the library folder pops up in the favorites bar.
peace of cake