How to View Hidden Files in Linux

How to View Hidden Files in Linux

In this tutorial, we're going to learn how to view hidden files in Linux.

If you're coming from a Windows or macOS background, you might be used to clicking a checkbox to show hidden files. But in Linux, it's mostly done through the terminal—and it's just as easy once you know how.

What Are Hidden Files?

In Linux, any file or folder whose name starts with a dot (.) is considered hidden. These are usually configuration files, system files, or user-specific settings like:

.bashrc
.gitconfig
.vimrc

They don’t show up by default when you list files with the ls command. But don’t worry—we’ll fix that now.

View Hidden Files in the Terminal

The command you’re looking for is this:

ls -a

The -a stands for all, and it tells Linux to include hidden files in the list.

Try it in any directory. For example, go to your home directory and run:

cd ~
ls -a

You’ll see output like this:

.bashrc   .cache   .config   Documents   Downloads

Now you can see all the dot files and folders. 🎉

🧼 Want to Skip . and ..?

By default, ls -a also shows . (current directory) and .. (parent directory). If you want to view hidden files but skip those, use:

ls -A

That’s a capital A, and it shows all files except . and ...

🖥️ View Hidden Files in a Graphical File Manager

If you’re using a desktop environment like GNOME or KDE, you can also view hidden files graphically.

• GNOME (e.g., Ubuntu): Press Ctrl + H in the file manager.
• KDE (e.g., Kubuntu): Press Alt + . or find the “Show Hidden Files” option in the menu.

Press the same key combo again to hide them.

📌 Recap

• Use ls -a to see hidden files in terminal
• Use ls -A to exclude . and ..
• Use keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl + H in file managers

And that's it! You now know how to reveal the hidden secrets of your Linux system. 🔍

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