How to Hide Apps on macOS via the Terminal: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing your applications on macOS can be a breeze with the Terminal, a powerful command-line interface that allows you to modify various aspects of your system without the need for a graphical user interface. One of the useful features you can achieve with the Terminal is hiding applications. This guide will provide you with a step-by-step procedure on how to hide and unhide applications on macOS using the Terminal.

Hiding Applications

Hiding an application via Terminal is a simple process that involves modifying the file attributes of the application. Follow the steps below to establish your desired visibility.

1. Opening Terminal

Before you start, open the Terminal application. You can access Terminal by locating it in the following directories:

Applications > Utilities > Terminal Navigate to the Terminal application via Spotlight search

2. Execute the chflags hidden Command

To hide an application, run the following command in the Terminal:

chflags hidden /path/to/your/application

Replace /path/to/your/application with the actual path to the application you want to hide. For instance, if you wish to hide Safari, you would execute the following command:

chflags hidden 

3. Verify the Change

Once you execute the command, check if the application is no longer visible in Finder. Navigate to your Applications folder, and the application should not be listed.

4. Unhiding Applications

To unhide the application later, simply run the same command but replace hidden with nohidden for each application you wish to make visible again:

chflags nohidden /path/to/your/application

For example, to unhid Safari, you would run:

chflags nohidden 

Permissions and Considerations

1. Permissions: You may need administrative permissions to hide certain applications. Ensure that your user account has the necessary privileges to modify the file attributes.

2. Visibility: Hidden applications will not appear in Finder, but they can still be accessed via Spotlight or by typing their path into the Terminal. This means that while your applications may not be visible, users can still find and access them if they have the necessary knowledge.

3. System Applications: Be cautious when hiding system applications. Modifying system applications might affect system functionality and could potentially cause instability or errors.

Alternative Methods

For a more thorough solution, you may consider using other methods to hide your applications:

1. Hiding Applications with a Hidden Directory

Create a hidden directory inside the Applications folder, and move the application you wish to hide into this directory. Finder will not display the hidden directory by default, but users with Unix skills might still find it through the command line.

Steps:

Run the command to create a hidden directory:

sudo mkdir /Applications/.hidden

Move the application into the hidden directory:

sudo mv  

Only you would know the hidden location and would need to use the Go to Folder menu option (Cmd Shift G) to view it. Anyone with Unix skills can easily locate this hidden directory, and the find command does not ignore .files.

2. Buried Deep in the File System

A less obvious approach is to place the application in a deeply nested directory in the file system, such as:

/Library/Application Support/Apple/Automator/Workflows/

This directory is unlikely to be a common place for users to look for applications.

3. Using an Encrypted Disk Image

The most secure method is to create an encrypted disk image and copy the application into it.

Steps:

Create an encrypted disk image using the diskutil command:

diskutil cs create EncryptedDiskImage -type APFS -v EncryptedDiskImage -size 50G

Mount the disk image:

diskutil mount APFS_CONTAINER_NAME

Copy the application to the disk image:

cp /path/to/your/application /path/to/mounted/disk/image/Application Folder

Unmount and eject the disk image:

diskutil eject /path/to/mounted/disk/image

Only you can mount the disk image, and any attempt by others to mount it would require guessing an encrypted password, which should be long and secure.

Note: Applications installed via installers can be more challenging to hide using these methods, as the installer will place the application in the Applications folder.

Conclusion

This guide provides several methods for hiding applications on macOS using the Terminal. Depending on your needs, you may choose to hide the application using the simple Terminal command, create a hidden directory, place the application in a deeply nested directory, or use an encrypted disk image. With these methods, you can effectively manage which applications are visible to others on your system.