How to Hide Desktop Icons on Mac — This is So Awesome!

Productivity is crucial nowadays, especially since work can now be done remotely.

One way to increase this is by limiting the distractions on your computer, including hiding desktop icons.

But how do you hide desktop icons on Mac if you own one?

 

How to Hide Desktop Icons on Mac

To hide desktop icons on Mac, follow these steps:

1. Open “Spotlight Subscribe”
2. Type “Terminal” in the search field
3. Select “Terminal” from the search results
4. Type the command line “defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false; killall Finder” and press enter to confirm

Though you can install third-party apps to hide desktop icons on your Mac with just a click, you don’t have to go through the hassle.

Whether you downloaded Photoshop for free or saved presentation files on your desktop, hiding their icons is straightforward.

 

Step 1: Open “Spotlight Subscribe”

Do this by clicking the magnifying glass before the “Control Center” icon on the menu bar.

A floating search bar then opens.

 

Step 2: Type “Terminal” in the search field

After typing this search term, a dropdown menu then appears.

 

Step 3: Select “Terminal” from the search results

This is the first option that appears on the dropdown menu. This opens the “Terminal” window on the desktop screen.

In case you’re wondering, “Terminal” is the Mac counterpart of “Command Prompt” in Windows. Here you can type certain code commands that you want executed on your Mac.

 

Step 4: Type the command line “defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false; killall Finder” and press enter to confirm

This code is the code that will tell or instruct Mac to hide the desktop icons.

Tapping “Enter” confirms the action you want, which is to hide all desktop icons on your Mac. 

All the desktop icons you see on your Mac, including newly downloaded files, app icons, and folders, are hidden. However, “hidden” doesn’t mean “deleted.” 

Those desktop icons are simply out of your sight. 

 

How to Bring Your Desktop Icons Back at Any Time on your Mac

If you change your mind about hiding those desktop icons, you can always type in the follwing code:

 

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true; killall Finder

 

This code is almost the same as for hiding desktop icons on a mac except for writing “true” instead of “false.”

Save this code somewhere in a text editor or other safe place so that you can bring back your desktop folders and icons at any time!

 

Frequently Asked Questions about How to Hide Desktop Icons on Mac

 

What happens to the desktop icons on Mac once you hide them?

When you hide desktop icons, you simply hide them from your desktop view of your Mac. You can still find them in the “Home” folder. They are not deleted on your device unless you manually deleted them previously.

 

What are the common reasons for desktop icons on Mac to be suddenly hidden?

Desktop icons on your Mac can be hidden if you or someone else hid them from your Apple menu or dock bar. Otherwise, “Finder” is malfunctioning or your Mac is experiencing some bugs. Process conflicts, iCloud syncing interference, and malware attacks, and manual deletion of icons can also be causes.

 

How do I bring back the desktop icons on my Mac?

The fastest way to bring back hidden desktop icons on your Mac is to type the “defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true; killall Finder” code in “Terminal.” This is almost the same code for hiding desktop icons on your Mac, except you’ll replace “false” with “true.”