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I'm trying to make a Python script that creates a hidden folder for a specific file I'm creating across any platform.

I'm aware you can do this easily with Linux by placing "." as the beginning of a file or folder name, but haven't found anything saying that you can do the same with MacOS. I don't have a MacOS system to test with, which leaves me at a roadblock.

Would I be able to just create a directory and/or file named ".file" like in Linux systems, or would I need to use the chflags method that I see everywhere I look?

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Hidden filenames is a feature of the Unix shells and of the other standard Unix tools, not of any particular filesystem implementation (a "hidden" name is just a name starting with a dot).

macOS, since it is a Unix operating system, supports hidden filenames just like Linux or any other Unix.

Example on macOS:

$ touch file .hidden_file
$ ls
file
$ ls -a
.       ..      .hidden_file    file
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  • Thank you for the help! I was looking everywhere and couldn't find if that was true.
    – EarthToAccess
    Apr 7, 2019 at 8:24
  • @EarthToAccess If it wasn't true, it would be virtually impossible to run basic shell scripts written for Linux on macOS. As it turns out, as long as a script is otherwise portable, scripts works the same on any Unix with regards to these filenames.
    – Kusalananda ♦
    Apr 7, 2019 at 8:32
  • Oh, neat! I genuinely didn't know that. I'll learn to keep this in mind for any other Unix question like this I have in the future.
    – EarthToAccess
    Apr 7, 2019 at 8:44
  • Is it true of the finder, and other GUI tools?
    – ctrl-alt-delor
    Apr 7, 2019 at 9:49
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    @ctrl-alt-delor A file or directory with a hidden name will not show up in the Finder or in macOS's file selection dialogs. I'm sure there are exceptions to this (as it's bound to be on non-macOS systems too).
    – Kusalananda ♦
    Apr 7, 2019 at 9:54

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