How to hide all desktop icons on Mac

Don't worry, you can use the Terminal command to quickly hide all the icons on your Mac desktop before showing your screen in a meeting, or taking a screenshot.

Hide all desktop icons on Mac using Terminal

To get started, open the Terminal app on your Mac using Spotlight Search or Launchpad.

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Terminal is the built-in command line application on Mac. But don't let that overwhelm you. In this tutorial, we will use Terminal to run a specific command in a safe, simple way. Your work or macOS system will be completely unaffected.

Once the Terminal app opens, type or paste the following command, and then press the Return (or Enter) key.

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false

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Next, you'll need to restart the Finder app. Type the following command and press the Return (or Enter) key.

killall Finder

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All Finder windows will restart, and just like that, your Mac desktop will be blank. All icons are now hidden.

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Click the red Close button in the upper-left corner of the Terminal window to safely exit the application.

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Of course, you can also completely reverse this change by using another Terminal command. If you want the desktop icons to show up again, open the Terminal application, type or paste the following command, and then press Return (or Enter).

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop true

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Type the command below and then press the Return (Enter) key to restart Finder.

killall Finder

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Your desktop icons will appear again!

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Again, click the red Close button in the upper-left corner of the Terminal window to safely exit the application.

HiddenMe

If you don't feel comfortable using the Terminal app, try using the HiddenMe menu.

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This is a small utility, located in the menu bar, and has only one purpose: to allow you to hide desktop icons with just one click.

Micah Soto

Update 05 July 2021