Restore Hidden Files to OS X 10.7 Lion Finder
One step Lion takes in the direction of erasing the file system altogether is hiding the Library, System and other OS- and user-crucial directories in the Finder.
Obviously as power users we’re fully used to delving into the (already abstracted) file system of Mac OS X, and we want those folders back! Via this site, there is a Terminal command to restore access to these directories, but be warned that it comes with a caveat: by enabling access to these folders, you open up the whole filesystem including UNIX folders (etc, var…) and DS_Store files for view in the Finder.
In short, it’s way annoying, especially when browsing Linux volumes.
Irritating as having bits of the filesystem whipped away from prying eyes, I think I’m going to stick with Terminal for accessing those folders. TextWrangler can still browse them, and that’s enough for me. For those who want to see everything, and I mean everything:
$ defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
[...] has been a hack floating around to reenable hidden folders which I detailed here, however it really goes too far, enabling the whole Unix filesystem for view in the [...]