Mac practice: What are DS_Store files – and how can you read them? | News

Anyone who accessed a shared folder with Windows users or exchanged storage media in the days before Windows 8 may remember strange files called “thumbs.db”. It remained hidden from Windows users, but was visible on the Mac – and didn’t seem to serve any purpose. Windows and Linux users have a similar experience with “.DS_Store”, which the Finder stores in almost every folder whose contents it is allowed to display. This will still happen in 2026 and can lead to problems with backup, version management and synchronization – and annoy shared folder users. But what is it all for? A free program (from macOS 26) sheds light on the matter.

The DS_Store Inspector app can be downloaded from the Mac App Store. When you start it, an empty window appears, which asks the user to drag a folder into it. Anyone who follows this recommendation will receive an overview of all saved data, which is collected in a .DS_Store file in the respective folder.

The Finder stores display attributes such as icon position and displayed columns in the .DS_Store file.

Just look (or delete), don’t edit
The app only displays content generated by the Finder; DS_Store Inspector does not allow editing. However, a displayed .DS_Store file can be removed via the File menu. Then the entry “0 Records” appears in the Inspector window. However, if you play around with the display even slightly, such as rearranging the icon view, the Finder will create it again.

Still useful?
With the introduction of APFS, much of the metadata from the fork resource and various other sources was moved to the extended attributes of a file. Tags, icons and window backgrounds are now pinned as xattr. macOS now saves computer-specific settings in a central database for the respective volume. In addition to the icon position and column arrangement, there is also a field that continues to be saved via .DS_Store: the Finder comment. Maybe that’s why the finder still reserves the right to step out of line and mark his territory. After all, this no longer happens in network folders.