The easiest way to access a Library folder on a separate backup drive would be something like this: But if you have a backup that is an exact replica, you could access the user library on that backup volume as well. Yes, the method above accesses User Library on the built-in booted hard drive actively running Mac OS X. For this reason, the View Options approach is the preferred method for revealing ~/Library and the Library contents for a given user account in OS X, while older versions of OS X would continue to use different approaches. This simple settings toggle was actually first introduced in the prior release of OS X, and while in El Capitan and Yosemite or Mavericks you can continue to use either the Terminal and the Go menu to access the same library folder as well, simply setting it to be visible within a users home folder is undoubtedly the easiest way to have constant access to the folder. Apple is choosing to hide this folder for a reason, since it’s not really intended to be a user facing folder for average Mac users. Generally speaking, if you don’t have a particular reason to reveal the users Library folder, you should not dig around in the directory.

Opening the user Library folder will reveal the myriad of contents specific to that user account, from cookies, fonts, caches, color profiles, scripts, application files, autosaving details, and much more.ĭo not modify any of these files or folders if you do not know what you are doing and why you are doing it, you could easily mess something up. If you had previously set to broadly show hidden files across OS X then the Library directory would be visible in the users home folder even without this setting toggled on, but it would appear as a somewhat translucent icon along with other hidden folders and files.

If you want to keep this change, just close the View Options panel and the setting will stick for that user account unless you go ahead and disable it again. The change is instantaneous and the users Library directory will immediately become visible in the user home folder, appearing as any other directory alongside the standard user Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Music, Movies, etc folders.

Near the bottom of the View Options settings list, check the box for “Show Library Folder”.

Pull down the “View” menu and choose “Show View Options”.

From the OS X Finder, pull down the “Go” menu and choose “Home”, or otherwise navigate to the the Home directory for an active user account (the Home directory will be your short user name, where Downloads, Desktop, Public, Music, Pictures, etc folders are stored).

This is done on a per user account basis: Make the User ~/Library Folder Always Visible in OS X El Capitan & Yosemite

How to get to library folder on mac