Help · Is it safe to delete?

What are .DS_Store files?

By Grant and Brad, who make Pangalin's apps · Updated 11 October 2026

.DS_Store (Desktop Services Store) is a small hidden file Finder keeps in folders to remember how you view them: icon positions, view options and comments.

Safe to delete? Yes, but pointless. Finder recreates them, and they're tiny. Deleting one only loses that folder's view settings, and possibly its Finder comments.

Stop them on network drives

Apple documents a setting that stops Finder creating them on network shares, which can speed up browsing. Run it in Terminal, then log out and back in:

defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool TRUE

Sources: Eclectic Light Company, 15 Nov 2025; Apple Support, “Adjust SMB browsing behavior in macOS” (29 Feb 2024). Checked October 2026.

Find out what's safe to remove.

Pangalin Space Manager's free scan shows what's using your disk, folder by folder, and labels each item: safe to clean, can move, or needs review. macOS's own files are marked so you don't delete what your Mac needs.

Download free for Mac See what it does

Free to scan · first 5 GB freed free · Notarised by Apple · Apple silicon, macOS 13 or later

More: what's safe to delete on a Mac.