How to Hide the Device Icons on a Mac Desktop

To keep your Mac desktop uncluttered, you can hide device icons using two main methods.

1. Finder Preferences: Open a Finder window, click on “Finder” in the menu bar, and select “Preferences.” Under the “General” tab, you can uncheck the boxes next to the devices you want to hide (like external drives or connected servers).
2. Terminal Command: If you prefer a more advanced approach, you can use Terminal. Open Terminal and type defaults write com.apple.finder ShowExternalHardDrivesOnDesktop -bool false and then killall Finder to apply the changes. This command hides external drives from the desktop.

Both methods allow you to keep your desktop tidy while still having easy access to your devices when needed.

Once you’ve hidden the device icons, you can easily access them through Finder. Just click on the “Devices” section in the sidebar to view your connected drives without cluttering your desktop. If you ever want to bring the icons back, simply follow the same steps in Finder Preferences and recheck the boxes or use the Terminal command with “true” instead of “false.” This way, you can effortlessly switch between a clean desktop and a more functional setup whenever you need it.

Using Finder to Hide the Device Icons

Make sure you are inside a Finder window. If you are on your desktop, you are already there.

1. Click on the “Finder” menu on the top and select “Preferences…”

2. When the panel opens, make sure you are in the General tab.

Under the “Show these items on the desktop” section are the items that are visible on your Mac’s desktop. What you need to do is uncheck all of them so that they are no longer a part of your desktop.

3. As soon as the items are unchecked, they will be removed from your desktop helping you keep your desktop uncluttered.

There’s another way that uses Terminal to get the same job done.

Using Terminal to Hide the Device Icons

1. Launch Terminal by clicking on Launchpad in your dock and searching for and clicking on Terminal.

2. When Terminal launches, type in the following command and press Enter. It will hide the device icons on your desktop.

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false

3. You need to relaunch Finder so that the changes can be applied. Enter in the following command into Terminal and press Enter to do so.

killall Finder

4. All the device icons are gone from your desktop. It is as neat and clean as it should be.

5. If you would like to get the device icons back for any reason, just run the following command in Terminal.

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true; killall Finder

Conclusion

If you would prefer your Mac desktop not be cluttered with the device icons, the above guide should help you get rid of them on your machine.

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