macOS defaults

Appearance

External disks ​

Hide external disks on desktop

  • Tested on macOS:
    • Monterey
    • Big Sur
  • Parameter type: bool

Set to false ​

Hide external disks

bash
defaults write com.apple.finder "ShowExternalHardDrivesOnDesktop" -bool "false" && killall Finder

Set to true (default value) ​

Show external disks

bash
defaults write com.apple.finder "ShowExternalHardDrivesOnDesktop" -bool "true" && killall Finder

Read current value ​

bash
defaults read com.apple.finder "ShowExternalHardDrivesOnDesktop"

Reset to default value ​

bash
defaults delete com.apple.finder "ShowExternalHardDrivesOnDesktop" && killall Finder