Why does .DS_Store grow back after you delete it?

Question

Weirdo · Accepted Answer

.DS_Store is Desktop Services Store: a hidden file Finder writes with folder view options, icon positions, and other layout metadata. Open that folder in Finder again and the file is recreated. Deleting it is not a bug; Finder is doing its job.

The Library of Congress format record calls it Desktop Services Store: a proprietary hidden file created by the Macintosh OS X Finder, holding folder view options, icon positions, and other visual details. Each directory visited in Finder gets one. There is currently no switch to stop creation on a local disk. The leading dot hides it in Finder by Unix convention.

Apple’s support note is about .DS_Store on network volumes: a Mac decides how each window should look by collecting labels, tags, and other metadata. Admins can cut SMB reads and writes with defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores, but that is not “delete once, gone forever.” Open the local folder in Finder again and the file grows back. Keep it out of Git with .gitignore; deleting the file is not a fix.

Why does .DS_Store grow back after you delete it?

It is Finder’s memory of the folder

Finder rewrites it the next time you open the folder