To hide a file or directory from the terminal, simply append a dot . at the start of its name as follows using the mv command.
$ ls $ mv mv sync.ffs_db .sync.ffs_db $ ls
Once you have renamed it, the file will still be seen, move out of the directory and open it again, it will be hidden thereafter.
How to View Hide Files and Directories in Linux?
Using GUI method, the same idea applies here, just rename the file by adding a . at the start of its name.
To view hidden files, run the ls command with the -a flag which enables viewing of all files in a directory or -al flag for long listing.
$ ls -a OR $ ls -al
From a GUI file manager, go to View and check the option Show Hidden Files to view hidden files or directories.
How to Compress Files and Directories with a Password?
In order to add a little security to your hidden files, you can compress them with a password and then hide them from a GUI file manager as follows.
Select the file or directory and right click on it, then choose Compress from the menu list, after seeing the compression preferences interface, click on “Other options” to get the password option as shown in the screenshot below.
Once you have set the password, click on Create.
From now on, each time anyone wants to open the file, they’ll be asked to provide the password created above.
Now you can hide the file by renaming it with a . as we explained before.
