hidden file: A file that is not normally visible when listing (ls) the contents of a directory. In Linux, a file is made hidden by starting the filename with a period. (In dos, a file is made hidden by specifying the "hidden" attribute (read about the dos command "attrib").)

AFAIK, a hidden file and an invisible file are the same thing -- in my experience "hidden file" is the more common name. I think you should consider the leading period a part of the filename, not an add on that can make the file visible or invisible. (If you have a file .bash_history and do less .bash_history you see the contents of the file, if you do less bash_history you get the message "no such file or directory".)

Hidden files can be displayed in a directory listing (ls) by specifying the -a option.

Linux does have some attributes, but I don't know whether they are applicable just to dos filesystems (like FAT) -- see chattr? .

Contributors

• RandyKramer - 31 Jan 2002
• <If you edit this page, add your name here, move this to the next line>