Stop macOS from Creating .DS_Store Files
Introduction
macOS creates a .DS_Store file in every folder you view in Finder. This file stores metadata about that folder’s contents as well as user customizations for things like view type and icon size.
These .DS_Store files are hidden from you in macOS so they won’t clutter up your folder views. But in mixed-OS environments, the .DS_Store files can become a problem. That’s because your Mac creates these files even for shared network locations. So if you’re sharing a NAS at your office with people using Windows PCs, they may suddenly see a bunch of .DS_Store files littering the shared directories.
Prevent .DS_Store Creation
To configure your Mac to not create .DS_Store files on shared network drives, log into macOS, launch the Terminal, and enter the following command:
Once you’ve executed the command, save any open work and log out of your macOS user account. When you log back in, reconnect to your shared network drives. Existing .DS_Store files may still be present and will need to be manually deleted, but your Mac won’t create any new .DS_Store files as you browse the shared directories going forward.
Re-Enable .DS_Store Creation
If you’ve used the command above to disable the creation of .DS_Store files on shared network drives, you can re-enable the creation of these files with the following command:
As before, make sure to log out and then reconnect your shared network drives after running the command.