How to List Hidden Files in PowerShell

To list hidden files in PowerShell, run Get-ChildItem with the -Hidden switch. It returns only the items that have the Hidden attribute:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Projects -Hidden

Use -Force instead to see hidden and normal items together. Below I show both, how to read the Mode column, how to get hidden files only, search subfolders and unhide a file.

For the examples, I made a sample Project folder with a hidden .env file, a hidden .git folder and a hidden .cache file in a subfolder.

Hidden files don’t show up by default

A plain Get-ChildItem skips anything marked Hidden:

Get-ChildItem -Path .\Project -Name

Output:

src
budget-2026.xlsx
README.md

The folder actually has six items. .env and .git are missing here, just as they are in File Explorer with hidden items turned off.

List only hidden items with -Hidden

-Hidden flips the view and shows only the hidden items, both files and folders:

Get-ChildItem -Path .\Project -Hidden -Name

Output:

.git
.env

-Hidden doesn’t change the files. It only changes what Get-ChildItem returns, so it’s safe to run anywhere.

List everything with -Force

-Force includes hidden and system items along with the normal ones. The h in the Mode column marks the hidden ones:

Get-ChildItem -Path .\Project -Force | Select-Object -Property Mode, Name

Output:

Mode  Name
----  ----
d--h- .git
d---- src
-a-h- .env
-a--- budget-2026.xlsx
-a--- README.md

Mode letters are d for directory, a for archive, r for read-only, h for hidden and s for system. Windows PowerShell 5.1 adds a sixth position, l, for links. PowerShell 7 shows five and puts the l in the first position instead.

Get hidden files only, including subfolders

-Attributes takes a filter expression. Hidden+!Directory means hidden and not a folder, and -Recurse searches the whole tree:

Get-ChildItem -Path .\Project -Attributes 'Hidden+!Directory' -Recurse -Name

Output:

.env
src\.cache

In -Attributes, + means and, a comma means or, and ! means not. So ‘Hidden,System’ finds items that are hidden or system.

Filter on the attribute with Where-Object

When you already have a list of files, test the Attributes property with -band. You need -Force so the hidden items are in the list at all:

Get-ChildItem -Path .\Project -Force -Recurse |
    Where-Object { $_.Attributes -band [System.IO.FileAttributes]::Hidden } |
    Select-Object -Property Name, Attributes

Output:

Name          Attributes
----          ----------
.git   Hidden, Directory
.env     Hidden, Archive
.cache   Hidden, Archive

The same pattern works for ReadOnly, System or any other flag in the FileAttributes enum. For more filters, see the Get-ChildItem filter guide.

Unhide a file

Remove the Hidden flag and keep the other attributes with -band and -bnot:

$file = Get-Item -Path .\Project\.env -Force
$file.Attributes = $file.Attributes -band -bnot [System.IO.FileAttributes]::Hidden

"Attributes now: $((Get-Item -Path .\Project\.env).Attributes)"
Get-ChildItem -Path .\Project -Name -File

Output:

Attributes now: Archive
.env
budget-2026.xlsx
README.md

.env now appears in a normal listing. To hide a file, add the flag instead with -bor. The attrib command does the same from cmd: attrib -h .env.

Frequently Asked Questions

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