In the
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor ...
macOS operating system, .DS_Store is a file that stores custom attributes of its containing
folder, such as folder view options,
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
positions, and other visual information. The name is an abbreviation of ''Desktop Services Store'',
reflecting its purpose. It is created and maintained by the
Finder application in every folder, and has functions similar to the file
desktop.ini in
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for se ...
. Starting with a period character, it is
hidden in Finder and many Unix utilities. Its internal structure is