.DS_Store (Desktop Services Store)[1] is a hidden file created by Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system to store custom attributes of a folder such as the position of icons or the choice of a background image[2]. By default, Mac OS X will create a .DS_Store file in every folder that it accesses, even folders on remote systems (for example, folders shared over a SMB or AFP connection) and even if the user has only customized the appearance of the folder by moving its Finder window[3]. After complaints from users about these files being created on remote systems, Apple posted an article on their support site telling users how they can disable the creation of remote .DS_Store files[4].
Although these files were initially primarily used by the Finder they were envisioned as a more general purpose store of metadata about the display options of folders such as icon position and view settings[1].
