sshfs, without the FUSE setup.
sshfs mounts a remote server over SSH as a local folder, and on Linux it is a one-line install. On a Mac it means macFUSE and a system-extension approval; on Windows, a third-party driver. ExpanDrive mounts the same server as a native drive on all three operating systems, with a key or password saved once, and mounts fourteen other clouds beside it. The sshfs commands are below, and so is where they stop working.
How sshfs works, and how to use it.
sshfs is a FUSE filesystem that speaks SFTP over an SSH connection. Point it at a user, a host, and a path, give it a mount point, and the remote directory appears in your file manager. On Linux the whole thing is four commands. On Windows, SSHFS-Win on the WinFsp driver maps a drive letter to a \\sshfs path.
sudo apt install sshfs mkdir -p ~/mnt/build sshfs alice@build.example.com:/srv/artifacts ~/mnt/build \ -o IdentityFile=~/.ssh/id_ed25519,reconnect,ServerAliveInterval=15 fusermount -u ~/mnt/build
net use X: \\sshfs\alice@build.example.com\srv\artifacts
Where sshfs falls down.
It is a fine tool on the machine it was built for: a Linux box with a terminal and a person who lives in one. The trouble starts on the laptops where most people actually work.
It needs FUSE, and FUSE needs a kernel.
On Linux that is fine: FUSE is in the kernel. On a Mac it means installing macFUSE, approving a system extension, and on Apple silicon booting into Reduced Security to allow it. On Windows it means a third-party port on the WinFsp driver. Every one is a thing to install and keep working across OS updates.
Reconnects are your problem.
Close the laptop, change networks, let the SSH session idle, and the mount hangs or drops. The reconnect and ServerAliveInterval options help; they do not make it a drive you can forget about.
No interface, per-user setup.
A mount is a command, a mount point, and an identity file, set up per user and per machine, remembered in a shell script or not at all. Nothing shows a colleague what is mounted or lets them add a server without a terminal.
One protocol.
sshfs speaks SFTP over SSH. The same team’s files also live in S3, SharePoint, Google Drive, and Dropbox, and each of those needs a different tool with a different mount story.
The same mount, as a real drive.
ExpanDrive mounts any SFTP or SSH server as a drive letter on Windows, a Finder location on Mac, and a mount path on Linux, from one application with one saved connection. No macFUSE, no WinFsp, no reconnect flags.
A native drive on each OS.
On Mac, a Finder location through Apple’s File Provider API: no kernel extension, no system-extension approval, no Reduced Security. On Windows, a drive letter. On Linux, a standard mount path installed from signed .deb and .rpm packages. Same product, same connection setup, one license.
Key or password, saved once.
Add the server with its hostname, port, username, and an SSH key or password, give it a name, and it mounts at login from then on. Reconnects after sleep and network changes are handled for you.
Streams on demand, caches what you open.
Directory listings come from the server as you browse; files download when opened and stay cached for fast re-open. Pin a folder to keep it available offline. Nothing mirrors the whole server to your disk.
Every cloud in the same window.
The SSH server sits next to your S3 buckets, SharePoint libraries, Google Drive, Dropbox, and a dozen more, each as its own drive, in one application.
Questions about sshfs and ExpanDrive.
Linux, macFUSE, SSHFS-Win, when sshfs is still the right tool, and what changes when the mount is a native drive.
ExpanDrive is built by Files.com.
The cloud connectors mounting your drive on macOS, Windows, and Linux are the same ones that run on Files.com's high-performance cloud File Orchestration Platform — used by 4,000+ businesses including Equifax, Rag & Bone, Cognizant, and Michelin, where petabytes of data move every month.
Mount your servers as a drive. It’s free.
SFTP, S3, SharePoint, Google Drive, and more, on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Free for personal use.