gvfs-mount

gvfs-mount [--spec] [location [volume]] [OPTION...]

-h, --help
    Show help and exit

-V, --version
    Print version information

--anonymous
    Use anonymous access if server allows

-d, --device=URI
    Mount specific volume by device URI

-i, --interactive
    Always prompt before mounting

--list
    List all available gvfs mount roots

-s, --share=NAME
    Mount named shared folder on server

--spec
    Print GVariant mount spec instead of mounting

The gvfs-mount command is a user-friendly utility for mounting locations supported by the GNOME Virtual File System (GVFS). GVFS enables access to diverse filesystems like SMB/CIFS shares, FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, NFS, Google Drive, and local devices (e.g., USB drives) without requiring root privileges. It uses FUSE to create user-space mount points, typically under ~/.gvfs or /run/user/$UID/gvfs.

Without arguments, it displays a menu of available mounts. Specifying a URI like smb://hostname/share mounts it automatically, prompting for credentials if needed. Multiple volumes for a location use the first unless specified. It's ideal for desktop environments like GNOME, integrating seamlessly with Nautilus, but works CLI-only too.

Key benefits include seamless unmounting via gvfsd, no /etc/fstab edits, and per-user isolation. Requires the GVFS backend daemons running. Common for quick network share access or media mounting.

Requires gvfsd daemon running; mounts are user-specific and temporary (lost on logout). Not suitable for system-wide or boot-time mounts. Some backends need network or packages like samba. Interactive prompts may fail in non-interactive shells.

gvfs-mount smb://server.example.com/share
Mounts SMB share interactively.

gvfs-mount --list
Shows mountable locations.

gvfs-mount --anonymous sftp://user@host/
Anonymous SFTP mount.

Mounted filesystems appear in $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/gvfs (modern) or ~/.gvfs (legacy). Access via file managers or cd.

Developed as part of GVFS, replacing GNOME VFS. Introduced in GNOME 2.22 (November 2008) for better modularity and FUSE integration. Evolved through GNOME releases; modern versions (GNOME 40+) emphasize Flatpak compatibility and cloud storage support.

gio(1), gvfsd(1), gvfs-fuse(1), fusermount(1), mount(8)