gvfsd-fuse

gvfsd-fuse [mount_point]

mount_point
    The directory where the GVFS filesystem will be mounted. This is typically handled automatically by GVFS and rarely needs to be specified manually. When not specified, GVFS determines the mount point.

gvfsd-fuse is a FUSE (Filesystem in Userspace) daemon that provides a virtual file system interface to GVFS (GNOME Virtual File System). It allows applications to access files and resources managed by GVFS, such as those on remote servers or cloud storage, as if they were local files on the system.

This is achieved by mounting GVFS backends (like sftp, smb, webdav) into the user's file system, typically under the `~/.gvfs` directory (though this location is deprecated in favor of using the gvfs URIs directly). Applications can then interact with these remote resources using standard file I/O operations.

The gvfsd-fuse process is generally started automatically by the GNOME desktop environment or other GVFS clients. Users typically don't need to invoke it directly. Its main task is to manage the communication between the GVFS infrastructure and the FUSE kernel module, enabling file system access to GVFS resources.

Directly interacting with gvfsd-fuse is usually unnecessary, as GVFS is designed to manage it transparently. Mounting and unmounting should ideally be handled by GVFS tools. While the mount_point parameter exists, directly managing it can lead to unexpected behavior or conflicts with GVFS's internal management.

GVFS resources are best accessed using GVFS URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers), such as `sftp://user@host/path/to/file` or `smb://server/share/path`. Applications should use these URIs when interacting with GVFS, rather than relying on the specific mount point managed by gvfsd-fuse.

If you encounter issues with GVFS, check the gvfsd-fuse process is running, verify the GVFS modules are loaded, and examine the GVFS logs for errors. Restarting the GVFS daemon or the GNOME session might resolve connectivity issues.

GVFS was developed to provide a unified interface for accessing various file systems and storage backends within the GNOME desktop environment. gvfsd-fuse was created as part of this effort to leverage the FUSE framework, allowing GVFS to expose its resources as a standard user-space filesystem, improving integration with existing applications. Usage increased along with the adoption of GNOME and applications relying on its virtual file system capabilities.

gvfs(7), fusermount(1), mount(8)