Last mod: 2025.01.18

Mounting remote host files via SSH to local file system

SSHFS is a powerful tool that allows you to mount remote directories over SSH and access them as if they were local directories. This is particularly useful for development on remote systems like a Raspberry Pi, as it integrates remote files into your workflow seamlessly.

Install

Install SSH Filesystem:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install sshfs

Mounting

Create directory under which to mount file system:

mkdir ~/remote_host

Mount remote host:

sshfs <REMOTE_USER>@<REMOTE_HOST>:<REMOTE_DIRECTORY> ~/remote_host

You need to change the parameters REMOTE_USER, REMOTE_HOST, REMOTE_DIRECTORY

For example:

sshfs tech@192.168.1.100:/opt/ ~/remote_host

Verify mounting:

cd ~/remote_host
ls

Unmount

Unmount filesystem:

fusermount -u ~/remote_host

Automount

We can also add host mounting at boot to /etc/fstab:

sshfs#<REMOTE_USER>@<REMOTE_HOST>:<REMOTE_DIRECTORY> ~/remote_host fuse defaults,allow_other 0 0

Please remember to configure your SSH keys, so that SSH login is without a password.

Links

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSHFS