Mounting Remote Folders on macOS with FUSE-T and SSHFS

Mounting a remote server as if it were a local folder can make your workflow much smoother, especially when working with shared lab or project storage. On modern macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), the combination of FUSE-T and SSHFS is a clean way to do this without lowering your system’s security settings.

This post walks through setting up FUSE-T and SSHFS to mount a remote folder (e.g. a home or group directory on a Linux server) directly into Finder.

Overview

We’ll:

1. Install FUSE-T and sshfs-mac via Homebrew
2. Fix a small library compatibility issue with a symlink
3. Create a local mount point
4. Add a convenient shell alias so mounting is a one-liner
5. Cover basic usage and unmounting
6. Handle the Finder name “fuse-t” vs “Rlab”
7. Adjust macOS privacy permissions if needed

These steps assume:

• You have Homebrew installed
• You can SSH into your remote host (e.g. ssh username@server works)

1. Install Required Tools

First, install FUSE-T (the filesystem layer) and SSHFS (the actual SSH-based filesystem):

brew install --cask fuse-t
brew install gromgit/fuse/sshfs-mac

• FUSE-T handles the user-space filesystem logic.
• sshfs-mac provides the sshfs command that mounts a remote directory over SSH.

2. Fix Library Compatibility

Some builds of sshfs still expect an older FUSE library name (libfuse.2.dylib) in /usr/local/lib. FUSE-T installs libfuse-t.dylib instead. Create a symlink so sshfs finds the correct library:

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/lib
sudo ln -s /usr/local/lib/libfuse-t.dylib /usr/local/lib/libfuse.2.dylib

This does not overwrite anything. Verify the link with:

ls -l /usr/local/lib/libfuse.2.dylib

You should see it pointing to libfuse-t.dylib.

3. Create a Local Mount Point

Choose a directory on your Mac where the remote filesystem will appear:

mkdir -p ~/Rlab

After mounting, everything under the remote path will show up inside this folder.

4. Add a Shell Alias for Easy Mounting

1. Open your Zsh configuration file:

   nano ~/.zshrc
   

   If the file is empty, that is normal on a fresh setup — you are just creating your custom config.

2. Add the following line at the bottom, replacing username with your actual login:

   alias mountrlab='sshfs username@server:/remotedirectory ~/Rlab -o volname=Rlab,defer_permissions,follow_symlinks,auto_cache,local'
   

   What these options do:

   • volname=Rlab — suggested volume name for Finder
   • defer_permissions — lets the remote server handle permissions
   • follow_symlinks — ensures remote symlinks behave as expected
   • auto_cache — improves performance by caching file attributes
   • local — asks macOS to treat the mount more like a local volume

3. Save and exit Nano: Ctrl + O, Enter, then Ctrl + X

4. Reload your shell config:

   source ~/.zshrc
   

From now on, mount your remote folder with a single command:

mountrlab

5. Using the Mounted Folder

5.1 Mounting

mountrlab

You will be prompted for your SSH password or passphrase. Once mounted, the remote directory appears inside ~/Rlab and in Finder under Locations.

5.2 Unmounting

Before disconnecting from Wi-Fi or sleeping your Mac, unmount cleanly:

umount ~/Rlab

If you get a “resource busy” error, force unmount with:

diskutil unmount force ~/Rlab

6. Finder Name Quirk (fuse-t vs Rlab)

On some versions of macOS/FUSE-T, the mounted volume may appear in Finder as “fuse-t” instead of “Rlab”. To fix this:

1. Mount using mountrlab
2. Open Finder
3. In the sidebar under Locations, right-click the mounted volume
4. Choose Rename and set it to Rlab

macOS usually remembers this display name for subsequent mounts.

7. Permissions & Privacy Settings

If you see “Operation not permitted” or similar errors:

1. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access
2. Ensure Terminal is toggled ON
3. Restart Terminal and try mountrlab again

Summary

With FUSE-T and SSHFS set up, you can:

• Mount remote Linux or UNIX directories directly into Finder
• Work with remote files as if they were local (edit, browse, copy, etc.)
• Use a simple mountrlab command instead of manually copying files back and forth
• Keep macOS security at its default level (no “Reduced Security” kernel extension modes needed)

To adapt this for a different server, just update the alias in ~/.zshrc:

alias mountmysrv='sshfs username@myserver.example.com:/path/on/server ~/MyMount -o volname=MyMount,defer_permissions,follow_symlinks,auto_cache,local'