How to list NFS exports from a client

Listing NFS exports from the client side confirms that the server advertises the path you plan to mount before any local mount point or /etc/fstab entry is changed. Client-side export discovery catches wrong server names, blocked RPC services, and export rules that do not include the client network.

On Linux, showmount queries the server's mount discovery service, and --exports asks for the exported directories plus the client selectors shown by that service. Ubuntu and Debian provide it in nfs-common, while Red Hat-family systems provide it in nfs-utils.

A visible export does not prove that every mount option, UID mapping, or Kerberos rule will permit file access. Some NFSv4-only servers do not answer showmount because the check depends on the older mount protocol, so a timeout or empty list should be compared with the server-side export table before changing client mount files.

1. Open a terminal on the Linux client that will mount the NFS export.
2. Install the NFS client utility package if showmount is not available.

   Use nfs-common on Ubuntu and Debian clients, or nfs-utils on RHEL, CentOS Stream, Fedora, and compatible systems.

   Related: How to install an NFS client on Ubuntu
   Related: How to install an NFS client on CentOS Stream, RHEL, and Fedora

3. Query the server's export list from the client.

   $ showmount --exports files.example.net
   Export list for files.example.net:
   /srv/nfs/projects 192.0.2.0/24

   showmount --exports and showmount -e perform the same export-list request. Run the command from a client on the same network path that will later mount the share.

4. Confirm that the expected export path and client selector appear in the output.

   The selector after the path can be a host name, an IP address, a subnet such as 192.0.2.0/24, or a broad value such as (everyone) depending on the server.

5. Query the server IP address directly if the hostname result is empty or points to an unexpected system.

   $ showmount --exports 192.0.2.40
   Export list for 192.0.2.40:
   /srv/nfs/projects 192.0.2.0/24

   This separates DNS or host-alias mistakes from the export configuration itself.

6. Recognize a mount-discovery failure before editing client mount files.

   $ showmount --exports files.example.net
   clnt_create: RPC: Program not registered

   Do not add the export to /etc/fstab until the expected path is visible to the client or the server owner confirms that the server is NFSv4-only and has a known export path for a direct NFSv4 mount test.

   Related: How to list NFS exports on a server
   Related: How to allow NFS server traffic through firewalld