How to mount a remote filesystem with SSHFS

Mounting a remote directory over SSH makes files on another system appear under a normal local path, which is useful for editing content, reviewing logs, or copying small groups of files with ordinary local tools instead of repeated upload or download commands.

SSHFS is a FUSE client that talks to the SFTP subsystem in OpenSSH. Most SSH servers expose SFTP already, so the main requirements are a working SSH login, the correct remote directory path, and a local mount point owned by the local user that will access the files.

The local Linux system needs the sshfs client and the FUSE 3 userspace helper already installed. Run SSHFS as the regular local user rather than root, keep the mount point empty before mounting, and prefer key-based authentication for repeated mounts; -o reconnect together with -o ServerAliveInterval=15 helps the client recover more cleanly after dropped sessions.

1. Confirm that the remote account can log in and list the target directory over SSH.

   $ ssh user@host.example.net 'hostname && ls /home/user/remotefolder'
   host
   readme.txt

   SSHFS uses the same remote account permissions as plain SSH or SFTP, so a path that cannot be listed here will not mount cleanly later.

2. Create an empty local mount point owned by the local user that will access the files.

   $ mkdir -p /home/user/remote

   Files already present under /home/user/remote stay hidden while the remote filesystem is mounted there.

3. Mount the remote directory with SSHFS.

   $ sshfs -o reconnect -o ServerAliveInterval=15 user@host.example.net:/home/user/remotefolder /home/user/remote

   If the username is omitted, SSHFS uses the current local username. If the remote directory is omitted, SSHFS mounts the remote home directory.

4. Check that the mount is active and points at the expected remote path.

   $ findmnt /home/user/remote
   TARGET            SOURCE                                       FSTYPE     OPTIONS
   /home/user/remote user@host.example.net:/home/user/remotefolder fuse.sshfs rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1000,group_id=1000

   The FSTYPE value commonly appears as fuse.sshfs even though the client command is sshfs.

5. List the mounted directory to confirm that remote files are available through the local path.

   $ ls /home/user/remote
   readme.txt

6. Create a test file through the mount when write access is required, then confirm that it exists on the remote host.

   $ touch /home/user/remote/file.txt
   $ ssh user@host.example.net 'ls -l /home/user/remotefolder'
   total 4
   -rw-rw-r-- 1 user user  0 Apr 14 12:15 file.txt
   -rw-rw-r-- 1 user user 13 Apr 14 12:15 readme.txt

   Write access through the mount still follows the remote directory ownership and permissions, so a failure here is usually a remote permission problem rather than a local mount problem.