SSH Drive

Your SSH servers in Finder's sidebar, next to iCloud Drive.
Docs · Install and use · Troubleshooting

Folders list without downloading anything. A file downloads when you open it, and the cache clears itself later. There is no window: you set a location up with sshdrive in a terminal, then use Finder.

It connects with your own /usr/bin/ssh, so if ssh nas works in a terminal, so does this: ~/.ssh/config aliases, ProxyJump chains, ssh-agent, 1Password, Secretive, FIDO keys. A key that needs a touch, a PIN or a one-time code on every connection is the exception, because the mount reconnects with nobody there to answer.

Requirements

• macOS 14 or newer.
• A server you can reach over SSH, with the SFTP subsystem enabled (OpenSSH enables it by default).

Install

brew tap alecdwm/tap
brew install --cask sshdrive
sshdrive add nas alec@nas.local

nas becomes the name in Finder's sidebar; the rest is anything ssh understands, including a Host alias. add connects once while you watch, so a host-key question, password or passphrase is asked at your terminal and stored in your keychain. If the connection fails, nothing is saved.

macOS then shows two prompts, once each. Answer Allow to the Local Network one. Install and use explains both, plus installing without Homebrew and uninstalling (run sshdrive remove --all before brew uninstall).

Everyday commands

sshdrive list                     # every location, its state and its TTL
sshdrive status nas               # errors, hidden names, change detection, what the server can do
sshdrive pin nas /Projects        # keep a folder downloaded
sshdrive evict nas --all          # drop the cache now
sshdrive set nas cache-ttl 12h    # 15m | 1h | 12h | 1d | 1w | 1mo | never
sshdrive doctor                   # check the install and say what to fix

Commands that change something print nothing on success; put -v after the subcommand for the full report. sshdrive --help lists the rest.

More

• Documentation: install, everyday use, troubleshooting.
• Design pages: how it works, for contributors. scripts/mac-build.sh builds and tests on a Mac over ssh; docs/release.md is the release procedure.
• Source and issues: https://github.com/alecdwm/sshdrive