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Mounting a Remote Folder Locally with sshfs

How to mount a folder from a remote server on your machine with sshfs, so you can edit server files in your local editor.

bash

Install sshfs

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install sshfs

# macOS (install macFUSE first)
brew install gromgit/fuse/sshfs-mac

Create a Local Mount Point

mkdir -p ~/remote

Mount the Remote Folder

To mount a folder from the server (remote-server) on your machine, run:

sshfs user@remote-server:/home/user/project ~/remote -o reconnect,ServerAliveInterval=15
  • user@remote-server:/home/user/project → The remote folder to mount.
  • ~/remote → The local folder where it appears.
  • -o reconnect → Reconnects automatically if the connection drops.
  • -o ServerAliveInterval=15 → Keeps the connection alive when idle.

Now, open ~/remote in your local editor and edit the server files as if they were on your machine.

Note: Every file read goes over the network, so searching or indexing large folders (datasets, node_modules, checkpoints) will be slow. Open only the folder you need.

Unmount the Folder

# Linux
fusermount -u ~/remote

# macOS
umount ~/remote

This setup lets you work on server files with your own editor and settings!