Work on a mounted drive

Mount a drive to open its files in an editor, file manager, or another program. On macOS, use the bundled mount support. On Linux, the computer also needs working FUSE access, including /dev/fuse and fusermount3.

Open the drive as a folder

Select the drive, then choose an empty local mount directory:

flashdrive drive use DRIVE_ID
flashdrive mount --at ~/FlashDrive/research
flashdrive mounts

Open ~/FlashDrive/research in your application. Files are read as needed, so you do not need to download the whole drive before starting. To browse without allowing changes, add --read-only to the mount command.

Edit and check synchronization

Save from your application as usual. The mount sends changes after files settle. Check flashdrive mounts for the drive’s state and unsaved changes before assuming work has reached the cloud. Changes made elsewhere also appear through the mount.

Keep the computer’s local recovery data when a connection fails. If the mount reports a conflict, follow conflicts and recovery. A local save can remain unsaved remotely until the connection and any conflict are resolved.

Keep dependencies local

The mount does not apply .gitignore. Built-in exclusions keep new directories such as node_modules, .venv, venv, and target local, at any depth. Their contents are not uploaded or backed up. Choose a different name when the folder should be shared. dist, build, and coverage are ordinary shared folders.

An existing shared folder with an excluded name remains visible, but new entries created inside it through the mount stay local. MCP and API creation do not apply this directory-name list, so check names before creating shared folders on any surface.

Add a custom dependency or cache directory before creating a mount:

flashdrive mount-excludes list
flashdrive mount-excludes add local-preview-cache

Exclusion changes apply to new mounts. For an existing mount, close its open files, unmount it successfully, then mount it again to use the changed rules. Use mount-excludes remove local-preview-cache to remove a custom rule before the next mount; built-in exclusions cannot be removed.

Finish your session

Close programs using the mounted folder and leave that directory in your terminal, then unmount:

cd ~
flashdrive unmount ~/FlashDrive/research

A successful unmount saves pending changes first. If it refuses because files remain open or cannot be saved, keep the mount and follow the message. Forced unmount retains local unsaved work; it is not a confirmation that the drive contains that work.

To reopen a saved mount after an interrupted session, use its original profile and address:

flashdrive mounts --resume --at ~/FlashDrive/research
flashdrive mounts

For structured tools and CSV collaboration, see build tools from files. For a source-code workflow, see Git and project files.