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Mount a Network Share in Linux (fstab)

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This guide covers how to mount a Samba (SMB) share or an NFS share permanently in Linux using /etc/fstab. Useful for accessing shared folders from a NAS, Windows machine, or another Linux server in your home lab.

Mount a Samba (SMB) Share

Step 1 – Install the SMB Client 

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y cifs-utils

Step 2 – Create a Mount Point 

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/nas-share

Step 3 – Create a Credentials File

Store your username and password in a separate file instead of putting them in fstab (which is readable by all users):

sudo nano /etc/samba/credentials

Add:

username=yourusername
password=yourpassword

Secure the file:

sudo chmod 600 /etc/samba/credentials
sudo chown root:root /etc/samba/credentials

Step 4 – Add to fstab 

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add this line (replace IP, share name, and your username):

//192.168.1.100/sharename  /mnt/nas-share  cifs  credentials=/etc/samba/credentials,uid=1000,gid=1000,iocharset=utf8,_netdev  0  0

What the options mean:

  • credentials=... — path to your credentials file
  • uid=1000,gid=1000 — your user and group ID (check with id command)
  • iocharset=utf8 — handle special characters correctly
  • _netdev — wait for network before mounting

Step 5 – Test 

sudo mount -a

Verify:

df -h | grep nas-share
ls /mnt/nas-share

Mount an NFS Share

Step 1 – Install the NFS Client 

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nfs-common

Step 2 – Create a Mount Point 

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/nfs-share

Step 3 – Find Available NFS Exports

Check what the NFS server is sharing:

showmount -e 192.168.1.100

Step 4 – Test Mount Manually 

sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.1.100:/path/to/share /mnt/nfs-share

Step 5 – Add to fstab 

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Add:

192.168.1.100:/path/to/share  /mnt/nfs-share  nfs  defaults,_netdev  0  0

Test:

sudo mount -a

Troubleshooting

Mount fails after reboot: Make sure _netdev is in your fstab options — this tells the system to wait for the network before attempting the mount.

Permission denied on SMB share: Check that uid and gid match your user. Find your IDs with:

id

Can’t see the NFS export: Make sure nfs-common is installed and the NFS server allows your IP in its exports config.

Quick Reference

Command What it does
sudo mount -a Mount all fstab entries
sudo umount /mnt/nas-share Unmount a share
df -h Show mounted shares and usage
showmount -e 192.168.1.x List NFS exports from a server
id Show your user and group IDs

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