19

I'm looking for a program that can mount SFTP folders on Windows, that:

  • Is gratis and open-source
  • Runs natively on Windows (10)
  • Mounts to a drive, not to a folder
  • Supports password-encrypted SSH2 (RSA) keys
3
  • If open-source is not a hard requirement, you might take a look at ExpanDrive. Works quite reliable, I've used it at a customer's site some years ago (pre Win-10 times). Avaliable on Windows and MacOS.
    – Izzy
    Dec 30, 2016 at 10:16
  • @Izzy: But ExpanDrive isn't gratis, is it?
    – wb9688
    Dec 30, 2016 at 10:40
  • To be honest, I don't remember these details. It was years ago, and for a company. AFAIR there was at least a free trial, maybe even free for personal use. Should be listed on their site.
    – Izzy
    Dec 30, 2016 at 10:57

5 Answers 5

6

SFTP Drive is free for non-commercial use. https://www.nsoftware.com/sftp/drive/

An easy-to-use utility that mounts remote file systems as Windows drives via SFTP. Once connected, you can browse and work with files as if they were stored on your local machine.

As for authentication:

Choose from three authentication types: Password, Key-based, or both. Additionally, three key types are supported: Authentication Agent (PuTTY or SSH), Load from file, and Security Token or Smart Card.

1
  • 1
    Now is free for commercial and not commercial use, but you can only hace one drive connected at a time for the standard, free edition. It has the best reconnect behaviour of some similar programs. Nov 8, 2022 at 17:52
4

WinSCP

Haven't used windows in 16 years but I recall that Explorer (file manager) could handle protocols it knows about like FTP. if that is still the case, WinSCP will integrate with it/register as a protocol handler.

https://winscp.net/eng/docs/integration

sshfs

There is also sshfs, and a version for Windows is available. This will (according to docs) use a drive letter.

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-sshfs-to-mount-remote-file-systems-over-ssh

2
  • 3
    I didn't ask for Explorer integration, I asked for mounting, so WinSCP isn't an option, btw win-sshfs hasn't been maintained for 4 years, but it brought me to a fork of it called "WinSshFS Foreveryone"…
    – wb9688
    Dec 31, 2016 at 6:50
  • 2
    WinSCP does not answer the question
    – endolith
    May 17, 2019 at 1:21
4

Winfsp http://www.secfs.net/winfsp and its associated sshfs driver is free and opensource.

One advantage was being able to saturate a 1 gigabit link at 80 megabytes per second.

It doesn't seem to support key based logins yet, but password based logins work perfectly.

Example mapping url:

\\sshfs\[email protected]\Share

1
  • I was unable to use memfs. Cmd line instructions looks outdated. But sshfs works as advertized
    – lowtech
    Oct 16, 2018 at 15:37
3

https://github.com/Foreveryone-cz/win-sshfs Open Source

Main features:

Windows 10 Support
Puttyant (Pageant) support
Support for Android hosts (tested with CyanogenMod 11 [Android 4.4], requires busybox to be installed)
Spooldrive - remote hosts can by mounted as directories on same virtual drive
archive flag of file in windows represents and controls permission for group:
    ON => group have same rights as owner
    OFF => same rights as others)
Ability to use Proxy for connections
Send Keepalive packets. (Not configurable, each 60sec hardcoded)
2
  • Looks like sftpnetdrive only allows 1 connection at a time, which may be a bit limiting for some. Mar 11, 2019 at 19:06
  • 1
    Sonamor: The question specifically requires "Is gratis and open-source", so better remove the first item and look up the 3rd item. Thanks!
    – Nicolas Raoul
    May 20, 2019 at 7:44
3

RaiDrive, https://www.raidrive.com/

  • has a lifetime free plan, https://www.raidrive.com/Plans
  • yes, runs on Windows 10
  • does mount to a drive
  • supports private-key auth, including with a passwort-protected key

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.