This extension will mount your bookmarked network shares and periodically check them should they become unmounted for any reason. It has options to control (re)mount frequency.
I was inspired by Gigolo but sometimes crashes and also doesn't display a MessageTray icon under Wayland sessions. Also, I thought "why does this need to be an app?". So, I vibed with Claude to create this.
The extension can be installed directly from source, either for the convenience of using git or to test the latest development version. Clone the desired branch with git
This extension has no special build dependancies.
Clone the repository or download the branch from github. A simple Makefile is included.
git clone https://github.com/gavindi/network-automount
cd network-automount
make installCompiles GSettings schemas (required for preferences) Copies all necessary files to a build directory Creates proper directory structure
# Install to user directory (recommended)
make install
# System-wide installation (requires sudo)
make install-system# One command to clean, install, and enable
make dev
# Check if extension is installed/enabled
make status
# Restart GNOME Shell on X11
make restart-shellmake dist - Creates a zip file for sharing/publishing# Build and install the extension
make install
# Enable it
make enable
# Or do everything at once for development
make devGoal: Access your NAS shares easily from ~/NetworkMounts/ folder
Before configuring the extension, you need network bookmarks in your file manager:
- Open Files (Nautilus)
- Connect to Server (Ctrl+L or sidebar)
- Enter your network addresses:
smb://192.168.1.100/documents smb://192.168.1.100/media smb://192.168.1.100/backup - Authenticate when prompted
- Bookmark each share (Ctrl+D or click bookmark star)
Verify: Check that bookmarks appear in Files sidebar
-
Open Extension Settings:
gnome-extensions prefs network-automount@gavindi.github.com
-
Go to "Mount Points" tab
-
Set Base Mount Directory:
/home/[username]/NetworkMountsOr simply:
~/NetworkMounts -
Click browse button (📁) if you prefer visual selection
Result: All symlinks will be created under ~/NetworkMounts/
Go to "Bookmarks" tab - you should see your network bookmarks listed.
📋 192.168.1.100/documents
├── ☑️ Auto Mount: ON
├── ☑️ Create Symlink: ON
├── 📝 Symlink Name: "NAS-Documents"
└── Custom Mount Point: [leave empty]
📋 192.168.1.100/media
├── ☑️ Auto Mount: ON
├── ☑️ Create Symlink: ON
├── 📝 Symlink Name: "NAS-Media"
└── Custom Mount Point: [leave empty]
📋 192.168.1.100/backup
├── ☑️ Auto Mount: ON
├── ☑️ Create Symlink: ON
├── 📝 Symlink Name: "NAS-Backup"
└── Custom Mount Point: [leave empty]
Click "Apply" or close settings
-
Wait 10-15 seconds for auto-mounting
-
Check the status:
- Extension icon in top bar should show mounted shares
- Click extension icon to see mount status
-
Verify symlinks created:
ls -la ~/NetworkMounts/Should show:
lrwxrwxrwx NAS-Documents -> /run/user/1000/gvfs/smb-share:server=192.168.1.100,share=documents lrwxrwxrwx NAS-Media -> /run/user/1000/gvfs/smb-share:server=192.168.1.100,share=media lrwxrwxrwx NAS-Backup -> /run/user/1000/gvfs/smb-share:server=192.168.1.100,share=backup -
Test access:
cd ~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Documents ls
- Navigate to ~/NetworkMounts/
- Double-click NAS-Documents, NAS-Media, etc.
- Bookmark
~/NetworkMounts/for quick access
- Media Player: Open
~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Media/Movies/ - Document Editor: Open files from
~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Documents/ - Backup Software: Backup to
~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Backup/
# Navigate to shares
cd ~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Documents
# Use in scripts
rsync -av ~/Documents/ ~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Backup/Documents/
# Check disk usage
df -h ~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Mediagnome-extensions list --enabled | grep network-automountgio mount -l | grep smbfind ~/NetworkMounts -type l -ls- No symlinks: Check "Create Symlink" is enabled
- Permission errors: Ensure
~/NetworkMountsis writable - Broken symlinks: Unmount/remount shares via extension menu
- Shares not mounting: Check network connectivity and credentials
- Click extension icon → "Check All Now"
- Or disable/enable extension:
gnome-extensions disable network-automount@gavindi.github.com gnome-extensions enable network-automount@gavindi.github.com
You now have:
- ✅ Automatic mounting of network shares
- ✅ Easy access via
~/Network/Mounts - ✅ Custom names for each share
- ✅ Integration with all applications
- Add desktop shortcuts:
ln -s ~/NetworkMounts/NAS-Media ~/Desktop/Media - Configure backup scripts using the symlink paths
- Add more network shares as needed
Pro Tip: The extension will automatically recreate symlinks after reboots, network changes, or credential updates!
Bugs should be reported to the Github bug tracker https://github.com/gavindi/network-automount/issues.
Network Automount Gnome Shell extension is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, version 2. See the LICENSE file for details.