Configure and access shared folders on macOS

Learn how to configure shared folders and access them on macOS over Meshnet.

In this article, you will learn how to set up a shared folder on macOS and access another device's shared folder from a macOS device.

Create a sharing user

To grant access to your shared content for Meshnet peers, you need to create a new sharing user on your macOS. This newly created account must have a username and password, which will serve as authentication credentials for accessing the shared folder.

macOS Sonoma 14

1. Select the Apple menu > System settings, and then click Users & groups.

2. Click Add user.

   

3. Enter your device's password and select Unlock.

4. In the new window, click the New user pop-up menu and then choose Sharing only.

5. Enter a name and password for the user.

6. Click Create user.

   

macOS Ventura 13

1. Select the Apple menu > System settings, and then click Users & groups.
2. Click the Add account button.

3. Enter your device's password and select Unlock.

4. In the new window, click the New account pop-up menu and then choose Sharing only.

5. Enter a name and password for the user.

6. Click Create user.

   

macOS Monterey 12 or older

1. Select the Apple menu > System preferences, and then click Users & groups.
2. Unlock the settings menu by clicking the lock in the lower-left corner of the window.

   

3. Enter your device’s password and select Unlock.

4. Click the plus (+) button on the sidebar menu.

5. In the new window, click the New account pop-up menu and then choose Sharing only.

6. Enter a name and password for the user.

7. Click Create user.

   

Configure a shared folder

Once you have created the sharing account, you can proceed to enable file sharing on your system and share your desired folder.

macOS Sonoma 14

1. Select the Apple menu > System settings > General, and click Sharing.
2. Under Content and media, enable the File sharing toggle and click the Infobutton.

   

3. In the Shared folders section, click the plus (+) button, choose the folder you want to share, and select Open.

4. Click the Options button.

5. Under Windows file sharing, select the user account you created earlier and click Done. You may be asked to enter the password of the added user.

   

6. Click Done to exit.

   

Note

Due to a bug in macOS Sonoma, sharing-only users may not be displayed under the Windows file sharing section. In such cases, you should use your standard macOS user credentials to access the shared folder.

macOS Ventura 13

1. Select the Apple menu > System settings > General, and click Sharing.
2. Enable the File sharing option and click the Infobutton.

   

3. Add the folders you want to share by clicking the plus (+) button in the Shared folders section.

4. Click the Options button.

5. Under Windows file sharing, select the user created earlier, and click Done. You may be asked to enter the password of the added user.

   

6. Click Done to exit.

   

macOS Monterey 12 or older

1. Select the Apple menu > System preferences, and then click Sharing.
2. Select File sharing and add the folders you want to share by clicking the plus (+) button.

3. To allow devices with other operating systems to access the shared folders, click the Options button in the File sharing section.

4. In the new window, select Share files and folders using SMB, select the user created earlier, and click Done. You may be asked to enter the password of the added user.

   

5. The finished configuration should look as shown:

   

Note

To access the shared folder, the peer device will need to use the sharing account's username and password for authentication.

Access shared folders

Note

You can find platform-specific instructions for accessing the shared folder in the appropriate guides:

• Access shared folders from Windows
• Access shared folders from Linux
• Access shared folders from Android
• Access shared folders from iPhone/iPad
• Access shared folders from Android TV

To connect to a folder shared by a peer device in your Meshnet from a macOS device, you can use the Connect to server function of Finder .

1. Copy the sharer's Nord name from the NordVPN app by clicking it and choosing Copy device’s Nord name.

   

2. Control-click Finder and choose Connect to server.

   

3. In the new window, enter smb://, paste the Nord name followed by a slash (/) and the name of the shared folder, and then click Connect. Example

   smb://secret.meerkat-andes.nord/MeshnetFolder

   

4. Click Connect once more to confirm the connection.

5. Select Registered user, and enter the username and password for accessing the shared folder.

6. If you don't want to enter authentication details for this folder again in the future, select the Remember this password in my keychain option.

   

7. Click Connect.

The shared folder should now open in Finder.

See also

• Configure and access shared folders on Windows
• Configure and access shared folders on Linux