ftp-winmount 0.1.0

Mount FTP server as a local Windows drive using WinFsp

PyFTPDrive

Mount any FTP server as a local Windows drive. No sync, no ads, no telemetry.

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Download

No Python required. Download from GitHub Releases.

Installer (Recommended)

1. Install WinFsp (required dependency)
2. Download ftp-winmount-X.X.X-setup.exe
3. Run the installer (installs to Program Files and adds to PATH)
4. Open any terminal and run:

   ftp-winmount mount --host 192.168.0.130 --port 2121 --drive Z
   

Portable

If you don't want to install:

1. Install WinFsp (required dependency)
2. Download ftp-winmount-X.X.X-portable.exe
3. Run from wherever you saved it:

   C:\Downloads\ftp-winmount-0.1.0-portable.exe mount --host 192.168.0.130 --port 2121 --drive Z
   

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Why?

• VS Code's FTP plugins only sync files, they don't mount
• Commercial tools like RaiDrive and NetDrive come with ads and tracking
• Windows can't natively mount FTP as a drive letter
• You want to own your tools

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Features

• Mount FTP server as a Windows drive letter (Z:, Y:, etc.)
• Full read/write support
• Works with any application (VS Code, File Explorer, Notepad, etc.)
• Anonymous or authenticated FTP
• Auto-reconnect on connection drop
• Lightweight, no background services when not in use
• Open source, no ads, no tracking

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Requirements

Windows Dependencies

PyFTPDrive requires WinFsp (Windows File System Proxy) - a free, open-source file system driver that enables user-mode filesystems on Windows.

Dependency	Version	Required	Download
Windows	10 or 11	Yes	-
Python	3.10+	Yes	python.org
WinFsp	2.0+	Yes	winfsp.dev/rel

Installing WinFsp

Option 1: Download installer (Recommended)

1. Go to https://winfsp.dev/rel/
2. Download the latest .msi installer
3. Run the installer (requires admin rights)
4. Restart any open terminals

Option 2: Winget

winget install WinFsp.WinFsp

Option 3: Chocolatey

choco install winfsp

Verify Installation:

# Check WinFsp is installed
dir "C:\Program Files (x86)\WinFsp"

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Installation

Installer (Easiest)

See Download section above. No Python required. Installs to Program Files and adds to PATH.

From PyPI

pip install ftp-winmount

This installs ftp-winmount to your Python Scripts folder. Make sure that folder is in your PATH.

Note: If you install inside a virtual environment, the command will only work when that venv is activated.

From Source

git clone https://github.com/dansasser/ftp-winmount.git
cd ftp-winmount
pip install .

Development Install

git clone https://github.com/dansasser/ftp-winmount.git
cd ftp-winmount
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Building Standalone Executable

To build ftp-winmount.exe yourself:

git clone https://github.com/dansasser/ftp-winmount.git
cd ftp-winmount
pip install -e ".[dev]"
python build_exe.py

The executable will be at dist/ftp-winmount.exe.

Building Installer

To build the Windows installer (requires Inno Setup):

python build_exe.py
iscc installer.iss

The installer will be at dist/ftp-winmount-X.X.X-setup.exe.

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Quick Start

Mount an anonymous FTP server:

ftp-winmount mount --host 192.168.0.130 --port 2121 --drive Z

Your FTP server is now accessible at Z:\

To unmount:

ftp-winmount unmount --drive Z

Or just press Ctrl+C in the terminal.

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Usage

Command Line

# Mount with minimal options
ftp-winmount mount --host 192.168.0.130 --drive Z

# Mount with custom port
ftp-winmount mount --host 192.168.0.130 --port 2121 --drive Z

# Mount with authentication
ftp-winmount mount --host ftp.example.com --user myuser --password mypass --drive Z

# Mount with config file
ftp-winmount mount --config config.ini

# Check status
ftp-winmount status

# Unmount
ftp-winmount unmount --drive Z

Configuration File

Create config.ini:

[ftp]
host = 192.168.0.130
port = 2121
username =
password =

[mount]
drive_letter = Z
volume_label = My FTP Drive

[cache]
directory_ttl_seconds = 30

[logging]
level = INFO
file = ftp-winmount.log

Then run:

ftp-winmount mount --config config.ini

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Use with VS Code

1. Mount your FTP server:

   ftp-winmount mount --host 192.168.0.130 --port 2121 --drive Z

2. Open VS Code

3. File -> Open Folder -> Select Z:\

4. Edit files normally. Changes save directly to the FTP server.

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Use with Python's pyftpdlib

If you're running a simple FTP server with pyftpdlib:

Server (host machine):

pip install pyftpdlib
cd /path/to/your/files
python -m pyftpdlib -p 2121 -i 0.0.0.0 -w

Client (your machine):

ftp-winmount mount --host SERVER_IP --port 2121 --drive Z

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Options

Option	Description	Default
--host	FTP server hostname or IP	Required
--port	FTP server port	21
--drive	Drive letter to mount	Required
--user	FTP username	Anonymous
--password	FTP password	None
--config	Path to config file	None
--verbose	Enable debug logging	False

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Troubleshooting

"WinFsp not found" or "winfspy not available"

WinFsp must be installed system-wide. The Python package winfspy is just bindings.

1. Download WinFsp from https://winfsp.dev/rel/
2. Run the installer as administrator
3. Restart your terminal
4. Try again

"Drive letter in use"

Choose a different drive letter or unmount the existing drive:

net use Z: /delete

"Connection refused"

• Check the FTP server is running
• Check the IP address and port are correct
• Check firewall isn't blocking the connection

"Permission denied"

• For anonymous FTP, ensure the server allows anonymous access
• For authenticated FTP, check username and password

Files appear but can't be read

• FTP server may have disconnected
• Try unmounting and remounting

Slow performance

• Enable caching in config file
• Increase directory_ttl_seconds
• Check network connection to FTP server

Mount crashes or hangs

• Update to the latest version of WinFsp
• Check Windows Event Viewer for errors
• Run with --verbose flag for detailed logs

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Limitations

• Windows only - This tool uses WinFsp which is Windows-specific
• FTP protocol does not support file locking. Concurrent writes from multiple clients may cause issues.
• Some FTP servers don't report accurate file sizes or timestamps.
• Very large files (>1GB) may be slow due to FTP protocol limitations.

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Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/dansasser/ftp-winmount.git
cd ftp-winmount
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Run Tests

pytest

Linting

ruff check ftp_winmount tests
ruff format ftp_winmount tests

Build Package

python -m build
twine check dist/*

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Contributing

Contributions welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss major changes.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

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License

MIT License. See LICENSE file.

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Acknowledgments

• WinFsp - Windows File System Proxy
• winfspy - Python bindings for WinFsp

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Related Projects

• WinFsp - The underlying filesystem driver
• SSHFS-Win - Mount SSH/SFTP as drives (uses WinFsp)
• rclone - Mount cloud storage (supports many providers)