You can connect your Mac to shared computers running Windows and Linux, networked drives, and remote servers via standard protocols like SMB. Follow along to learn how to access network shares on macOS with a few clicks to share files with ease.

File Sharing Protocols: SMB vs. CIFS vs. NFS

macOS supports the Server Message Block (SMB), Common Internet File System (CIFS), and Network File System (NFS), among other file-sharing protocols.

We haven’t mentioned the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), formerly AppleTalk Filing Protocol, which was the best option for sharing files and printers with Apple computers that used the SSD-friendly Apple File System (APFS) or the older Hierarchical File System (HFS+) for mechanical and hybrid internal drives. Since Apple has deprecated AFP, you can no longer use it to share internal volumes or mount your network-attached storage (NAS).

CIFS is still used in data storage solutions like NAS devices, but it is now largely obsolete because the industry has settled around SMB. NFS is best suited for Linux and UNIX servers and is typically used for server-to-server file sharing. NFS doesn’t work well for Mac file-sharing clients. Windows supports multiple NFC client and server versions.

SMB is the preferred protocol for accessing Windows network shares, files, and clients. macOS is fully compatible with the latest SMB 3 specification. As SMB is supported pretty much anywhere, the majority of Mac owners will use it to connect to remote devices and network shares. SMB is Apple’s default protocol for connecting to servers on all macOS versions from Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks (released in 2013) onwards.

Access Servers, Shared Computers, and Network Drives on Your Mac

You can connect your Mac to shared computers, network volumes, and remote servers in two ways: the “Connect to Server” command, which requires manually entering the network share address; and a built-in network browser that lets you browse network shares in the same way you would local files and folders on your Mac.

Connect to a Server or Shared Computer via its Network Address

Open a new Finder window or select the desktop. Click Go > Connect to Server in the menu or press Command+K on your keyboard. In the “Connect to Server” window, enter the network address for the computer, server, or networked drive, then hit the “Connect” button.

If you know the login information for the network share, select the “Registered User” option, type your network share credentials into the “Name” and “Password” fields (not your macOS account username and password), and hit the “Connect” button. Otherwise, try connecting with the “Guest” option if the shared computer permits guest access.

If multiple shared folders or drives are available at that destination, you’ll be asked to pick ones to mount. Hold the Command key to click multiple items, then hit the “OK” button.

The mounted volumes appear as network drive icons on the desktop.

Use the Built-in Network Browser to Connect to a Network Share

You can also connect to computers, servers, and drives that are discoverable on your network or part of the same network area or workgroup as your Mac.

Open a new Finder window by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock, then select the “Network” option in the Locations section of the sidebar. If you don’t see that section, expand it by holding the pointer over “Locations” in the sidebar and clicking the arrow that appears.

Detected network shares will appear in the Finder window after a moment. Double-click the one you’d like to connect to, then hit the “Connect As” button in the top-right corner.

You’ll be presented with the Finder’s “Connect to Server” window. Select whether you’d like to connect as a guest or registered user, then hit the “Connect” button, enter network share credentials (if asked), select volumes or shared folders to mount, and hit the “OK” button.

How to Reconnect to Recent Servers

If you find yourself frequently using specific network shares, you can quickly reconnect to any of them in four different ways.

Your Connection History

If you were previously connected to a network share, click the arrow in the “Connect to Server” window to select it from your history instead of having to re-typing the password.

The Recent Items Menu

You can also click the Apple menu, select the “Recent Items” option, and select your previously connected network share in the submenu under the “Servers” section.

The Finder Sidebar

For even faster access, add your recents to the Finder’s sidebar. To do so, click the desktop or open a new Finder window, then click the Finder menu, choose “Settings,” select the “Sidebar” tab, and tick the box next to “Recents.”

The Recents section is now available in the sidebar of Finder windows.

The Favorite Servers List

Save time by adding network shares you frequently use to your favorites so you can quickly connect to them via the Favorite Servers list in the “Connect to Server” window.

To favorite a network share, enter its network address in the Connect to Server window, but don’t click the Connect button. Instead, hit the + (plus) button in the window’s lower-left corner.

You can unfavorite a server or a saved computer just as easily; simply select it in the list and click the – (minus) button.

How to Automatically Mount Network Shares

If you frequently access networked computers, servers, or drives like your Synology Diskstation for backup and file sharing, it’s a good idea to set them to automatically mount when your Mac starts up. To do this, simply add any desired network shares to your login items, a list of programs that open automatically when your Mac boots. But first, you must connect your Mac to a desired server or networked drive/computer by clicking the Finder’s Go > Connect to Server menu option and following the instructions in the previous section.

With that done, click the Apple menu and choose “System Settings” or “System Preferences” on older Macs. Select “General” in the System Settings sidebar, then click “Login Items & Extensions” on the right. If you don’t see that option, scroll down. Next, click the + (plus) button below the list of your login items, select desktop in the Finder sidebar, choose your mounted network share, and click “Open” to add it to your login items list.

Your Mac will automatically mount this server, drive, or network share whenever you log in to macOS and display its icon on the desktop. Repeat these steps for any other network shares you’d like automatically mounted upon logging in.

How to Create Shortcuts for Network Shares

You can add a network share as a desktop shortcut. First, mount your network share by following the steps in this tutorial, then select it and click File > Make Alias from the Finder menu or press Control+Command+A to create an alias on the desktop. Rename the alias as needed and optionally customize its icon if you don’t like the default hard drive icon.

I like macOS aliases because they automatically mount the networked drive, computer, or disk when clicked, making it feel like I am handling local folders on my Mac. Aliases persist between restarts until deleted, which doesn’t trash the underlying item they’re linked to.

The fastest way to access network shares is Finder windows. Simply drag a network share to the left panel of any Finder window to create a shortcut right in the Finder sidebar.

It only takes a click of the sidebar shortcut to connect to this network share.

I’m a big fan of the Finder sidebar. I can conveniently unmount my network shares and other volumes right there and then by hitting the small eject icon next to the sidebar shortcut.

With multiple network shares, your desktop can get crowded. Create a new folder and drop all those desktop shortcuts inside. Doing so will help tidy up your messy desktop and you’ll have a dedicated folder on the desktop to access all your network shares.

And now, let me share one of my favorite power tips—drop this folder of network shares to the right side of the Dock into the section after the vertical delimiter, where the Trash icon is.

Clicking and holding this icon pops up a handy menu showing all your network shares. Even better, a network share mounts dynamically when clicked from here. And just like that, you now have a super-fast way to access your network shares!

Changing Saved Network Share Credentials

I always save network share credentials, so I don’t have to retype the password each time my Mac reconnects to it. However, if you or someone else changes the server or disk password, you’ll need to manually update the saved password on your end since it doesn’t update automatically. Otherwise, you won’t be able to access the shared computer, disk, or server.

Press Command+Space bar to invoke Spotlight Search (or ask Siri to open it), type “Keychain Access,” select the app in the search results, and press Enter to open it.

You’ll be asked if you’d like to open the Passwords app or Keychain Access. Click “Open Keychain Access” and authorize access with Touch ID or your macOS password.

With Keychain Access open, select “login” under “Default Keychain” in the sidebar, then double-click the saved network share on the right.

This will open a panel with saved login information. Click the “Show Password” box at the bottom, type your macOS user account password, and then hit the Allow button.

The saved password will be revealed. Type your new network share password and click the “Save Changes” button.

You can now close out the app. Going forward, connecting to this network share will automatically use the updated password from Keychain Access.

Troubleshooting Network Shares

Connecting to network shares may fail for a number of reasons. You’ll usually know something’s wrong because the progress bar when connecting to a network share gets stuck. Other times, there’s no visual indication that a connection cannot be established.

Try these troubleshooting tips if your Mac is unable to connect to a network share.

• Check the address: Double-check the address of the remote share you typed for typos.
• Check the username: Is your login name on the list of allowed users?
• Check the password: If the network share password has changed, ask the admin for the new password and be sure to update the saved password in your Keychain.
• Check the address format: Though this shouldn’t be an issue, be sure you’re using the right network share format, such as smb:// or nfs://.
• Check the connection: Is your Mac connected to the internet? Are you connected to a stable Wi-Fi connection? Is your Ethernet cable functional?
• Check file sharing settings: Make sure that file sharing is turned on for the network share; ask the admin to turn it off and then back on.
• Check permissions: If you’re denied permission to access a network share, ask the admin to give you permission to access the shared files and folders.
• Restart: If all else fails, try restarting your Mac, which will reinitialize network connections and get rid of temporary bugs.

There are other ways to connect to remote shares on a Mac. For example, power users may want to use Terminal for that. But for the vast majority of Mac owners, connecting through the Finder will be more than adequate for accessing network shares.