sshfs
Why sshfs?
SSHFS allows user to mount a remote filesystem using SFTP so a user can access the folders from server on the local machine. I personally have issue connect my Mac to server using Finder. You can follow this guide [1] to see if you can connect using Finder.
If not, using sshfs will be a good option.
Installation
I use homebrew [2] as my package manager for MacOS . You can check sshfs github page [3] for other installation options
brew install sshfs
Usage
Prepare the folders:
# Enter the local location you want to store sshfs files
mkdir sshfs
cd sshfs
# Make a directory with the name of the server
mkdir SERVER_NAME
Actual usage:
sshfs USER_NAME@SERVER_IP:PATH_TO_THE_REMOTE_FOLDER_YOU_WANT_TO_ACCESS SERVER_NAME
Then you should be able to see a folder in Finder and access server path without downloading files to local. (If you want to download files to local, try scp [4])
Trouble shooting
sshfs USER_NAME@SERVER_IP:PATH_TO_THE_REMOTE_FOLDER_YOU_WANT_TO_ACCESS SERVER_NAME
mount_macfuse: mount point LOCAL_PATH/SERVER_NAME is itself on a macFUSE volume
First, let's check if the it has been mounted already.
ls LOCAL_PATH/SERVER_NAME
ls:SERVER_NAME: Device not configured
Solution:
umount the server then do sshfs. Note: Make sure the remote files are not used when umount.
umount SERVER_NAME
sshfs USER_NAME@SERVER_IP:PATH_TO_THE_REMOTE_FOLDER_YOU_WANT_TO_ACCESS SERVER_NAME
The loading may be slow, which depends on the size of the remote server path you are trying to access.