Network Shares

Manual home

Network shares

Connect directly to SMB shares on a NAS or another computer, or browse network shares already mounted by SteamOS. Either panel can point to a network location.

Find an SMB server automatically

1. Select the panel where the share should open.
2. Open Locations → Add SMB share.
3. Choose Find servers and wait for the results.
4. Select a server to fill Server / IP in the connection form.

SteamOS PC	SteamOS handheld

This screenshot shows seven real results from the test LAN. Names appear when the service advertises them; otherwise the list shows the local IP address. Finding a server does not automatically log in or guarantee access to its shares.

Discovery combines advertised SMB services with a TCP 445 check on directly connected private IPv4 networks. It checks up to 512 addresses; on networks larger than /24 it restricts the route scan to the computer's local /24. Other subnets, VPN routes and servers hidden by a firewall may require manual entry. No login details are sent by the discovery scan.

Choose a share and connect

1. If the server needs authentication, enter Username, Password and, if required, Domain before choosing List shares.
2. Select a share from the list, or type its exact name in Share name.
3. Optionally set a Display name and enable Remember connection.
4. Choose Connect. The share opens in the panel you selected.

SteamOS PC	SteamOS handheld

The form is shown before entering connection details. For your connection, Server / IP takes a hostname or IPv4 address without smb://; Share name takes only the share name, not a complete path. Leave username and password blank only for a server that allows guest access.

List shares and Connect contact the server you selected, using the login details in the form. If share listing is unavailable but you know the share name, enter it manually and try Connect.

Remember or forget a connection

With Remember connection enabled, the share appears in Locations on later sessions. Without it, the connection remains available only for the current plugin session; a running worker already has the details needed for its job.

Use Settings → Saved connections → Forget to remove stored login details. Passwords are encrypted for this device and Steam user by systemd, without a wallet unlock prompt. When available, systemd uses both TPM and its system key. Without TPM, the system key provides automatic encrypted storage. The private settings file contains connection details and ciphertext, rather than the password.

Existing saved connections migrate automatically: FileExplorer encrypts each password and checks that it can decrypt it before replacing the old settings. Connection IDs, labels and remembered folders stay the same. If migration fails, the original file is retained and Settings shows a warning; reload the plugin after restoring credential support to retry. No plaintext backup is created.

If secure storage is unavailable when adding a share, the connection remains available for that session and a warning says that the password was not saved. Background SMB jobs require encrypted credentials too; they refuse to start if the session password cannot be encrypted.

An unfinished resumable copy retains an encrypted login snapshot in its private job directory, including when the connection itself was session-only. This allows recovery after a backend restart. Finishing or removing that copy deletes its snapshot; forgetting a saved connection removes its retained job snapshots.

System-key fallback applies when creating a credential without TPM. It cannot recover an existing TPM-bound password after TPM reset/removal. Restore the original system/TPM, or forget the connection and add it again with the SMB password. Reinstalling the OS or losing its credential key can also require reconnecting. Copying settings.json alone to another device does not transfer usable passwords.

Programs running as the same user can request decryption, so this is protection for stored files, not isolation from an already compromised Steam account. FileExplorer does not import passwords from KDE Wallet. Implementation details are in How it works.

Direct connections use SMB2 with NTLMv2 on TCP 445. SMB1-only servers and servers requiring SMB3 encryption are not supported by this version. Access still depends on the server's account and share permissions.

NFS, GVFS and other mounted shares

Mount these through SteamOS or Desktop Mode first. FileExplorer then accesses the mounted path as an ordinary folder, using the existing operating-system session. Mounted locations can appear in Locations; Enter path also lets you open their absolute local path.

FileExplorer does not create NFS mounts or change /etc/fstab. Keep the mount available until the operation completes. Direct SMB deletion is permanent; mounted paths use the local Trash route, which can refuse the operation if that location does not support Trash.

Mounts across SteamOS updates

FileExplorer does not manage boot-time mounts. If a drive or share must mount automatically after a reboot, configure it in SteamOS. Custom /etc/fstab entries can disappear during SteamOS atomic updates. The documented alternative is an enabled systemd .mount unit under /etc/systemd/system, with network credentials stored privately under /home instead of an unprotected /etc file. On SteamOS, use canonical paths such as /var/mnt/... in the unit, since /mnt can be a symlink.

The SteamOS NVIDIA mount guide contains templates and update-test results from issue #15. This setup is separate from FileExplorer's systemd transfer workers. Direct SMB connections in FileExplorer do not need an operating-system mount.