Fixing rclone FUSE mounts and SFTP writes between Raider and MSI
1. Scenario and target state
Context
You have two machines:
- MSI: holds the music library on
/srv/musicand runs SSH/SFTP. - Raider: the machine that should access this music as a mounted filesystem for further workflows.
The goal is:
- From Windows: use WinSCP to upload to
/srv/musicon MSI. - From Raider (Linux): mount
msi:/srv/musicto a local mountpoint (e.g./mnt/test) using rclone + FUSE.
- WinSCP could connect to MSI but initially could not write files.
- rclone mounts from Raider to MSI failed with FUSE errors like
fusermount: exit status 1. - After partial fixes, the mount started working in terminal, but the folder did not appear in the GUI file manager.
2. Root causes in plain language
2.1. MSI side: /srv/music owned by root
On MSI, the target directory /srv/music was owned by root:root. A normal user logging in via SFTP (WinSCP) or SSH could not write to it, which explains the initial “permission denied” behaviour:
# On MSI
ls -ld /srv/music
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 ... /srv/musicAs long as this directory is owned by root, your unprivileged user cannot upload files there over SFTP.
2.2. Raider side: mountpoint owned by root
On Raider, the mountpoint (e.g. /mnt/test or /mnt/msi_music) was created as root, so it was owned by root:root. When you ran rclone as your normal user, FUSE rejected the mount:
2026/01/12 02:01:12 mount helper error: fusermount: user has no write access to mountpoint /mnt/test
2026/01/12 02:01:12 Fatal error: failed to mount FUSE fs: fusermount: exit status 1FUSE requires the user that runs rclone to have write access to the local mountpoint directory.
2.3. “It works on the VPS” vs MSI
On your VPS, you typically mounted as root (or used root-owned mountpoints). Root bypasses most permission issues, so everything “just worked.” On MSI + Raider, you used normal users, so Linux permission rules applied strictly.
rclone mount doesn’t just depend on the remote permissions (MSI). It also depends heavily on the local mountpoint permissions (Raider) and the user you run rclone as.3. Fixing MSI: make /srv/music writable
3.1. Change ownership of the music directory
First, on MSI, give your normal user ownership of the music folder:
# On MSI
sudo chown -R <your-user>:<your-user> /srv/musicExample:
# On MSI
sudo chown -R david:david /srv/musicVerify:
# On MSI
ls -ld /srv/music
drwxr-xr-x 2 david david 4096 ... /srv/music3.2. Adjust permissions if needed
Set basic directory permissions:
# On MSI
sudo chmod 755 /srv/musicIf you want group write access:
# On MSI
sudo chmod 775 /srv/musicAfter this step, WinSCP from Windows can upload directly into /srv/music using your normal SSH user. That’s the first confirmation that the MSI side is fixed.
4. Fixing Raider: clean FUSE mount of msi:/srv/music
4.1. Configure the rclone SFTP remote
On Raider, create an rclone remote that points to MSI via SFTP:
# On Raider
rclone configInside the interactive config:
- New remote
- Name:
msi - Storage type:
sftp - Host: the IP or hostname of your MSI
- User: your MSI username
- Port:
22(or your custom SSH port)
Test it:
# On Raider
rclone ls msi:/srv/musicIf you see a listing of your music, the remote is configured correctly.
4.2. Create a local mountpoint on Raider
Choose a local mount directory (e.g. /mnt/test) and create it:
# On Raider
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/test4.3. Give your user ownership of the mountpoint
Since you’re running rclone as a normal user, that user must own the mountpoint:
# On Raider
sudo chown <your-user>:<your-user> /mnt/test
sudo chmod 755 /mnt/testExample:
# On Raider
sudo chown david:david /mnt/test
sudo chmod 755 /mnt/test4.4. Mount MSI’s music to Raider
Now mount:
# On Raider, as your normal user
rclone mount msi:/srv/music /mnt/test --vfs-cache-mode fullIf there are no errors, the mount is active. You can verify:
# On Raider
mount | grep test
msi:/srv/music on /mnt/test type fuse.rclone (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1000,group_id=1000)And you can list the files:
# On Raider
ls /mnt/test
2005.Best.Conscious.Reggae.Riddim-l2olvl
Alan Walker - Walkerworld 2.0 (2025) ...
Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart ...
Bob Marley - Complete Discography ...
hardstyle
Hip Hop
Mac Miller - Balloonerism (2025) ...
.../srv/music through rclone + FUSE, with read/write access matching your user’s permissions on MSI.5. Common FUSE and rclone errors from this incident
5.1. mountpoint does not exist
Fatal error: failed to mount FUSE fs: mountpoint does not exist: /mnt/testCause: you tried to mount into a directory that doesn’t exist yet.
Fix:
# On Raider
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/test5.2. user has no write access to mountpoint
mount helper error: fusermount: user has no write access to mountpoint /mnt/test
Fatal error: failed to mount FUSE fs: fusermount: exit status 1Cause: the mountpoint is owned by root, but rclone is being run as a normal user.
Fix:
# On Raider
sudo chown <your-user>:<your-user> /mnt/test
sudo chmod 755 /mnt/test5.3. SFTP connects, but cannot write
Cause: /srv/music on MSI was owned by root:root with no write rights for your user.
Fix:
# On MSI
sudo chown -R <your-user>:<your-user> /srv/music
sudo chmod 755 /srv/music6. “Mounted but not visible in file manager”
After everything was fixed, Raider’s terminal clearly showed a working mount:
msi:/srv/music on /mnt/test type fuse.rclone (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1000,group_id=1000)And listing /mnt/test showed all music files. However, the folder did not appear in the GUI file manager’s sidebar.
6.1. Why this is normal with FUSE
- FUSE mounts created by a normal user don’t always appear in the “Devices” sidebar.
- They do not look like block devices (e.g. USB drives) to the desktop environment.
- The file manager might not auto-refresh or show them as “special” volumes.
6.2. Accessing the mount via the file manager
Even if it doesn’t appear as a device, you can still access it by directly entering the path:
- Open your file manager on Raider.
- Press Ctrl+L to focus the location bar.
- Type
/mnt/testand press Enter.
The directory opens and shows the remote MSI music content, just like in the terminal.
6.3. Optional: making it more “visible” via --allow-other
If you want the mount to behave more like a shared resource that other users (or the system) can see more easily, you can:
- Edit FUSE config:
# On Raider
sudo nano /etc/fuse.confUncomment:
user_allow_other- Re-run the mount with
--allow-other:
# On Raider
rclone mount msi:/srv/music /mnt/test \
--vfs-cache-mode full \
--allow-otherThis can make the mount more visible to other processes and sometimes to the desktop environment, but it is optional and should be used with awareness of security implications.
7. Doctrine summary
- Insight 1 If SFTP connects but cannot write, check remote directory ownership and permissions (MSI:
/srv/music). - Insight 2 If
rclone mountfails with FUSE errors, check local mountpoint existence and local mountpoint ownership (Raider:/mnt/test). - Insight 3 Mounting as root on a VPS hides permission problems. Mounting as a normal user on Raider exposes them, as it should.
- Insight 4 A working FUSE mount may not appear as a “device” in the file manager but is fully usable via its path.
- Insight 5 The real “bug” was not rclone, FUSE, or the network, but the combination of:
- remote directory owned by root, and
- local mountpoint owned by root,
- while mounting and uploading as a non-root user.
This incident is a clean blueprint for future situations where:
- WinSCP connects but cannot write.
- rclone FUSE mounts fail with obscure errors.
- The VPS “just works” but a local machine doesn’t.
The pattern is always the same: Check who owns the remote directory. Check who owns the local mountpoint. Match both to the user you actually run your tools as.
No comments found