netshare-mounter

CLI utility that configures SMB/CIFS shares as systemd mount units — so they mount on boot, wait for the network, and are managed with systemctl and journalctl rather than fstab. It installs cifs-utils if missing, writes a per-mount credentials file at mode 600, and validates before mounting.

Quick usage lives in USAGE.md; each command also has a man page under man/.

Building

The executable is generated by Bashly from src/:

cd packages/debian-ubuntu/scripts/netshare-mounter
bashly generate                       # needs Ruby + `gem install bashly`
sudo cp netshare-mounter /usr/local/bin/

Without Ruby, generate through Docker:

docker run --rm --user $(id -u):$(id -g) --volume "$PWD:/app" dannyben/bashly generate
# Windows (Git Bash): docker run --rm --volume "/${PWD}:/app" dannyben/bashly generate

Commands

sudo netshare-mounter mount //192.168.1.29/plex_storage /mnt/plex_storage
netshare-mounter status /mnt/plex_storage
sudo netshare-mounter unmount /mnt/plex_storage

`mount <share> <mountpoint>`

Credentials are prompted for when not passed.

Option	Default
`-u, --username`	prompt
`-p, --password`	prompt
`-d, --domain`	none
`--uid` / `--gid`	`1000` / `1000`
`--file-mode` / `--dir-mode`	`0644` / `0755`
`--cifs-version`	`3.0` (1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.1.1)
`-c, --credentials-file`	`~/.netshare-mounter/<unit-name>.credentials`
`--auto-install`	install `cifs-utils` without prompting
`--enable-only`	enable for next boot without mounting now

`unmount <mountpoint>`

Option	Effect
`-k, --keep-credentials`	Leave the credentials file in place
`-m, --keep-mountpoint`	Leave the mount point directory
`-f, --force`	`umount -f` even if busy
`--purge`	Remove credentials, mount point and unit without prompting

`status [mountpoint]`

Shows all CIFS mounts when the mount point is omitted. -v adds the systemd unit detail; -j emits JSON (… --json | jq -r '.active').

`validate <share>`

-c, --check-connectivity tests reachability of the SMB server; --check-credentials <file> checks that file’s permissions.

How it works

Each mount gets its own credentials file, named after the unit — /mnt/plex_storage → ~/.netshare-mounter/mnt-plex_storage.credentials, stored in the invoking user’s home even under sudo. --credentials-file overrides that when several mounts should share one. Files are written 600, never logged, and shredded on removal.

The generated unit:

[Unit]
Description=Mount SMB Share: //192.168.1.29/plex_storage
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target
RequiresMountsFor=/mnt

[Mount]
What=//192.168.1.29/plex_storage
Where=/mnt/plex_storage
Type=cifs
Options=credentials=…,uid=1000,gid=1000,file_mode=0644,dir_mode=0755,vers=3.0,rw
TimeoutSec=30

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

systemd derives the unit name from the path — /mnt/plex_storage must be mnt-plex_storage.mount, and spaces in mount paths are not allowed at all.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
`Permission denied`	Credentials. Test by hand: `sudo mount -t cifs //server/share /mnt/test -o credentials=<file>`
`Connection timed out`	`netshare-mounter validate //server/share --check-connectivity`, then `nc -zv server 445`
Unit fails to start	`systemctl status mnt-<name>.mount`, `journalctl -xeu mnt-<name>.mount`
Busy during unmount	`lsof /mnt/<name>` or `fuser -vm /mnt/<name>`, then `unmount --force`
Wrong credentials permissions	`validate <share> --check-credentials <file>`, or `chmod 600` it
Mount fails on an old server	Lower `--cifs-version` to `2.0` or `1.0`; modern servers want `3.0`/`3.1.1`

For Active Directory, pass the domain both ways: --username 'DOMAIN\\user' --domain DOMAIN.

Project structure

netshare-mounter/
├── src/
│   ├── bashly.yml                  # command definitions
│   ├── {mount,unmount,status,validate}_command.sh
│   └── lib/{helpers,systemd,credentials}.sh
├── netshare-mounter                # generated — do not edit
├── USAGE.md
└── man/, docs/                     # generated man pages

Edit src/, never the generated executable, and keep shellcheck clean.