📂 How to Mount a Network Share (SMB/NFS) in Home Assistant OS

Here’s the correct syntax for each field.

🔹 1. Name

This is just a label for Home Assistant.
It also becomes the folder name under /media or /backup.

👉 Example:

jserver

🔹 2. Usage

Choose how you intend to use the share:

Backup → will appear in /backup
Media → will appear in /media
Share → will appear in /share

👉 For camera recordings or music/video playback, pick Media.

🔹 3. Server

This is the hostname or IP of your NAS/Windows machine.

👉 Examples:

j-server
192.168.1.100

🔹 4. Protocol

Choose how to connect:

Samba/Windows (CIFS) → for Windows shares and most NAS devices
NFS → for NFS exports

👉 In most home setups, pick Samba/Windows (CIFS).

🔹 5. Remote Share (⚠️ the tricky one!)

This is not a Windows-style path.
You must use forward slashes (/) instead of backslashes (\).
Also, you enter the share name exactly as it is exported, not the drive letter.

👉 Correct format:

Sharename[/Optional/Subfolder]

Examples:

If your NAS exports a share called Media Media
If the share is called Archive and you want a subfolder Archive/Media

❌ Wrong: e\Archive\Media (Windows style, won’t work)
✅ Right: Archive/Media (Linux style)

🔹 6. Username & Password

Enter the Samba (Windows) credentials that have access to the share.

👉 Example:

Username: user name you set when setting up the share
Password: password you set

✅ Example Configuration (your case)

If your Windows machine j-server shares out a folder as Archive, and inside that is a subfolder Media, you’d fill it like this:

Name:
jserver
Usage:
Media
Server:
j-server
(or use 192.168.1.100)
Protocol:
Samba/Windows (CIFS)
Remote Share:
Archive/Media

🔹 Where it Appears in Home Assistant

After saving, HA will mount it automatically.

If you picked Media, the files appear in: /media/jserver
You can browse them in the Media Browser UI.
Services like camera.record can save directly there: service: camera.record data: entity_id: camera.front_door filename: "/media/jserver/front_door.mp4"

👉 Do you want me to also show you how to test the connection to make sure HA can actually reach j-server before mounting (so you don’t get silent failures)?