VBFS(8) System Manager's Manual VBFS(8)
NAME
vbfs - VirtualBox Shared Folder File System server
SYNOPSIS
mount -t vbfs [-r] -o share=sharename[,options] none mountpoint
DESCRIPTION
The vbfs server allows one to mount a VirtualBox shared folder as a
file system. This makes it possible to access selected portions of the
VirtualBox host file system when MINIX is run as a VirtualBox guest.
The above mount command will mount the vbfs file system onto the direc-
tory mountpoint. The -r mount option makes the file system read-only;
note that shared folders may independently have been configured as
read-only on the VMware host. The options field is a string consisting
of comma-delimited key or key=value options. The vbfs server can mount
only one shared folder at a time, and therefore, specifying a share
name is required. The other options are optional. The following op-
tions are supported.
share=name
This required option specifies the share name to mount. It is cur-
rently not possible to list the available share names from within
MINIX3.
prefix=path
This option sets a path prefix that will be prepended to all file
system operations on the host system. The default is the empty
path, exposing the entire share. Leading and trailing slashes are
ignored.
uid=number
This sets the user ID used for all the files and directories in the
file system, allowing a non-root user to be the owner. The value
must be specified as a decimal number. The default is root (the
number 0).
gid=number
Likewise, sets the group ID for all files and directories. The de-
fault is wheel (the number 0).
fmask=number
This option sets the file permission mask of regular files. It is
specified as an octal number. For example, a value of 600 makes all
files readable and writable by the owning user (see the "uid" op-
tion). The default is 755.
dmask=number
Likewise, sets the file permission mask of directories. The de-
fault is also 755.
EXAMPLES
mount -t vbfs -o share=myshare none /usr/myshare
# Mount the "myshare" shared folder on /usr/myshare
mount -t vbfs -o share=shared,prefix=foo/bar,uid=20,fmask=644 none /mnt
# Mount the "foo/bar" subtree from the "shared"
shared folder on /mnt
LIMITATIONS
VBFS has been designed to provide a convenient means to exchange files
between the guest and the host system, not as a complete file system
implementation. As such, it comes with many limitations. Some of these
are VBFS implementation shortcomings; some are the result of behavioral
differences between the host file system and the guest's expectations;
some are the result of a mismatch between MINIX's VFS/FS protocol and
the requirements from VBFS; and finally, some are the result of the
user's ability to change the file system on the host system at any
time.
SEE ALSO
mount(1), hgfs(8)
AUTHOR
David van Moolenbroek <
[email protected]>
VBFS(8)