📚 Mounting a Network Share for Docker on Debian

 

🧭 Overview

This guide shows how to mount a CIFS/SMB network share on a Debian-based system and use it as a volume in Docker Compose. Useful when your Docker container needs access to shared files hosted on another machine (e.g., a NAS, Windows PC, or another Linux box).

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🛠️ Step 1: Install CIFS Utilities

sudo apt update
sudo apt install cifs-utils

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📂 Step 2: Create a Mount Point

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/downloads

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🔐 Step 3: Mount the Share

sudo mount -t cifs //LORGAR/Downloads /mnt/downloads -o username=slitzer,password=blink182,vers=3.0

Replace:

• //LORGAR/Downloads — with the remote share path
• username and password — with valid credentials
• vers=3.0 — adjust based on your SMB version (2.0, 3.1.1, etc.)

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💾 Optional: Persistent Mount via fstab

Edit /etc/fstab:

//LORGAR/Downloads /mnt/downloads cifs username=slitzer,password=blink182,vers=3.0,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0

Using a secure credentials file:

# /root/.smbcredentials
username=slitzer
password=blink182

Then in /etc/fstab:

//LORGAR/Downloads /mnt/downloads cifs credentials=/root/.smbcredentials,vers=3.0,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0

Don't forget: chmod 600 /root/.smbcredentials

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🐳 Step 4: Use in Docker Compose

Update your docker-compose.yml:

version: '3'
services:
  myapp:
    image: myapp/image
    volumes:
      - /mnt/downloads:/app/shared

This maps the mounted network share inside the container.

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🔍 Troubleshooting

• Check if mounted: mount | grep downloads or df -h
• Check permissions: ls -la /mnt/downloads
• Logs: dmesg, journalctl -xe

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✅ TL;DR

sudo apt install cifs-utils
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/downloads
sudo mount -t cifs //REMOTE_HOST/Share /mnt/downloads -o username=...,password=...,vers=3.0

Then reference /mnt/downloads in your Docker volumes.

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🧠 Pro Tip: Avoid hardcoding passwords by using credential files, especially for systems in production.