Object Mount macOS User Guide
This guide walks you through the core steps to get started with Object Mount on macOS — including activation, importing credentials, and mounting your object storage as a local volume.
1. Initial Setup & Licence Activation
When you first launch Object Mount, you'll be prompted to enter your licence key. This should have been provided via email.
- Enter your activation key when prompted
- To verify your licence period, go to the About tab in the top navigation — this displays your current licence status and expiry
2. Importing Cloud Credentials
Object Mount connects to major cloud storage providers using standard S3-compatible credentials.
Steps:
- Go to the Credentials tab
- Click the green Import new credentials button
- In the modal:
- Give the credential set a clear name
- Choose your provider tab (e.g., AWS, Storj, etc.)
- Fill in the access key, secret, and (if applicable) region or endpoint
If you're using a different provider, select S3-compatible, choose the provider from the dropdown, and ensure the endpoint is accessible. Some providers may require extra compatibility settings like a defined region.
For Storj users, we recommend using lexicographically ordered buckets for the best listing performance.
- Click Import
- Object Mount will attempt to discover any buckets your credentials can access
- Select one or more buckets to create mount configurations
3. Creating and Managing Mounts
Once your credentials are active and buckets have been detected:
Go to the Mounts tab
Click Create new mount
Configure the mount:
- Choose bucket and local mount path
- Decide whether to enable POSIX mode (adds permission emulation)
- Configure caching or advanced options if needed
Click Add Mount to save it
On the Mounts page, toggle the mount to activate it
Click the mount name to open it in Finder
First-time access may take a few seconds if the bucket contains many files — performance improves after initial load.
4. Preferences & Advanced Settings
Object Mount includes a flexible Preferences panel where you can fine-tune caching, logging, and performance settings across all mounts. These settings are global and apply to every active mount.
Data Cache
The data cache temporarily stores small portions of accessed files on your local disk — useful for repeated or random access operations.
- Location: The local path where data cache files are stored
- Maximum cache size: The upper limit (in MB) for total cached data
- Note: This does not delay cloud writes — writing to the cloud happens immediately
Use a fast local drive (SSD or NVMe) for best caching performance.
If you are on a high-speed, low-latency network connected to your object storage, you may see improved performance by turning caching off.
Metadata Cache
Metadata caching helps Object Mount remember file structure, timestamps, and permissions more efficiently.
- Location: The local directory for storing metadata information
- Cache timeout (s): The duration metadata remains valid before refreshing from the cloud (default: 60 seconds)
Advanced Settings
These options let you further customise Object Mount's performance and diagnostic behaviour:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| S3 Connections Limit | Controls the number of concurrent S3 operations (default: 100) |
| Log Level | Adjusts logging detail. Options: error, warning, debug, or trace |
| Single Threaded Mode | Runs the filesystem in single-threaded mode (rarely needed; leave off unless instructed by Support) |
| Debug Logging | Enables detailed debug output to assist with support issues |
| Environment Variables | Custom variables to modify Object Mount behaviour, adding variables may be recommended by Support |
Log File Location
-~/Library/Application Support/Object Mount/cunoFS.log
Click Reset to revert changes to default settings.