Mounting filesystems
minikube supports the following methods to mount host directories into a cluster:
| Method | Performance | Flexibility |
|---|---|---|
| Mount during start | Near-native with new drivers | Single mount, set at start |
| Mount command | Limited (9p only) | Multiple mounts, any time |
| Driver mounts | Varies | Legacy drivers only |
Mount During Start
The recommended way to mount a host directory. Best for directories that should be available on every run. Uses the best method supported by the driver — virtiofs or container volumes on modern drivers provide near-native performance, while legacy drivers fall back to 9p.
minikube start --mount-string <host directory>:<guest directory>
For example, this would mount your ~/models directory to appear as
/mnt/models within the cluster:
minikube start --mount-string ~/models:/mnt/models
The directory remains mounted while the cluster is running.
| Driver | OS | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
docker |
All | container volume | |
podman |
All | container volume | |
vfkit |
macOS | virtiofs | Since minikube 1.37.0 |
krunkit |
macOS | virtiofs | Since minikube 1.37.0 |
hyperv |
Windows | 9p | |
kvm |
Linux | 9p | |
qemu |
macOS | 9p | Requires socket_vmnet |
Notes
- Some drivers do not support mounting (see unsupported drivers).
- Only a single mount is supported. If you need to mount additional directories, or mount and unmount directories after the cluster was started, use the mount command.
Mount Command
Mounts a host directory into a running cluster using the 9p filesystem. Use this when you need to mount multiple directories, or for temporary mounts whose lifecycle is shorter than the cluster (e.g. mount a directory during a test run, then unmount). Works with most drivers (see unsupported drivers) but suffers from performance and reliability issues with large directories (>600 files). Prefer mount during start when possible.
minikube mount <host directory>:<guest directory>
For example:
minikube mount ~/models:/mnt/models
The directory remains mounted while the mount command is running. To unmount,
terminate the command with Ctrl+C.
Unsupported Drivers
The following drivers do not support mounting host directories:
noneqemuwith the builtin network — use--network=socket_vmnet(macOS only, selected automatically when socket_vmnet is installed)
Driver mounts
Some legacy drivers have built-in host folder sharing. These mounts are automatic but the paths are not configurable.
Warning
Driver mounts expose large host directories (e.g./Users, /home) to the
guest VM by default. This is a security risk — any process in the VM has read
and write access to your entire home directory. Consider disabling driver mounts
with --disable-driver-mounts and using --mount-string to share only the
specific directories you need.
| Driver | OS | Host | Guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| VirtualBox | Linux | /home | /hosthome |
| VirtualBox | macOS | /Users | /Users |
| VirtualBox | Windows | C://Users | /c/Users |
| VMware Fusion | macOS | /Users | /mnt/hgfs/Users |
Built-in mounts can be disabled by passing the --disable-driver-mounts flag to
minikube start.
The HyperKit driver also supports NFS mounts via start flags:
--nfs-share=[]: Local folders to share with Guest via NFS mounts--nfs-shares-root='/nfsshares': Where to root the NFS shares, defaults to/nfsshares
File Sync
See File Sync
Feedback
Was this page helpful?
Glad to hear it! Please tell us how we can improve.
Sorry to hear that. Please tell us how we can improve.