# VMware Fusion Shared Folders on Debian Guest

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up and persistently mounting **VMware Fusion shared folders** on a **Debian virtual machine** using `open-vm-tools`.

---

## 🧰 Prerequisites

- **VMware Fusion** installed on your **macOS host**.
- A **Debian guest OS** installed in VMware Fusion.
- A **Shared Folder** configured and enabled in VMware Fusion:
  - `VM > Settings > Options > Shared Folders`
  - Note the **Name** of the shared folder (e.g., `MySharedFolder`).

---

## 🪛 Steps

### 1. Install `open-vm-tools`

Run these commands in your Debian VM terminal:

```bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop
```

> `open-vm-tools`: Core integration  
> `open-vm-tools-desktop`: Optional, for GUI features like drag & drop, clipboard sharing

Then **reboot** your VM:

```bash
sudo reboot
```

---

### 2. Manual Mount (Optional - for testing)

Check if shared folders are already mounted:

```bash
ls /mnt/hgfs/
```

If not, manually mount with:

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/hgfs
sudo /usr/bin/vmhgfs-fuse .host:/ /mnt/hgfs -o allow_other
```

To mount a specific shared folder (e.g., `MySharedFolder`) to a custom path:

```bash
sudo mkdir -p /home/youruser/my_host_share
sudo /usr/bin/vmhgfs-fuse .host:/MySharedFolder /home/youruser/my_host_share -o allow_other
```

---

### 3. Persistent Mount via `/etc/fstab`

Edit the fstab file:

```bash
sudo nano /etc/fstab
```

#### Mount all shared folders:
```fstab
.host:/ /mnt/hgfs fuse.vmhgfs-fuse defaults,allow_other 0 0
```

#### Mount specific folder:
```fstab
.host:/MySharedFolder /home/youruser/my_host_share fuse.vmhgfs-fuse defaults,allow_other 0 0
```

#### Mount with user ownership (replace `1000` with your UID/GID):
```fstab
.host:/MySharedFolder /home/youruser/my_host_share fuse.vmhgfs-fuse defaults,allow_other,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0
```

> Find your UID and GID using:
```bash
id -u yourusername
id -g yourusername
```

**Save & exit** (in nano: `Ctrl+O`, `Enter`, then `Ctrl+X`).

**Test the mount:**

```bash
sudo mount -a
```

> ✅ No errors? You're good to go.

Reboot to apply:

```bash
sudo reboot
```

---

### 4. Verify Access

After reboot or manual mount:

```bash
ls /mnt/hgfs/MySharedFolder
# or
ls /home/youruser/my_host_share
```

You should see your macOS host files available!

---

## ⚠️ Important

Before editing `/etc/fstab`, **take a VM snapshot** in VMware Fusion. This protects you in case a misconfiguration causes boot issues.