Why Mounting Hetzner Object Storage on macOS Is a Smart Move
Hetzner Object Storage brings Hetzner's famously cost-effective European infrastructure to S3-compatible buckets, a natural home for archives, media libraries, and offsite copies. Mounting it on macOS means those buckets appear in Finder and stream on demand, so you work with objects like local files.
Watch the full Hetzner mount walkthrough — or keep reading for the step-by-step.
- 🗂️ Native Finder Access -- Browse Hetzner buckets as a normal macOS volume from any app.
- 💾 No Full Download -- Stream only the objects you open instead of pulling whole buckets to disk.
- 🔁 Live Two-Way Access -- Files dropped into the mount upload to Hetzner; remote changes appear after the next poll.
- 🛡️ Read-Only Safety -- Browse an archive bucket read-only to avoid accidental writes.
- 🇪🇺 European Buckets at Hetzner Prices -- EU-region object storage with straightforward pricing, now reachable from Finder instead of an S3 console.
How Mounting a Cloud Drive Works (and Why It's Different from Sync)
Sync downloads every object to your Mac and keeps both ends matched. A mount leaves objects in Hetzner and streams them to your Mac only when opened.
OurClone handles reads, writes, and change detection through a local cache, keeping recently used files fast while the rest of the bucket stays in the cloud. Because Object Storage speaks the S3 API, every listing and read is an API request -- streaming on demand keeps those requests to what you actually use.
You can mount Hetzner Object Storage with a configurable polling interval and cache size, plus a read-only option for safe browsing.
- 🚀 Stream objects on demand -- no need to download whole buckets
- 💾 Saves Mac disk space by caching only what you actually open
- 🔁 Two-way sync -- edits in the mounted folder push back to Hetzner
- 🛡️ Read-only mode prevents accidental writes when you only need to browse
What to Know Before You Mount Hetzner Object Storage
A short pass through the Hetzner Console before you open OurClone keeps the first mount uneventful.
- 🧩 Install macFUSE First -- OurClone's macOS mount relies on macFUSE; install it once before mounting Hetzner.
- 🔑 Create an Access Key -- Generate an Object Storage Access Key and Secret Key in the Hetzner Console; a mount-only key is easier to rotate later.
- 🌍 Note the Bucket Region and Endpoint -- The endpoint is optional in OurClone, but if you keep buckets in different regions it is worth pinning the connection explicitly.
- 📁 Pick the Right Mount Source -- Mount a single bucket for focused access, or a wider scope for broad Finder browsing.
- 🖥️ Choose a Sensible Mount Point -- Use a dedicated empty folder like
~/CloudMounts/Hetzner, not your Desktop or a populated folder. - 🔒 Read-Only vs Read-Write -- Read-only suits browsing; read-write is needed to upload, edit, or delete. Read-only mounts can't upload.
How to Mount Hetzner Object Storage on macOS with OurClone
OurClone connects to Hetzner with S3-compatible access keys, then mounts it as a local volume.
- 🔐 Connect to Hetzner via Access Keys -- Open OurClone and go to
Add Storage. Choose the Hetzner Object Storage provider from the S3 list, then fill in your Remote Name, Access Key ID, and Secret Access Key, adding the regional Endpoint if you want to pin a specific bucket region. OurClone verifies the credentials and Hetzner appears as a connected backend. - 📂 Open the Mount Tab and Click New Mount -- With Hetzner connected, go to the
Mounttab and click New Mount in the top-right corner. - ⚙️ Configure the Mount Settings -- Pick Hetzner Object Storage as the source. Choose a specific bucket or the whole scope, then a local mount point like
~/CloudMounts/Hetzner. Select Read-only or Read-write, optionally adjust polling interval and max cache size, and click Mount. - 🗂️ Use Your Hetzner Mount Like a Local Folder -- Open the mount point in Finder. It behaves as a mounted volume -- browse, open, create folders, drag in files, and delete items. Add a
backupfolder and a few files; OurClone streams them to Hetzner in the background. - ✅ Confirm the Sync on Hetzner -- Back in OurClone, open the Hetzner storage in the file browser to see the new
backupfolder. For extra certainty, log in to the Hetzner Console and confirm the objects landed in the bucket.
S3-compatible access keys plus OurClone's mount engine turn Hetzner Object Storage into a native-feeling drive on macOS.
Getting the Most Out of Your Hetzner Mount
Keep these in mind once your Hetzner mount is live.
- 🔁 Edits Sync Both Ways -- Adds, renames, and deletes in the mount push to Hetzner; changes from elsewhere appear after the next poll cycle.
- 🛑 Read-Only Means Read-Only -- A read-only mount blocks uploads and saves. Remount read-write to make changes.
- 💽 Cache Lives on Your Mac -- Recently opened objects are cached locally; lower the max cache size if disk space is tight.
- ⏱️ Polling Interval Affects Freshness and Requests -- Each poll is an S3 API call; a 30-60 second interval usually balances freshness against request volume.
- 🔌 Unmount Cleanly Before Sleep -- OurClone reconnects on wake; for long breaks, click Unmount to release the volume.
When Your Mount Stops Working
Hetzner mounts usually break when access keys are rotated or revoked, the endpoint no longer matches the bucket region, the network drops, or the mount point is no longer empty. Re-create the keys, check the endpoint, and remount.
Verify the Sync Anytime
When in doubt, open the Hetzner storage view inside OurClone or sign in to the Hetzner Console to confirm your objects.