VMware ESXi and vSphere Cluster Management

Enable and Access Shared Folders in VMware Player Virtual Machines

Learn how to configure VMware Player shared folders and access them from Windows or Linux guest virtual machines, including permissions and troubleshooting.

What VMware shared folders do

A shared folder is a directory on the host system—the physical computer running VMware Player—that VMware exposes to one selected virtual machine. The guest operating system can then browse or use that directory without setting up a conventional network file server.

VMware shared folders are different from normal network file sharing. A network share uses network protocols and is usually provided by another computer or operating system service. A VMware shared folder uses VMware guest integration components to connect the guest directly to a selected host directory.

• Move files between the host and guest.
• Share a development project with tools running in the guest.
• Give a guest access to host content such as installers, test data, or documentation.
• Collect logs or output from a guest onto the host.

Shared folders are configured per virtual machine. A folder enabled for one VM is not automatically available to other VMs.

Requirements and limitations

• Select the correct virtual machine in VMware Player before changing its settings.
• Install and run VMware Tools, or the equivalent guest integration components supported by the guest operating system. Shared folders depend on these components.
• The guest operating system and its version affect where the folders appear and how they are opened.
• The host path must already exist and must be accessible to the host user running VMware Player.
• Write-enabled sharing allows guest applications to change host files, so treat a shared folder as an access boundary rather than as an isolated copy.

Open the shared-folder settings

1. Open VMware Player and select the virtual machine that should receive the folder.
2. Use the menu path Player > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings.
3. Open the Options tab.
4. Select Shared Folders.

The complete navigation path is:

Player > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings > Options > Shared Folders

This is a per-VM configuration area. Changing it affects the selected virtual machine, not every virtual machine in VMware Player.

Choose how long folder sharing remains active

The Folder Sharing setting controls the lifetime of the configured shares.

Choose Always enabled for a persistent development workspace. Choose Enabled until next power off or suspend when access should normally disappear when the VM session ends. If a temporary share must stop immediately, disable it explicitly.

Add a host directory

1. In the Shared Folders panel, select Add to open the shared-folder setup wizard.
2. Enter or browse to the existing directory on the host that you want to expose.
3. Assign a share name. This name identifies the folder inside the guest and does not have to match the host directory name.
4. Continue through the wizard and confirm the configuration.
5. Choose the sharing duration and individual options, then apply the settings.

There are three related names or locations to keep straight:

• Host path: The actual directory on the physical computer, such as a project or exchange folder.
• Share name: The VMware label assigned during setup.
• Guest location: The path through which the guest reaches that share. Windows and Linux use different locations.

For example, a host directory named ProjectExchange could be assigned the share name exchange. The guest would use exchange as the visible folder name, while the host path remains unchanged.

Configure individual share options

Each share has its own controls in addition to the VM-wide Folder Sharing setting.

Use Read-only when the guest only needs to consume host content. For example, share a host Downloads subfolder as read-only so a Windows guest can copy installers without changing or deleting the originals.

Use a dedicated writable directory when the guest must produce or modify files. Avoid making broad host locations writable.

Optional Windows network-drive mapping

Some VMware Player configurations provide Map as a network drive in Windows guests. This option maps the VMware shared-folders container for convenience in a supported Windows guest.

This is not the same as configuring a normal LAN network drive. The mapped location represents VMware's shared-folder container, which contains the configured VMware shares; it is not a connection to a general-purpose network file server.

Access a shared folder from a Windows guest

1. Start the configured VM and sign in to Windows.
2. Open File Explorer.
3. Select Network and look for the VMware host entry named vmware-host.
4. Open vmware-host, then open the Shared Folders container.
5. Open the individual folder using its configured share name.

To open the container directly, enter this UNC path in File Explorer's address bar:

\\vmware-host\Shared Folders

A UNC path is Windows network-style notation for opening a shared resource directly. Network discovery and the way Explorer displays the vmware-host entry vary between Windows versions, so the direct UNC path can be more reliable than browsing.

Access a shared folder from a Linux guest

VMware shared folders normally appear beneath the Linux mount point /mnt/hgfs. Each configured and enabled share usually appears as a directory below that location.

ls /mnt/hgfs

The command should list the configured share names. Open one by using its directory name, for example:

ls /mnt/hgfs/exchange

If the expected directory is missing, check whether the shared-folder filesystem is mounted:

mount | grep hgfs

An empty result can indicate that the filesystem is not mounted, VMware Tools support is unavailable or inactive, or the share is disabled. Also compare the configured share name with the directory you are looking for; the guest directory normally follows the share name, not necessarily the original host folder name.

Manage, disable, or remove shares

To manage a share, return to the selected VM's Shared Folders settings. Select the existing share and edit its options or host path as needed.

• Disable a share: Clear Enable this share. The saved definition remains, but the guest loses access.
• Remove a share: Delete the share definition from the VM settings when the VM should no longer know about or expose that host path.
• Delete the host folder: This is a separate host filesystem operation. Removing a share definition does not delete the actual host directory, and deleting the host directory does not cleanly remove the VMware configuration.

Disable a share when access may be needed again. Remove it when the path is obsolete or the VM should permanently lose access to it. If a temporary share remains visible after a guest restart, remember that a restart is not a power-off or suspend event; power off or suspend the VM, or disable the share manually.

Security and data-handling considerations

• Share only a dedicated directory instead of an entire home directory, system directory, or other sensitive location.
• Prefer read-only mode when the guest does not need to write.
• Assume that malware running in the guest can alter or delete files in a writable host share.
• Remember that accidental changes made by a guest application affect the host files directly through a writable share.
• Use backups or snapshots before testing software that may modify shared data.
• Check host filesystem permissions as well as VMware's Read-only setting. Both can affect whether writes succeed.

Troubleshooting shared folders

The Shared Folders settings are unavailable or the guest sees no shares

• Verify that VMware Tools or the supported guest integration components are installed and running.
• Confirm that the correct VM is selected. Shared-folder configuration belongs to that VM.
• Return to Options > Shared Folders and confirm that Folder Sharing is enabled.
• Check both the host path and the individual Enable this share setting.

A Windows share does not appear in File Explorer

• Confirm that the individual share is enabled.
• Browse through vmware-host and then Shared Folders, rather than searching elsewhere under Network.
• Try \\vmware-host\Shared Folders directly.
• After confirming the configuration, restart the guest integration service or reboot the guest if necessary.

A Linux directory is missing under /mnt/hgfs

• Run mount | grep hgfs to check whether the shared-folder filesystem is mounted.
• Verify VMware Tools support and its service state in the guest.
• Confirm that the share is enabled and compare its configured share name with the result of ls /mnt/hgfs.

The guest can read files but cannot save changes

• Check whether Read-only is selected. Clear it only when write access is intentional.
• Check host directory permissions for the user running VMware Player.
• Check whether the target file is protected or in use.
• For controlled exchange, use a dedicated writable folder rather than relaxing permissions on an important directory.

The host path cannot be shared or becomes inaccessible

The directory may have been moved, renamed, deleted, disconnected, or made inaccessible to the host user. Restore access to the original path or edit the VM share definition to point to an existing accessible directory.

Practical configurations

Persistent development workspace

Share a dedicated host project directory, choose Always enabled, and leave the share writable only if guest development tools must modify the files. In a Linux guest, use the directory beneath /mnt/hgfs. This arrangement keeps the project available after ordinary VM shutdowns and later starts.

Read-only installation media

Create or select a host Downloads subfolder, add it as a share, select Read-only, and open it from the Windows guest through vmware-host. The guest can copy installers while the originals remain protected from guest-side edits.

Temporary troubleshooting transfer

Configure a share with Enabled until next power off or suspend, use it to collect guest logs on the host, and then power off or suspend the VM. The share will no longer be active after that event. A guest restart alone will not end the temporary sharing period.

Key points

• Shared folders expose selected host directories to one configured VM through VMware guest integration.
• Install and run VMware Tools or the equivalent integration components before expecting guest access.
• Use the selected VM's Player > Manage > Virtual Machine Settings > Options > Shared Folders panel.
• Always enabled persists across VM power and suspend state changes; temporary sharing ends at the next power-off or suspend, not at a guest restart.
• Windows guests normally use \\vmware-host\Shared Folders; Linux guests normally use /mnt/hgfs.
• Disabling a share preserves its definition, removing a share deletes the definition, and neither operation deletes the actual host folder.
• Use read-only mode and narrowly scoped directories whenever guest write access is unnecessary.

For a related configuration walkthrough, see Enable a shared folder for a virtual machine.