Enable and Access Shared Folders in VMware Player Virtual Machines

Configure VMware Player shared folders and access host files from Windows or Linux guests using File Explorer or /mnt/hgfs.

VMware Player shared folders let a guest operating system access a selected directory on the physical host. The host directory remains in the host filesystem, while VMware integration exposes it inside one configured virtual machine.

This is useful for coursework, source code, installers, test data, and short file transfers. A shared folder is different from USB passthrough, which connects a physical USB device to the guest. It is also different from drag and drop, clipboard sharing, and conventional network file sharing, which uses network protocols and a separately configured server or host share.

Prerequisites

Select the target virtual machine in VMware Player before opening its settings.
Install and run VMware Tools in a Windows guest. Linux guests commonly use open-vm-tools and its HGFS integration. See Install VMware Tools in Windows or Install VMware Tools in Linux.
The host user must be able to read the selected directory. Write-enabled sharing also requires suitable host permission to create, modify, rename, or delete files.
The exact labels and display locations can vary between VMware Player releases and guest operating systems.

Open Shared Folders settings

Start VMware Player and select the virtual machine that should receive the share.
Open the Player management menu and choose Manage, then Virtual Machine Settings.
Open the Options tab and select Shared Folders.

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

If the required controls are unavailable, check the guest power state and confirm that the selected virtual machine is the intended target. Some changes require the guest to be powered off or otherwise in a state that permits configuration changes.

Choose when sharing is available

VMware Player provides persistent and temporary availability choices. Select the mode based on how long the guest should retain access.

Option	Availability duration	Behavior after guest restart	Behavior after shutdown or suspend	Recommended use
Always enabled	Persistent	Remains available	Remains configured and available after later power-on	Coursework, development, and regularly used exchange folders
Enabled until next power off or suspend	Temporary	Remains available during a restart	Disabled after the next shutdown or suspend	Short-lived transfers or one-session testing

Choose Always enabled for a folder that should survive routine shutdowns and later power-ons. Choose the temporary option when persistent access is unnecessary and you want the share to expire after the next power-off or suspend event.

Optional Windows drive mapping

In a Windows guest, select Map as a network drive in Windows guests when available. This maps the VMware shared-folders location as a convenient drive entry for File Explorer. The mapping represents the aggregate Shared Folders location; it does not replace the individual names assigned to each share.

Add a host directory

In the Shared Folders settings, choose Add to start the shared-folder wizard.
Select a directory on the host operating system.
Assign a share name, such as Coursework or Exchange. This name is what the guest sees, rather than necessarily the host directory's full name.
Finish the wizard and review the individual share settings.

The host path identifies the real directory, for example a directory under the host user's documents. The guest-visible share name is an alias used inside the virtual machine. Several different host paths can therefore be given clear guest-visible names, subject to VMware Player's naming rules.

Configure individual share options

Setting	Effect	Typical use case	Security implication
Enabled	Makes the configured share available to the guest	Normal file exchange	The guest can access the selected host directory according to its permissions
Disabled	Preserves the definition and options but hides the share from the guest	Temporarily pause access	Reduces exposure without deleting the configuration
Read-only	Allows reading and copying, but prevents guest changes to the host directory	Installers, reference material, and one-way delivery	Helps prevent accidental overwrites and deletions
Read-write	Allows permitted guest operations to affect the host directory	Shared coursework or development files	Guest changes are changes to real host files; use least-privilege host permissions

Enable the share when it should be visible. Disabling it is preferable to deleting it when the configuration may be needed again. Use read-only mode unless the guest genuinely needs to write. Read-write access is direct access to the selected host files, so do not broadly share sensitive directories.

Access a shared folder from a Windows guest

Open File Explorer.
Browse to Network and look for the VMware-provided vmware-host entry.
Open vmware-host, then open Shared Folders.
Open the configured share name, such as Exchange.

You can navigate directly to the VMware shared-folders container by entering this UNC path in File Explorer's address bar:

\\vmware-host\Shared Folders

Network discovery and File Explorer browsing can delay or hide the entry even when the integration is working. Use the direct UNC path, verify that the share is enabled, and check VMware Tools if vmware-host remains unavailable.

Access a shared folder from a Linux guest

Linux guests commonly expose VMware shared folders through the HGFS mechanism. HGFS means VMware's host-guest file-sharing filesystem integration. The usual mount directory is /mnt/hgfs.

Open a terminal or the Linux file manager.
Browse to /mnt/hgfs.
Open the directory matching the share name.

ls -la /mnt/hgfs
mount | grep -i hgfs

The first command lists visible shares. The second checks whether an HGFS filesystem is mounted. If the directory is absent or empty, verify that open-vm-tools and its filesystem integration are installed and active, then confirm the share's enabled state in VMware Player. Linux permissions may also prevent a particular user from listing or opening the mount.

Guest type	Primary browsing method	Direct path or mount location	Required integration component
Windows	File Explorer > Network > `vmware-host` > Shared Folders	`\\vmware-host\Shared Folders`	VMware Tools
Linux	File manager or terminal under the HGFS mount	`/mnt/hgfs`	`open-vm-tools` and HGFS integration

Validate access

List the share contents from the guest and confirm that expected files are visible.
For a read-write share, create a harmless test file in the guest and verify that it appears in the original host directory.
For a read-only share, copy a file from the share to a guest-only directory. Then verify that an attempted create, edit, rename, or delete operation is denied.

For example, a Linux guest can first run ls -la /mnt/hgfs/Exchange. A Windows guest can open the Exchange directory and copy a small test file. Remove test files afterward if they are no longer needed.

Manage, disable, or remove a share

Disable temporarily: Clear or turn off the share's enabled setting. Its host path, name, and other options remain configured.
Re-enable: Return to Shared Folders settings and enable the existing definition.
Remove: Select the definition and use the remove action when it is no longer needed. This removes the VMware shared-folder definition; it should not be treated as a request to delete the host directory itself.
Repair a moved path: If the host directory was moved, renamed, deleted, disconnected, or had its permissions changed, edit the definition and select its current host path or restore access.

Troubleshooting

The Shared Folders setting is unavailable or no share appears

Install, repair, or update VMware Tools in a Windows guest, or verify that open-vm-tools is installed and running in Linux.
Restart the guest after installing tools if required.
Confirm that the share is enabled and that the virtual machine is in a state that permits the requested setting.

The share disappears after shutdown or suspend

The temporary option was probably selected. Change the availability mode to Always enabled when the share must survive power-state changes.

Windows cannot find `vmware-host`

Network browsing may be delayed or disabled. Try \\vmware-host\Shared Folders directly, then verify VMware Tools status and restart the guest if necessary.

`/mnt/hgfs` is missing or empty

Verify the Linux guest tools and HGFS integration.
Run mount | grep -i hgfs to check whether the filesystem is mounted.
Confirm the share name, enabled state, and availability mode in VMware Player.
Check Linux user and mount permissions.

The guest can read but cannot write

The share may be read-only, or the host filesystem may deny write access. Remove read-only mode only when guest writes are intended, and then check host ownership and permissions.

The configured path no longer works

Check whether the host directory was moved, renamed, deleted, disconnected, or made inaccessible. Update the host path in the share definition and verify that the directory exists and is readable by the host user.

Security and operational guidance

Use a dedicated exchange directory rather than sharing a broad home, system, or sensitive-data directory.
Use read-only mode for installers, reference documents, and other one-way file delivery.
Use temporary sharing for short-lived transfers when persistent access is unnecessary.
Treat read-write sharing as direct guest access to host files. Apply least-privilege host permissions and assume that guest changes can alter or delete the real files.
For broader administration of VM settings, see VMware Player Overview and VMware Tools Overview.

Practical configurations

Persistent coursework folder

Choose a host directory named Coursework, assign the guest share name Coursework, select Always enabled, and leave read-only mode disabled when the guest must edit files. The same guest can access it after routine shutdowns and later power-ons.

Read-only installation media

Share a host directory containing installers, enable the share, and select Read-only. The guest can copy installation files without overwriting or deleting the host copies.

One-session transfer

Choose the temporary availability mode for a short transfer. The share remains available through a guest restart, then becomes disabled after the next shutdown or suspend event.