Hi - I saw there were repeating questions on how to mount external drives over SMB.
I documented in detail what I did under Bazzite and a bottleneck I had with SELinux. Happy to get feedback on what I could have differently, better, or easier.
Bazzite SMB automount
Make sure that you replace whatever is in “<>” with your own data.
Setup authentication configuration file
Generate a file that defines the login data to mount the volume. The file will be called credentials located at /var/home/<username>/.smb/credentials. Make sure you first generate the folder mkdir /var/home/<username>/.smb.
username=<username>
password=<password>
- Ensure the credentials file is readable only by the owner:
chmod u=rw,go= /var/home/<username>/.smb/credentials - Create a mount folder on your local machine:
mkdir /var/home/<username>/retrodeck - Create a file called var-home-<username>-retrodeck.mount located at
/etc/systemd/system.sudo touch /etc/systemd/system/var-home-<username>-retrodeck.mount.
Create mount unit
[Unit]
Description=Mount SMB Retrodeck Share
# A human-readable description of this mount unit.
# Ensures the network is available before trying to mount.
Requires=network-online.target
# This unit will only start if 'network-online.target' is available.
After=network-online.target systemd-resolved.service
# Waits until network and DNS resolution are ready.
Wants=network-online.target systemd-resolved.service
# Suggests that these services should be running, but does not fail if they aren't.
[Mount]
# Defines what to mount and where.
# The network share (SMB/CIFS) that will be mounted.
What=//<yourRemoteServerIP>/<yourRemoteFolder>
# Replace with actual IP and share name, e.g., //192.168.1.100/retrodeck.
# Local mount point where the share will be attached.
Where=/var/home/<username>/retrodeck
# Replace <username> and <retrodeck> with actual values. Make sure that it matches with the folder you create as mount folder.
# Specifies the filesystem type.
Type=cifs
# This is necessary for mounting a Windows SMB/CIFS share.
# Mount options:
Options=rw,uid=1000,gid=1000,nofail,credentials=/var/home/<username>/.smb/credentials,vers=3.0
# `rw` → Read/write access.
# `uid=1000` → Ensures that the mounted files are owned by user ID 1000 (your main user).
# `gid=1000` → Ensures group ownership by group ID 1000.
# `nofail` → Prevents boot failure if the SMB share is unavailable.
# `credentials=/var/home/<username>/.smb/credentials` → Specifies the file storing the SMB username & password.
# `vers=3.0` → Forces SMB version 3.0 for security and performance.
# Sets a timeout to stop trying if the mount hangs.
TimeoutSec=30
# If the mount attempt takes longer than 30 seconds, it will give up.
[Install]
# Ensures this mount is activated at boot.
WantedBy=multi-user.target
# Mounts the share when the system reaches multi-user mode (normal operation).
Set mount unit file permissions
- Make sure you have set the correct permissions and ownership for systemd mount files.
- Correct Owner and Group:
sudo chown root:root /etc/systemd/system/var-home-<username>-retrodeck.mount - Correct File Permissions:
sudo chmod u=rw,g=r,o=r /etc/systemd/system/var-home-<username>-retrodeck.mount(u=rw→ User (root) gets read & write;g=r→ Group (root) gets read-only.;o=r→ Others get read-only)
Fixing SELinux Denial (under Bazzite)
By default Systemd is being denied access to the mount unit file due to SELinux policies.
Check Current SELinux Mode
Run:
getenforce
- If it returns
Enforcing, SELinux is actively blocking access. - If it returns
Permissive, it logs issues but doesn’t enforce them.
Relabel the Mount Unit File
Since the file is in /etc/systemd/system/, it should have the correct SELinux label. To fix it:
sudo restorecon -v /etc/systemd/system/var-home-<username>-retrodeck.mount
Now reload Systemd, enable Auto-Start, and start the SMB mount immediately
- Reload Systemd to recognize New or modified units:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload- Forces
systemdto reload all unit files (services, mounts, timers, etc.). - Necessary when adding, modifying, or deleting
.mountfiles, sincesystemddoes not automatically detect changes. - Without this,
systemdmight not recognize new or modified units, leading to errors when enabling or starting them.
- Forces
- Enable the mount to Auto-Start at boot:
sudo systemctl enable var-home-<username>-retrodeck.mount- Creates a symbolic link in
/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/pointing to your mount file. - Ensures that
systemdautomatically mounts the SMB share every time the system boots. - This does not immediately mount it—it just sets it up for future boots.
- Creates a symbolic link in
- Start (mount) the SMB share immediately:
sudo systemctl start var-home-<username>-retrodeck.mount- Manually triggers the mounting of the SMB share right now, without waiting for a reboot.
- If successful, the mount point (
/var/home/<username>/retrodeck) should now show the contents of the SMB share. - If there are errors (e.g., wrong credentials, network issues), it will fail, but logs can be checked using
journalctl -xe.
.
############ I tried using the IP address, and still get the same problem