How to Connect a Mac to a Local or Remote Server in 2026

Mahesh Makvana
·
8 min read

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Connecting your Mac to a server caught my eye because Finder handles the whole job without extra software. Enter an address, sign in, and the shared storage appears under Locations like another drive.

It actually works well, too. You can open, copy, move, and delete files, provided your server account has permission.

Finder > Go > Connect to Server window on current macOS with an empty Server Address field, Favorite Servers list, and Connect button visible

Before You Connect

Get these details from the server owner or administrator:

  • The server address or IP address
  • The share name, if the server hosts several shared folders
  • Your username and password
  • The required protocol, usually SMB
  • Network or VPN access for servers that aren’t publicly reachable

Use an address such as smb://server-name/share-name. For a local server, smb://192.168.1.50/shared can avoid name-resolution problems.

Which Server Protocol Should You Use?

Use SMB unless the server administrator tells you otherwise. It works across current Macs, Windows 11 computers, Linux servers, and most NAS devices.

Common address formats include:

  • SMB: smb://server-name/share-name
  • NFS: nfs://server/path
  • SFTP: Use an SFTP client such as Cyberduck
  • WebDAV: Use Finder when the server supports it, or a dedicated client
  • FTP: Use a third-party client; Finder’s FTP support is too limited for normal file management

Treat AFP as retired technology. Apple deprecated the AFP client in macOS Sequoia 15.5, and later macOS releases are phasing it out — Apple notes the AFP client will be removed in a future version of macOS. An address beginning with afp:// should be migrated to SMB rather than saved for continued use.

Apple documents the deprecation in its macOS Sequoia enterprise release notes.

Connect to a Server Using Finder

Finder is the best choice for SMB and NFS shares because it mounts them directly in macOS.

  1. Open Finder, then choose Go > Connect to Server. You can also press Cmd + K.
Finder with the Go menu open and Connect to Server highlighted, including the Command-K keyboard shortcut
  1. Enter the complete address in Server Address. For an SMB share, use a format such as smb://server-name/share-name.
  1. Click the + button if you want to add the address to Favorite Servers, then click Connect.
Finder > Go > Connect to Server window with smb://server-name/share-name entered in Server Address and the Connect button highlighted
  1. Select Guest if the server permits anonymous access. Otherwise, select Registered User, enter your username and password, and choose whether macOS should remember the password in your keychain.
  1. Select a shared volume if Finder asks which one you want to mount.

The connected share appears in Finder under Locations. It may also appear on your desktop if connected-server icons are enabled in Finder > Settings > General.

Don’t assume you can edit everything you see. The server controls whether your account has read-only or read-and-write access.

Disconnect the Server Safely

Eject a network share before leaving the network or disconnecting a VPN. This gives macOS time to finish pending file operations.

  1. Find the server or mounted share under Locations in Finder.
  2. Click its Eject button, or Control-click it and choose Eject.
  3. Wait for the share to disappear before closing your VPN connection or putting the Mac to sleep.
Finder sidebar under Locations with a mounted SMB share Control-clicked and the Eject command highlighted

Reconnect to a Recent Server

macOS keeps recently used server addresses, which saves you from typing them again.

Use the Apple Menu

Choose Apple menu > Recent Items, then select the server under Servers. macOS reconnects or asks for your credentials if they aren’t stored in your keychain.

Apple menu > Recent Items expanded with the Servers section visible and a recently used SMB server highlighted

Use Finder’s Recent Servers List

  1. In Finder, choose Go > Connect to Server, or press Cmd + K.
  2. Open the recent-servers pop-up beside the Server Address field.
  3. Select an address and click Connect.
Finder > Go > Connect to Server window with the Recent Servers pop-up expanded and a saved SMB address highlighted

For a server you use every day, add it to Favorite Servers in the connection window. The recent list can change as you connect to other systems.

Check Whether a Share Uses SMB or AFP

An old favorite or saved script may still point to AFP. Check before a macOS upgrade leaves you unable to reach the files.

  1. Select the mounted share in Finder.
  2. Choose File > Get Info, or press Cmd + I.
  3. Check the server address or URL.

An address beginning with smb:// uses SMB. If it begins with afp://, enable SMB on the server and create a replacement connection using the same host and share name.

Some old Time Capsule-era devices and older NAS models depend on AFP. Copy important data elsewhere while you can still reach the device, then replace it with a modern NAS or another current storage option.

Share Files From Another Mac

A Mac can host SMB shares through macOS File Sharing.

  1. On the Mac that will store the files, open System Settings > General > Sharing.
  2. Turn on File Sharing.
  3. Click the information button beside File Sharing.
  4. Add folders under Shared Folders, then assign access under Users.
  5. On the other Mac, open Go > Connect to Server in Finder.
  6. Enter smb://server-mac.local or the server Mac’s IP address, then sign in.

macOS doesn’t host AFP shares. SMB is the supported option and also makes the folder accessible to Windows computers.

Connect Automatically With AppleScript

AppleScript is useful when you regularly mount the same SMB share. The script opens the server address through Finder, while macOS handles authentication.

  1. Press Cmd + Space, search for Script Editor, and open it.
Spotlight Search with Script Editor entered and the Script Editor application result highlighted
  1. Choose File > New.
Script Editor with the File menu open and New highlighted
  1. Enter this script, replacing the example address with your server:
tell application "Finder" to open location "smb://server-name/share-name"

Don’t place a password in the script. Save credentials in your keychain when Finder prompts for them.

Script Editor window containing tell application "Finder" to open location "smb://server-name/share-name" with the script text visible
  1. Click the Run button or choose Script > Run to test the connection.
Script Editor with the Script menu open and Run highlighted while the SMB connection script is displayed
  1. Save the script as an application if you want to launch it from Finder or the Dock.

I’d skip automation unless the server address stays fixed. A saved Finder favorite is easier to maintain for occasional connections.

Use Cyberduck for SFTP, WebDAV, or Cloud Storage

Finder is nicely done for network shares, but it isn’t the right client for every server. Cyberduck supports SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3, and several cloud storage services.

  1. Install and open Cyberduck.
  2. Click Open Connection.
Cyberduck main window on current macOS with the Open Connection button highlighted
  1. Select the protocol required by your server. Choose SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) when the server offers it instead of unencrypted FTP.
  2. Enter the server address, port, username, and password.
  3. Enable the keychain option if this is a trusted Mac, then click Connect.
Cyberduck Open Connection window with SFTP selected, Server, Port, Username, and Password fields visible, and Connect highlighted

Cyberduck displays remote files inside its own window rather than mounting every connection as a normal Finder volume. For SFTP and object storage, that’s usually the cleaner approach.

Fix Server Connection Problems

Finder Can’t Find the Server

Try the server’s IP address instead of its name. For example, replace smb://office-nas.local/shared with smb://192.168.1.50/shared.

Confirm that your Mac is on the correct network or connected to the required VPN. If the server is wired and your Mac’s Wi-Fi connection is unstable, a USB-C Ethernet adapter can remove that variable quickly.

Your Password Keeps Failing

Check whether the server expects a local account, a Microsoft account, or a company domain account. Those usernames aren’t interchangeable.

If macOS keeps submitting an old password, open Passwords, find the saved server entry, and update or remove it. Reconnect through Finder and save the correct credentials.

You Can Open Files but Can’t Edit Them

The server has probably assigned read-only access to your account or the shared folder. Check the server’s share permissions and the permissions on the underlying folder.

On another Mac, review System Settings > General > Sharing > File Sharing. Select the folder and confirm that your account has Read & Write access.

SMB Is Slow or Keeps Disconnecting

Work through these checks in order:

  1. Install available macOS updates from System Settings > General > Software Update.
  2. Update the NAS or server firmware.
  3. Confirm that SMB3 is enabled on the server.
  4. Temporarily disable third-party firewall or security software to test for a conflict.
  5. Test over Ethernet to rule out weak Wi-Fi or a struggling mesh Wi-Fi router.
  6. Ask the server administrator to inspect SMB logs and permissions.

Advanced SMB changes in /etc/nsmb.conf can affect signing, browsing, and connection behavior. Don’t copy random settings into that file; the wrong configuration can reduce security or create a second problem.

An Old AFP Server No Longer Connects

Check the saved address. If it begins with afp://, enable SMB in the NAS or server’s file-sharing settings, then reconnect using smb://.

AFP-only hardware has reached a dead end on current macOS releases. Move the data to supported storage instead of building a fragile workaround around obsolete networking.

Finder or Cyberduck?

Use Finder for SMB or NFS shares that should behave like mounted drives. It’s built into macOS, works with the keychain, and reconnecting takes seconds.

Use Cyberduck for SFTP, WebDAV, FTP, or cloud services that Finder handles poorly. That free app remains a genuine gem for mixed server environments.

For regular Mac, Windows, and NAS file sharing, I recommend SMB through Finder. Bookmark the working server address, store the credentials in your keychain, and you’ll have a connection that’s quick to restore when you need it.