What is MacFUSE?
macFUSE is an open source software for macOS that provides a bridge between the Mac operating system's kernel and user-space file systems implemented as regular applications. It allows developers to create and implement virtual file systems without having to write kernel extensions.
Some key features and capabilities of macFUSE include:
- Enables user-space programs to export file system trees without requiring elevated privileges
- Supports common file system operations like mounting, unmounting, file reads/writes, etc.
- Integrates tightly with macOS's native File System APIs for consistency
- Maintains high performance through efficient kernel-userspace communication
- Open source software released under licenses acceptable for commercial and non-commercial use
- Allows implementing narrow-purpose virtual file systems as ordinary apps
- Supports supplementary capabilities like extended attributes and advanced locking
macFUSE makes it straightforward for developers to create virtual file systems tailored for specific use cases. For end users, it expands macOS's file system extensibility in a secure, robust way. Common examples of user file systems built on macFUSE include encrypted volumes, archive mounters, cloud storage adapters, and network file shares.
Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X, Ceph, Paragon ExtFS, Tuxera NTFS for Mac, Mirvago NTFS Mac Mounter, BeeGFS, Mounty for NTFS, Lustre, macFUSE, iNTFS, Fuse4X, NTFS Mounter are some alternatives to MacFUSE.