Simple NTFS read/write guide using anylinuxfs on MacOS

NTFS read write for dummies.md

Prerequisite: Install anylinuxfs Package: https://github.com/nohajc/anylinuxfs?tab=readme-ov-file#ntfs

This is a very simple guide for non-techies. Here's how to use this package to read and write NTFS on Mac.

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Step 1: Connect and Eject Your Drive ⏏️

First, plug your NTFS external drive into your Mac.

macOS will likely try to automatically mount it in read-only mode. To let anylinuxfs take control, you must first eject the drive from Finder. Simply click the eject icon next to the drive's name in the sidebar. The drive should disappear from Finder, but remain physically connected.

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Step 2: Find the Drive's Identifier

Now, open the Terminal app. To find the correct identifier for your drive, run the following command:

sudo anylinuxfs list -m

This will list all connected storage devices. Look through the list to find your NTFS external drive (you can usually identify it by its name or size) and copy its identifier, which will look something like disk2s1 or disk3s2.

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Step 3: Mount the Drive for Read & Write Access ✍️

With the identifier copied, run the main command to mount the drive. Replace [your_disk_identifier] with the identifier you found in the previous step.

sudo anylinuxfs [your_disk_identifier]

After you run the command, two things will happen automatically:

1. A new Finder window will pop up, showing the contents of your drive.
2. Your drive will appear under "Locations" in the Finder sidebar, often named localhost.

You now have full read and write access to your NTFS drive directly from Finder.

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Step 4: Safely Unmount When Finished

When you're done working with your files, it's crucial to unmount the drive safely to prevent data loss.

Simply eject it as you would any other drive on a Mac: click the eject icon next to localhost in the Finder sidebar. Once it disappears, you can safely unplug the physical drive.

Hi, the author of anylinuxfs here. :)
Firstly, I’m happy you find my tool useful. Secondly, you can skip the eject step if you use anylinuxfs with the -r (remount) flag. It will automatically use diskutil unmount to safely release your drive first.