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+date = 2024-09-26T19:27:54+02:00
+title = "Pretty names for mount points in /etc/fstab"
+
+[taxonomies]
+tags = ["TIL"]
+
+[extra]
+related = []
++++
+
+The file manager I'm using on my Plasma 6 system,
+[Dolphin](https://invent.kde.org/system/dolphin), has built-in support for
+remote folders via the [KIO](https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kio) framework.
+Where before I was relying on [sshfs](https://github.com/libfuse/sshfs) mount
+points in `/etc/fstab`, I decided to try out the Dolphin way and set up my
+remote devices using its `sftp` backend.
+
+After a couple of days now I can say that this works beautifully... until you
+want to access the remote device on something that does not interface with KIO.
+This is especially important for me (and
+[others](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/plasma-desktop/-/issues/71#note_640907))
+since I want to be able to browse networked filesystems via my terminal and have
+the ability to directly open a terminal in that location through Dolphin,
+something which is not possible with the KIO backend.
+
+So in the end I went back to mount points in `/etc/fstab`. One small problem
+remained, however, and that was the way those mount points were displayed
+within Dolphin. There seemed to be no way to customize a mount point's name or
+icon, leading to an annoyingly long `/home/wolf/net/hosts/coleridge` entry in
+the *Devices* section of Dolphin's places panel.
+
+I couldn't find any help in `fstab(5)`, and indeed I had never heard of a way
+to give a mount point a "pretty name". However, after a bit of searching, I
+found people offhandedly mentioning the `x-gvfs-name` option. Some more
+searching revealed that nobody seems to care about documenting these features,
+but I was finally able to find an authoritative source within [gvfs
+itself](https://github.com/GNOME/gvfs/blob/989d746ed771fc5e5bf134677cf8d571170b262e/monitor/udisks2/what-is-shown.txt#L29-L35).
+
+Happily there's not only `x-gvfs-name` but also support for custom icons
+through `x-gvfs-icon`. So, if you want your file manager to display a pretty
+name and icon for one of your mount points, simply add the following to the
+relevant entry in `/etc/fstab`:
+
+```
+x-gvfs-name=My%20Device,x-gvfs-icon=network-server
+```
+
+This should be possible at least on GNOME and KDE desktops. I imagine a bunch
+of other environments and programs silently support this behaviour as well.
+
+{{ img(path="places.png", format="png", alt="A screenshot of Dolphin, KDE's
+file manager, showing the user's home directory with the places panel on the
+left side containing various categorized entries. The entries below the Devices
+category read flood, demeter, coleridge, and OnePlus 12, each with its own
+pretty name and relevant icon.", caption="Dolphin displaying pretty names and
+icons in the *Devices* category") }}
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