IT Administrator Guide (MDM)

Deployment via Mobile Device Management (MDM)

With Network Share Mounter, you can centrally manage shares, enforce application settings, and distribute authentication setups via a standard macOS configuration profile.

Preference Domain: de.fau.rrze.NetworkShareMounter

To simplify the configuration of all preference keys - without having to manually create or edit a custom configuration profile in XML format - we provide two helpful files: a JSON manifest schema for Jamf Pro and a manifest for the iMazing Profile Editor.

For easy distribution of the app via AutoPKG, we also provide corresponding recipes at de.fau.rrze.pkg.networkShareMounter.

1. The `managedNetworkShares` Array

The core of the payload is the managedNetworkShares array. Here you define the shares you want to mount for your users.

Note: You can use the variable %USERNAME% in paths, which will be automatically replaced by the macOS login name of the current user.

<key>managedNetworkShares</key>
<array>
    <dict>
        <key>networkShare</key>
        <string>smb://fileserver.company.local/global</string>
        <key>authType</key>
        <string>krb</string>
    </dict>
    <dict>
        <key>networkShare</key>
        <string>smb://home.company.local/%USERNAME%</string>
        <key>authType</key>
        <string>password</string>
        <!-- NEW in V4: Optionally define the local mount point name centrally -->
        <key>mountPoint</key>
        <string>Global-Company-Data</string>
    </dict>
</array>

2. Available Configuration Keys

Below is a comprehensive list of all available MDM keys you can distribute to configure the app’s behavior.

Key	Type	Default	Description
`managedNetworkShares`	Array of Dict		Array containing dictionaries for each share (requires `networkShare` and `authType`, optional `mountPoint` and `username`).
`autostart`	Boolean	`false`	If `true`, the app launches automatically upon user login.
`canChangeAutostart`	Boolean	`true`	If `false`, prevents the user from toggling the autostart option in the settings.
`canQuit`	Boolean	`true`	If `true`, the user is allowed to quit the app via the menu bar.
`unmountOnExit`	Boolean	`true`	If `true`, managed shares are automatically unmounted when the app is quit.
`location`	String	-	⚠️ Path where network shares will be mounted. It is highly recommended to leave this empty to use the default.
`kerberosRealm`	String	-	Kerberos/AD domain for user authentication (e.g., `EXAMPLE.COM`). Enables automatic AD/Kerberos ticket management.
`helpURL`	String	-	URL to your organization’s internal helpdesk or IT documentation.
`showMountsInMenu`	Boolean	`true`	Lists mounted/unmounted shares directly in the menu bar for quick access.
`usernameOverride`	String	-	Overrides the `%USERNAME%` variable. Useful if the local Mac username differs from the AD/network username.

Note: The old networkShares array from version 2 is deprecated but remains supported for backward compatibility.

You have granular control over what the user sees in the menu bar. Use the following string keys and set their value to either hidden (removes the item completely) or disabled (grays out the item). If a key is not defined, the menu item is displayed normally.

menuConnectShares
menuDisconnectShares
menuShowSharesMountDir
menuShowShares
menuSettings
menuCheckUpdates
menuAbout

Example payload to hide settings and updates:

<key>menuSettings</key>
<string>hidden</string>
<key>menuCheckUpdates</key>
<string>hidden</string>

4. Software Update Management (Sparkle)

Network Share Mounter uses the Sparkle framework for automatic updates. In enterprise environments, you typically want to disable this to manage updates via your MDM.

Key	Type	Default	Description
`enableAutoUpdater`	Boolean	`true`	Main switch for the update framework. Set to `false` to completely disable automatic updates.
`SUEnableAutomaticChecks`	Boolean	`true`	If `enableAutoUpdater` is true, this controls whether the app actively checks for updates.
`SUAutomaticallyUpdate`	Boolean	`true`	If true, updates are downloaded and installed automatically without user confirmation.

5. Autostart & Background Execution

Triggering the Initial Autostart
Due to macOS security design, an app must be launched at least once before its autostart routine can take over. To ensure a completely silent deployment without user interaction, you can configure your MDM (e.g., Jamf Pro) to launch the app once immediately after installation or during the first login.

Example Jamf Policy:

Trigger: Login
Frequency: Once per user per computer
Command: sudo -u $(stat -f%Su /dev/console) open -a "/Applications/Network Share Mounter.app"

Preventing Users from Disabling Autostart (macOS 13+)
macOS 13 (Ventura) and newer allows users to freely disable background applications via System Settings. To enforce the autostart and prevent users from turning off Network Share Mounter, you should deploy a Managed Login Items payload alongside your configuration profile:

Rule Type: Bundle Identifier
Rule Value: de.fau.rrze.NetworkShareMounter
Rule Comment: Prevent disabling Network Share Mounter autostart

6. Control via UNIX Signals

Network Share Mounter can be controlled via UNIX signals. This allows all configured shares to be specifically mounted or unmounted via a script, without using the app interface. This is particularly useful for providing tasks in a Self Service Portal for users to “repair” network drives.

Available Signals

Signal	Action
`SIGUSR1`	Unmount all shares
`SIGUSR2`	Mount all shares

Example:

# Unmount all shares
kill -SIGUSR1 <PID>

# Mount all shares
kill -SIGUSR2 <PID>

Note: <PID> is the process ID of the running Network Share Mounter.

7. Known MDM Issues

Jamf Pro: Inventory Update (recon) gets stuck
If you use the default configuration and mount shares directly inside the user’s home directory (e.g., ~/Network shares), the Jamf Pro inventory collection (recon) might hang indefinitely. This happens because Jamf attempts to calculate the storage size of the entire home directory, effectively scanning all connected network shares.

Solution: Go to Settings > Computer Management - Management Framework > Inventory Collection in Jamf Pro and disable the option Include home directory sizes. Alternatively, modify the default mount path for the app via your MDM profile.

If you still rely on the old Network Share Mounter (v3, v2, Legacy), you can find the documentation in our repository.