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MountMateControl external drives from the menu bar.

Mount, unmount, and check available storage without opening Disk Utility or Terminal.

Download for macOSView on GitHub

v6.3 · 4.6 MB · macOS 13+ · Oct 23, 2026

or see all releases on GitHub

What's new in v6.3

  • Space Used on Network Shares (#76): Mounted SMB, AFP and NFS shares now show how much space is used and free, with the same usage ring as l…
  • Hide EFI Partitions: A new option in Settings → General → Display hides EFI system partitions from the disk list.

Full release notes

Free and open source. Requires macOS.

App preview

App preview - Dark

About

Why I built it

I keep an external hard drive connected to my Mac, but I do not need it running all the time. macOS may wake connected drives for background tasks, which can add noise and unnecessary wear.

I made MountMate to handle this one task quickly from the menu bar.

What it does

The main features, without extra setup.

Network shares

Auto-mount SMB and NFS shares at login, with support for existing AFP shares.

Keep Alive

Automatically reconnect shares and volumes when connection drops, after network changes, or on wake.

Sleep and wake

Unmount removable disks before the Mac sleeps, and automatically mount them again on wake.

Unmount when idle

Unmount an external volume after 1–60 minutes without read or write activity.

Shortcuts and hotkeys

Automate drive actions with Shortcuts, Siri, and global keyboard shortcuts.

Encrypted APFS

Unlock encrypted volumes directly from the menu bar, with optional Keychain password saving.

Mount read-only

Safely mount volumes in read-only mode to protect backups or inspect damaged drives.

Eject All External Disks

One button, an optional shortcut or a Shortcuts action unmounts and ejects every external disk so you can unplug them. Nothing is forced.

Almost-full warning

A mounted volume that reaches 80%, 90% or 95% used gets an "Almost full" badge, with an optional notification.

SMART warning

A disk whose SMART status says "Failing" gets a red warning next to its name, so you can back it up in time.

Block USB auto-mount

Stop selected disks from mounting when plugged in or at login.

Local and private

No tracking or data collection. Only connects to check for updates (Sparkle, can be disabled).

Who it may help

  • External HDD owners who want to prevent unwanted spin-ups.
  • Mac mini and Mac Studio desks with storage connected all day.
  • Anyone who wants a simpler alternative to Disk Utility.

Install MountMate

  1. 1Download the latest MountMate disk image.
  2. 2Drag MountMate into your Applications folder.
  3. 3Open it once. MountMate is now ready in your menu bar.

Install with Homebrew

Prefer the terminal? Run this command instead.

brew install mountmate

Opening MountMate for the first time

If macOS shows an unidentified developer warning, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, then choose Open Anyway.

Frequently asked questions

Is MountMate free?
Yes. MountMate is free and open source, and the code is on GitHub. If you find it useful, you can support the project on Ko-fi.
Which macOS versions does MountMate support?
MountMate requires macOS 13 Ventura or later. It is a native menu bar app, not an Electron app.
How do I install MountMate with Homebrew?
Run brew install mountmate in Terminal. You can also download the latest disk image from GitHub Releases and drag MountMate into your Applications folder.
Can MountMate write to NTFS drives?
No. MountMate does not add NTFS write support. It mounts and unmounts drives that macOS already recognizes, and it can mount a volume read-only, which is useful for inspecting an NTFS drive or protecting a backup.
Does MountMate need my administrator password?
Only to edit /etc/fstab, for custom mount points and for blocking a disk at startup. It does not run as root. Full Disk Access is optional and lets it read volumes in protected folders.
Does MountMate collect data or use the internet?
No tracking and no data collection. The only network use is checking for updates through Sparkle, which you can switch off in Settings.
How can I stop my external drive from waking up all the time?
Unmount it when it is idle (1–60 minutes without reads or writes) or when the Mac sleeps, and let MountMate mount it again on wake. You can also block selected USB disks from mounting automatically at plug-in or login.

Project links

MountMate is free and open source. You can view the code, report a problem, or support the project.

View on GitHubReport an issueSupport the project
Download for macOS

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