How to Fix VMware Shared Folder Issue on Ubuntu VM (Windows to Ubuntu 24.04 / 22.04)

In this tutorial, we’ll troubleshoot the issue of VMware shared folders not mounting automatically on Ubuntu virtual machines.

I’ll demonstrate this on an Ubuntu 24.04 VM running on a Windows 11 host. But the solution works on any version of Ubuntu — desktop or server — regardless of which operating system you’re using for VMware Workstation (Windows, Linux, etc.).

Step 1: Enable Shared Folder in VMware Workstation

We'll start by sharing a folder from the host machine to the Ubuntu virtual machine.

Right-click the Ubuntu VM and select "Settings."
In the Settings window, go to the "Options" tab and select "Shared Folders."
Set the folder sharing option to "Always enabled."
Click "Add" to choose the folder you want to share from the host machine.
Make sure the "Enable this share" checkbox is selected.

vmware workstation shared folder on Ubuntu vm

Step 2: Reboot the Ubuntu Virtual Machine

After enabling the shared folder, reboot your virtual machine. This will help us determine whether the shared folder is mounted automatically at startup.

Step 3: Check if the Shared Folder Gets Mounted Automatically

After the reboot, go to your virtual machine and check the /mnt/hgfs/ directory to see if the shared folder is available.

If it’s not there, follow the instructions in Step 4 to mount the shared folder automatically.

Step 4: Fix Automatic Mounting Using /etc/fstab

First, make sure that VMware Tools is installed. On Ubuntu Server, run the following command:

sudo apt install open-vm-tools

On Ubuntu Desktop, run the following command:

sudo apt install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

Next, run the vmware-hgfsclient * command. It should display the list of shared folders you have enabled:

vmware-hgfsclient *

Back up /etc/fstab first to avoid problems if something goes wrong:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak

Next, open /etc/fstab in a text editor and add the following line at the end of the file:

vmhgfs-fuse /mnt/hgfs  fuse  defaults,allow_other,_netdev  0   0

Make sure there are no syntax errors, then save the file and reboot the virtual machine.

After rebooting, go to the /mnt/hgfs/ directory — you should see all your shared folders there.