File Connector | How to Connect to a Remote or Network File System

MuleSoft File Connector is designed to work with local file systems on the host that mule is running on. File connector does not support connecting to remote file systems or network file systems. This includes read/write on shared network drives, mounted external drives etc.

If you try to handle remote or network file systems, you may see access errors something like as follows, which are expected.
Examples

Message : Exception was found creating directory 'X:\test'
...
org.mule.runtime.api.exception.MuleRuntimeException: Directory 'X:\test' could not be created

OR

Message : Could not delete file '/test/sample.xml' because access was denied by the operating system.

While the file connector does not support this functionality, there are several community written connectors that support network file connectivity.

Following are alternatives that could be considered to achieve this requirement.

• SAMBA Connector for Mule 3
• SMB Connector for Mule 3
• SMB Connector for Mule 4
• MOVEiT Transfer for Mule 4

These connectors are written by MuleSoft Partners or Community Developers. Support for these connectors comes under the Community Program. Please be sure to review the Connectors Support Policy for Community Connectors prior to deciding to use one of these.

If preference is to maintain connectors that are MuleSoft Developed and Supported, please consider designing your integration to use FTP, SFTP or FTPS* connectors for remote file transfer purposes.

*FTPS Connector is a premium connector which requires extra license.