Mount an encrypted home folder

See also: mount, Instance

When you create the primary instance using multipass start or multipass shell without additional arguments, Multipass automatically mounts your home directory into it.

On Linux, if your local home folder is encrypted using fscrypt, snap confinement prevents you from accessing its contents from a Multipass mount due the peculiar directory structure (/home/.ecryptfs/<user>/.Private/). This also applies to the primary instance, where the home folder is mounted automatically.

A workaround is mounting the entire /home folder into the instance, using the command:

multipass mount /home primary

By doing so, the home folder’s contents will be mounted correctly.


Errors or typos? Topics missing? Hard to read? Let us know or open an issue on GitHub.


Contributors: @ricab, @gzanchi