I keep my git repos on a NAS. For a long time I thought I had to clone them to my laptop to actually work on them. Then I tried mounting the NAS as a drive letter with ScsDriver and pointing git at the mount.
It works. And it's better than cloning in three specific ways.
The setup
- NAS with SSH enabled (Synology DSM, TrueNAS, or a Linux box with sshd)
- ScsDriver on the desktop, mount via SFTP to the NAS
- Drive letter
R:→/home/yourname/repos/ -
git -C R:\project statusworks as if the repo were local
That's it. No git server, no Gitea, no GitLab CE install. Just SSH + ScsDriver.
Why this works for solo devs
If you're a solo developer (or a 2-person team), the typical GitHub/GoGit workflow is overkill:
- Push to GitHub: 30 seconds (assuming good wifi)
- PR review: requires GitHub account, browser, etc.
- Just to share code with yourself across two machines
Mounting the NAS via SFTP and pointing git at it gives you:
-
git status/git commit/git logwork on the mount, no special config - No "did I push to GitHub?" anxiety — the repo IS the NAS
-
git diffworks against the mount -
git worktree addworks against the mount
The catch: SFTP has higher per-file latency than local disk. For a repo with 10,000 files, git status takes 8 seconds instead of 200 ms. For a small repo (< 1,000 files), the latency is invisible.
What I tested
| Operation | Local clone | SFTP mount via ScsDriver |
|---|---|---|
git status (1000 files) |
80 ms | 1.2 sec |
git status (10,000 files) |
200 ms | 8 sec |
git commit (10 files) |
100 ms | 600 ms |
git log --oneline -100 |
50 ms | 200 ms |
| Branch checkout | 1 sec | 1.5 sec |
| Editor open (VS Code) | instant | 2-3 sec first open |
The slowdowns are noticeable but bearable. For a single developer, the convenience of "the repo IS the NAS" wins.
When to use a real Git server
- More than 2 collaborators
- Need code review / PR workflow
- CI/CD pipeline needs to checkout
For these, set up Gitea on the NAS. It's free, ~5 minutes to install. But for solo work, the SFTP mount is faster to set up.
Why ScsDriver specifically (and not rclone / sshfs)
I tried three options for mounting:
- Windows built-in SFTP — there's no good native Windows SFTP. WinFsp + sshfs works but the setup is fiddly.
- rclone mount — works but uses FUSE, slower than ScsDriver's kernel driver.
- ScsDriver — kernel driver, $9.99/yr, just clicks "Add mount, SFTP, done".
ScsDriver is the lowest-friction option that doesn't add measurable latency.
What I'd change
The only annoyance: large git operations (rebase, large merges) are slow. Workaround is to clone locally for big operations, then push back. But for 95% of work, the mount is fine.
Reference
- ScsDriver: https://drive.scsoi.com/ (7-day trial, $9.99/yr)
- Gitea (when you outgrow SFTP mount): https://gitea.io/
If you're a solo developer keeping code on a NAS, skip the Git server step. Mount with ScsDriver, point git at the mount, ship code.
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