If you've installed Nextcloud and the desktop sync client feels like 2008 software, you're not alone. The sync-everything model breaks down fast: 50 GB photo libraries, large video files, anything that changes often.
Mounting Nextcloud as a local drive with WebDAV fixes most of this. The files stay on the server, your apps see them as a normal drive letter, and only the bytes you actually touch move over the network.
Here's what changed when I switched from the sync client to WebDAV mount.
Why I Stopped Using the Nextcloud Desktop Client
The official Nextcloud desktop app syncs files. That's its job. But sync means:
- First-time setup pulls your entire library down (hours for 100+ GB)
- Every file change triggers a sync roundtrip
- Conflicts when you edit the same file on two devices
- Disk space used 2x (server + local cache)
For my 350 GB Nextcloud archive of project files, photos, and home videos, the desktop client was unusable. Every restart re-synced. Conflicts fired weekly. The cache was eating 400 GB of my laptop SSD.
The real problem: sync is a 2010 mental model. The files don't need to be local. They need to look local to the apps I use.
What WebDAV Mount Does Differently
Mount the same Nextcloud server as a Windows drive letter (e.g. W:):
- Files stay on the server
- You see them all in File Explorer
- Opening a file streams it down with aggressive caching
- Saving writes back to the server
- Apps don't know the difference
I tested this with VS Code, Photoshop, DaVinci Resolve, and Audacity. All of them treated the mounted drive as a local disk. None crashed. None complained. None noticed.
The tool I use is ScsDriver — a Windows WebDAV mount client. There's also RaiDrive (free tier limited) and Mountain Duck (subscription, but cross-platform). ScsDriver's edge is mount reliability on Windows — it doesn't drop the drive letter when the network blips the way the built-in Windows WebDAV redirector does.
The Actual Speed Difference
This is where it gets interesting. Most people assume sync is faster than mount. It isn't.
| Operation | Nextcloud Sync Client | WebDAV Mount (ScsDriver) |
|---|---|---|
| First open of cold file (50 MB) | 8-12 sec (downloads whole file) | 1-2 sec (streams first chunk) |
| Open same file again | Instant (local cache) | 0.5 sec (cache hit) |
| Edit + save small file | 1-2 sec (sync roundtrip) | 0.3 sec (write-through) |
| Open 500 MB file | 30-60 sec (full download) | 3-5 sec (stream) |
| Save 500 MB file | 30-60 sec (full upload) | 5-8 sec (write) |
| Battery drain (idle, 200 GB library) | High (cache refresh) | Low (nothing to refresh) |
The desktop client is faster only on the second access to a file. Mount is faster on first access because it doesn't have to pull the whole file before you can start working.
What I Gave Up To Be Honest
Mount isn't strictly better. Things I lost:
- No automatic offline cache of everything. You can pin folders, but it's manual. If you open a file on the train without internet, it fails.
- No automatic photo upload from camera roll. The sync client has a nice "auto-upload from DCIM" feature. Mount doesn't.
- No selective sync UI in the System Tray. You control mount paths, not "which folders are local."
For my workflow (mostly office docs, code, some media editing) mount wins decisively. For a photographer who wants their full library on the laptop for offline culling, the sync client is still better.
The 20-Minute Setup
- Install Nextcloud (or use an existing instance)
- Install ScsDriver from https://drive.scsoi.com/
- Enter your WebDAV URL (e.g.
https://cloud.example.com/remote.php/dav/files/USERNAME/) - Set username + password (or app password)
- Pick a drive letter
- Done
The lifetime license is $5.50 (down from $9.99), with monthly at $1.50 and yearly at $5.50 if you want to test the workflow first. That's a one-time cost vs. recurring sync-tool subscriptions that charge $30-50/year for similar functionality.
When NOT To Switch
Mount isn't a magic upgrade for everyone. Skip it if:
- You need true offline-first (mount needs a connection)
- You have 1 TB+ of files you edit randomly (mount cache thrashes)
- You use macOS or Linux (those have native WebDAV; the advantage ScsDriver offers is really on Windows)
- You rely on the sync client's auto-upload features
For the rest of us — devs, writers, designers, anyone who keeps their working set under 50 GB — mount is faster, lighter on battery, and simpler. The desktop client is fighting a battle the file system already won.
Give it a weekend. You can always go back to sync.
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