I've run the same WebDAV server across three operating systems for six months. Here's what each OS does well, where each breaks, and which one I ended up using as my daily driver.
TL;DR
If you want it to "just work" with no setup, macOS Finder wins. If you want full control over every parameter and are willing to type commands, Linux GVFS + gvfs-dav is the most powerful. If you're on Windows and want native drive letters, a dedicated WebDAV client (ScsDriver, RaiDrive) is the only way to get reliable behavior — the built-in net use is half-broken on modern Windows.
The setup
- Server: Synology DS220+ at home, WebDAV over HTTPS port 5006, Basic Auth
- Files: mix of small markdown files (1-10 KB) and large media files (100 MB - 4 GB)
- Tested over LAN only, on each OS as a fresh install (or factory-reset VM)
macOS Finder: zero setup, decent behavior
Open Finder → Go → Connect to Server → https://your-nas:5006 → enter credentials. Done. The WebDAV share shows up under "Locations" in the sidebar and mounts as a volume.
What works:
- Connection setup with no terminal
- Credentials stored in Keychain (good)
- Volume mounts as a real macOS volume (good for Spotlight, Quick Look, file dialogs)
- HTTPS + self-signed cert: prompts once, "always trust" persists
- Handles Unicode filenames correctly
What's annoying:
- macOS sometimes drops the connection after sleep/wake. You have to unmount and reconnect. Annoying if you have a long file copy going.
- Performance is capped around 70 MB/s on LAN. Slower than Linux or Windows native clients.
- macOS caches negative lookups aggressively. If you create a file on another device, macOS may not see it for 30-60 seconds.
Best for: macOS users who want minimum setup and accept some quirks.
Linux GVFS: most powerful, needs the most setup
Linux desktops (GNOME, KDE) ship GVFS, which has a WebDAV backend (gvfs-dav or gvfs-backend-dav). On KDE Plasma, KIO provides equivalent WebDAV support.
Setup (Ubuntu 22.04):
sudo apt install gvfs-backends
# or for KDE
sudo apt install kio-extras
Then in Files (Nautilus) or Dolphin: davs://user@your-nas:5006/ in the address bar.
What works:
- Best performance: 110 MB/s sustained read on LAN, beating both macOS and Windows
- Full POSIX behavior — every CLI tool (
ls,find,rsync,tar) just works - Configurable timeouts via
~/.config/gvfs.conffor power users - Native integration with file dialogs (GTK apps see the mount, KDE apps see the mount)
- Honors
~/.netrcfor credentials
What's annoying:
- First-time setup requires terminal + package install + understanding GVFS internals
- GNOME Files sometimes loses the mount after a screen lock. KDE Plasma is more stable.
- No equivalent of "drive letters" — but
/run/user/$UID/gvfs/mounts work for scripts
Best for: Linux power users who want maximum control. Skip if you want zero terminal.
Windows: built-in is broken, third-party wins
Windows has two built-in ways to mount WebDAV:
-
Map Network Drive (
net use) — uses the WebClient service - Add Network Location — same WebClient backend
Both work in theory. In practice:
What's broken:
- WebClient service is unreliable on Windows 10/11: it loses the connection on sleep/wake, fails to reconnect, and sometimes won't accept HTTPS connections with self-signed certs at all.
-
net use Z: \your-nas@5006\pathrequires the URL in UNC-style (\server@port\path), which most users can't figure out. - No credential persistence: each new Explorer window asks for the password again (unless you check "remember", which is hidden behind a small link).
- Throughput capped: native WebClient tops out around 30 MB/s on LAN because of how it batches requests.
- mac-style negative caching: same problem as macOS, but worse. Stale directory listings for 5+ minutes.
What actually works on Windows: a third-party native client. ScsDriver and RaiDrive both mount WebDAV as a true local drive letter with sustained 100+ MB/s throughput, automatic reconnect, and proper credential storage in Windows Credential Manager.
Best for: Windows users who need real performance and reliability. Don't bother with built-in.
Comparison table
| Feature | macOS Finder | Linux GVFS | Windows built-in | Windows native client |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setup effort | None | Medium | Medium | Low |
| Throughput (LAN) | 70 MB/s | 110 MB/s | 30 MB/s | 100 MB/s |
| Sleep/wake reconnect | Manual | Mostly auto | Often fails | Auto |
| Credential storage | Keychain | netrc / keyring | Poor | Credential Manager |
| POSIX tools | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Drive letter | No | No | Yes (broken) | Yes |
| Best for | Casual macOS users | Linux power users | Nobody | Windows daily driver |
What I use
My primary machine is a Windows desktop (for gaming and dev). ScsDriver for the daily WebDAV mounts — it's $9.99 lifetime, no nag screen, and reconnects after sleep.
For traveling with a MacBook Air, I just use Finder. The 70 MB/s is fine for hotel WiFi (which tops out around 20 MB/s anyway).
For my Linux server (homelab), GVFS is what I use when I'm at the keyboard. For headless file ops, it's cadaver or curl.
Final thoughts
WebDAV is one of the few protocols that genuinely works across all three OSes — the protocol is the same, the security model is the same, the failure modes are similar. The differences are in the OS-level integration: who mounts it, how it's cached, how credentials are stored. Pick the OS you're most comfortable with and the client (or built-in) that gives you the least friction.
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