Mount an Android phone over MTP

gio mount exposes the phone's MTP storage as a gvfs location that terminal commands and file managers can both use.

LinuxphoneusbmtpMedium risk

Run `gio mount -li` to find the phone's URI (e.g. mtp://[usb:002,004]), then run `gio mount "mtp://[usb:002,004]"`; browse under /run/user/$UID/gvfs/.

01Command

Command

$ gio mount "mtp://[usb:002,004]"

02What it does

gvfs-mtp makes the phone appear in Nautilus automatically; the same URI works from scripts and the shell. Files are then under /run/user/1000/gvfs/mtp:host=..., where cp, rsync and ls operate normally. This avoids third-party tools like go-mtpfs or jmtpfs.

03Risk

RiskMedium risk

Requirementsgvfs-backends / gvfs-mtp package; phone connected via USB with MTP enabled

!Warning: MTP is a protocol, not a filesystem: transfers are slower than USB mass storage and some apps that expect a real block device (e.g. adb push is faster) behave differently. If the phone does not appear, unlock the screen and switch the USB mode from 'charging only'.

04Undo

Undo

$ gio mount -u "mtp://[usb:002,004]"

05Sources

gio(1) — GIO command line tool
Arch Linux · community · 2026-09-17
Evidence: gio trash/mount/list commands over gvfs URIs
libmtp — Media Transfer Protocol library
libmtp project · community · 2026-09-17
Evidence: underlying MTP implementation used by gvfs-mtp

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: Files & Folders