# How do I add an external hard drive for transmission

**URL:** <https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164>\
**Category:** Support and Troubleshooting\
**Created:** [April 19, 2023, 7:01am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164 "2023-04-19T07:01:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 14\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sumguy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/sumguy/32/3912_2.png) [@sumguy](https://community.umbrel.com/u/sumguy)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 7:01am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/1 "2023-04-19T07:01:39Z")

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I have umbrel running on a small ubuntu server with no problems, but I want to have plex and transmission use an external hard drive for media. I can’t work out how to add it into the system. I don’t want to install umbrel on the external drive I just want to link them to it as a volume via docker or something.

I had an idea of just mounting the external drive folders to the /umbrel/data/storage/downloads folder but not sure that will work or if its a good idea.

Is it possible to edit the docker-compose.yml and add extra drive links or change the volumes etc. I did try that but managed to make all apps stuck in a starting loop upon reload.

Cheers.

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**Author:** ![umbrelenjoyingman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f05b48/32.png) [@umbrelenjoyingman](https://community.umbrel.com/u/umbrelenjoyingman)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/2 "2023-05-01T02:13:44Z")

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**This is exactly what I want to do as well!** I want to be able to use File Browser / Plex etc with other hard drives.

I am using Ubuntu and have Umbrel installed on a main 1TB SSD, but would like to have either SATA or USB external storage accessible via Umbrel.

How can this easily be done please?

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**Author:** ![umbrelenjoyingman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f05b48/32.png) [@umbrelenjoyingman](https://community.umbrel.com/u/umbrelenjoyingman)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/3 "2023-05-01T02:29:01Z")

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As an update: I tried using symlinks to connect umbrel/data/storage to an external USB drive. I was able to get the symlink to show in the File Browser in Umbrel, but the location was not accessible. I am guessing something to do with container permissions?

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**Author:** ![sumguy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/sumguy/32/3912_2.png) [@sumguy](https://community.umbrel.com/u/sumguy)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/4 "2023-05-01T02:38:21Z")

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I managed to set the mount point of the drive into /home/${user}/umbrel/data/storage/downloads and set the automount to make sure it had user permissions. Which seemed to work for now. For the life of me I cannot work out how to edit docker-compose.yaml for an app and not have it crash the container or fail to load it.

These should help. [Mount drive in linux and set auto-mount at boot - Tech Knowledge Base - jaytaala.com Confluence](https://confluence.jaytaala.com/display/TKB/Mount+drive+in+linux+and+set+auto-mount+at+boot)

> <https://superuser.com/questions/175987/how-can-i-automatically-set-write-permissions-on-mounting-a-usb-drive-in-linux>

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**Author:** ![umbrelenjoyingman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f05b48/32.png) [@umbrelenjoyingman](https://community.umbrel.com/u/umbrelenjoyingman)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2023, 3:32am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/5 "2023-05-01T03:32:47Z")

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Thanks I tried this but failed to get it to mount properly (testing with USB hard drive, did not like it).

Any other options? I am mainly interested in using an external USB drives with the “File Browser” app. I wonder if there are some settings that can be applied to the docker-compose.yml to enable this?

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**Author:** ![sumguy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/sumguy/32/3912_2.png) [@sumguy](https://community.umbrel.com/u/sumguy)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/6 "2023-05-05T02:58:51Z")

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Yeah I can’t seem to get docker-compose.override.yml or editing docker-compose.yml to work for me. I’m pretty close to giving up and going back to OpenMediaVault and Portainer so I can I actually configure docker settings.

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**Author:** ![surfer108](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@surfer108](https://community.umbrel.com/u/surfer108)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/7 "2023-10-25T18:11:33Z")

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I have been struggling with this for quite a while. Tried a few things but never went to hard at it. Today I decided to make it work and finally it is! I have a USB drive mounted which I have configured to work with Plex and Radarr. While all apps see the drive, they take additional configuration to be able to read/write so you have to repeat parts of the guide for each app you want to use the external storage.

Obviously, this is intended for Umbrel on Ubuntu - I have a PI as well but haven’t tried to figure it out there. I sued exFat as this drive goes to Windows, Mac and Linux machines - can’t comment on it working with other file formats.

Hope it helps! I’ll be adding this to my blog with prettier markup and such - wanted to get it here first but I will post the link when it is up. BLOG LINK IS HERE:

> **[Just step away from Big Tech](https://lifeonbtc.substack.com/p/just-step-away-from-big-tech)**
>
> You can be self-sovereign with just a little effort.

**Integrating an External exFAT Drive with Umbrel (umbrelOS 0.5.4) on Ubuntu within Docker**

**Pre-requisites:**

- An external drive formatted in exFAT.
- An Ubuntu system with umbrelOS 0.5.4 installed via Docker.
- A Windows machine with Windows Terminal installed.
- Umbrel’s home directory is on a separate partition from the Ubuntu installation.

**Step-by-Step Guide:**

**Step 1: SSH Access to Your Umbrel:**

1. **SSH into Your Umbrel:**

- To access your Umbrel, SSH into your Ubuntu system running Umbrel using the following command in Windows Terminal:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `ssh username@umbrel.local`Replace `username` with your Ubuntu username and `umbrel` with the name of your Umbrel server. For example, if your Umbrel server is named “casa,” use:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `ssh username@casa.local`

**Step 2: Initial Setup:**

1. **Install exFAT Tools:**

- Before connecting your exFAT external drive, install the required exFAT tools by running the following command:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo apt-get install exfatprogs`This ensures that your system has the necessary tools to support the exFAT filesystem.

**Step 3: Mounting and Permissions:**

1. **Identify the Device Identifier or Label of Your External Drive:**

- Before proceeding with mounting, you need to identify the actual device identifier or label of your external drive. You can do this by running the following command:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo blkid`This command will display a list of block devices along with their labels, UUIDs, and other information. Look for your external drive in the list and note down its device identifier or label.For example, it might appear as `/dev/sdc1` or have a label like `MyExternalDrive`. You will use this identifier or label in the subsequent steps when mounting the drive.

2. **Unmount the Automatically Mounted Drive (If Necessary):**

- If the exFAT drive has been automatically mounted and you wish to use a different mount point, unmount it first. Replace `/path/to/automount` with the actual automatically mounted path found in the previous step:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo umount /path/to/automount`Ensure that the drive is unmounted successfully.

2. **Mount the exFAT Drive to the Desired Path (e.g., /umbrelstorage):**

- Create a directory where you want to mount the external drive. In this guide, we’ll use `/umbrelstorage` as the default example:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo mkdir /umbrelstorage`

- Now, mount the exFAT external drive to the `/umbrelstorage` directory. Replace `/dev/your-drive-label` with the label or device identifier of your external drive:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo mount -t exfat /dev/your-drive-label /umbrelstorage`Be cautious about using `/storage` as a mount point, as it may conflict with existing Umbrel configurations.

- Ensure that the mounted directory has appropriate permissions by making it world-writable (adjust as needed for security):

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo chmod -R 777 /umbrelstorage`

**Step 4: Persisting the Mount Point:**

1. **Edit the /etc/fstab File for Automatic Mounting on Boot:**

- Open the `/etc/fstab` file for editing:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo nano /etc/fstab`

- Add the following line to the `/etc/fstab` file, replacing `your-drive-label` with the label or device identifier of your external drive:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `/dev/your-drive-label /umbrelstorage exfat defaults,uid=1000,gid=1000 0 0`

- Save your changes and exit the text editor.

1. **Reboot Your Ubuntu System:**

- To ensure that the external drive is automatically mounted on startup, reboot your Ubuntu system:

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo reboot`

**Step 5: Using the Mounted Drive with an Umbrel App (e.g., Plex):**

1. **Choose the Umbrel App:**

- Decide which Umbrel app (e.g., Plex) you want to configure to use the mounted drive. In this example, we’ll use Plex.

1. **Stop the App Container:**

- Stop an app container in Umbrel using the following convention. Replace `plex` with the name of the app you want to stop (e.g., `sonarr`, `lidarr`, etc.):

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `cd ~/umbrel/scripts sudo ./app stop plex`

2. **Edit the Docker Compose File:**

- To edit the Docker Compose file, use the `sudo` command since system-level changes are required. The Docker Compose file for each Umbrel app is located under the path `~/umbrel/app-data/"appname"`. For example, if you are configuring Plex, the path would be `~/umbrel/app-data/plex`.

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `sudo nano ~/umbrel/app-data/plex/docker-compose.yml`

2. **Modify the Docker Compose File:**

- Within the Docker Compose file, locate the volume entry for the app’s configuration and data. Add a new volume mapping for the external drive. Ensure that it includes the appropriate permissions. Here’s an example of what the volume entry might look like:

```auto
yamlCopy code

```

1. 
  - `volumes: - /umbrelstorage:/umbrelstorage:rw`This example mounts the external drive to the same path within Plex’s container with read and write permissions.

2. **Save Changes and Exit Nano (for Beginners):**

- To save changes in Nano, follow these steps:a. Press `Ctrl` + `O` (Control key and the letter ‘O’) to write the file.b. You’ll be prompted to confirm the file name. Press `Enter` to confirm and save the changes.
- To exit Nano, follow these steps:a. Press `Ctrl` + `X` (Control key and the letter ‘X’).b. Nano will ask if you want to save changes. If you’ve already saved your changes in step 5a, you can press `Enter` to confirm and exit Nano.

1. **Start the App Container:**

- After making the necessary changes to the Docker Compose file and saving them, start the app container using the following command (replace `plex` with the app’s name):

```auto
bashCopy code

```

1. 
  - `cd ~/umbrel/scripts sudo ./app start plex`

With these updated instructions, you should be able to configure Plex (or any other Umbrel app) to use the mounted external drive within your Umbrel setup while ensuring proper permissions with `sudo` for starting or stopping apps and Umbrel.

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**Author:** ![smolgrrr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/smolgrrr/32/2825_2.png) [@smolgrrr](https://community.umbrel.com/u/smolgrrr)\
**Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/8 "2023-10-26T01:26:04Z")

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Great guide! Thanks for sharing

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**Author:** ![ItsMeNJC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@ItsMeNJC](https://community.umbrel.com/u/ItsMeNJC)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/9 "2024-04-04T12:30:16Z")

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You could just use CasaOS for this until Umbrel adopt this very basic feature (as the extensive guide here was clearly written for, as they haven’t changed one of the commands from casa.local to umbrel.local).

I had Umbrel installed across multiple Pi’s and was struggling to get them to do what I needed. 2TB or one SSD is not ideal for anyone who wants to use Umbrel for what they advertise it can do. I didn’t realise (when I adopted Umbrel initially) that this isn’t a new product, loads of people have made an all in one home lab. CasaOS is the closest I find to the Umbrel experience. The UI is clean and the app store is pretty decent, plus you can add more app repositories in to allow access to more apps or different versions.

And you can mount as many drives are your little or big server will allow.

I have a Pi 5 running with a 2TB SSD attached via PCIe and two 2TB 3.5" inch SATA drives attached via USB 3.

I have a second one setup for media purposes (Plex/ Jellyfin).

It runs off a high-speed micro SD that takes advantage of the Pi 5’s faster micro SD reader for the storage I use multiple SATA HDD’s and it runs perfectly fine for streaming content locally.

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**Author:** ![dcbenji](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.umbrel.com/dcbenji/32/5506_2.png) [@dcbenji](https://community.umbrel.com/u/dcbenji)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/10 "2024-04-18T02:09:26Z")

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Was a little stunned that Umbrel comes across as very user friendly and seems like they want users to use the app who spend very little time in terminal, but when it comes to using an external drive I have to go through all of THIS. 😵‍💫 Thanks for the advice, going to try CasaOS now!

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**Author:** ![rukasu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rukasu](https://community.umbrel.com/u/rukasu)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 11:40pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/12 "2024-05-01T23:40:24Z")

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I know it’s a lot to ask, but could you update the guide to version 1.1.1?

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**Author:** ![surfer108](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@surfer108](https://community.umbrel.com/u/surfer108)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/13 "2024-05-02T17:59:39Z")

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FYI - I live in Portugal so casa.local was just house not because of CasaOS.

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**Author:** ![surfer108](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@surfer108](https://community.umbrel.com/u/surfer108)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/14 "2024-05-02T18:05:05Z")

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Hi - I have chosen to opt out of the upgrade as almost all my apps are updated out of band (change source in the docker yaml file) and using mapped drives via the same methods above. Any migration I attempt will most likely fail as the source configurations will be out of sync with what is expected. Should I try and find a path and be successful I will update. IMHO Umbrel 1.\* ecosystem is now even more closed and solutions like mine will be more difficult to implement. I have moved many containers to Unraid at this point anyways.

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**Author:** ![alexmadg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@alexmadg](https://community.umbrel.com/u/alexmadg)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://community.umbrel.com/t/how-do-i-add-an-external-hard-drive-for-transmission/12164/15 "2024-11-23T22:49:40Z")

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if anyone hits this issue i added the following to /etc/fstab, had to install a pakage for cifs i think.

//[STORAGE\_PATH/media /home/umbrel/umbrel/data/storage/remote cifs credentials=/root/.smbcredentials,uid=1000,gid=1000,vers=3.0 0 0,rw, netdev,x-systemd.automount 0 0

obs you need to create the credentials file and chmod 600. and replace the paths. I think I had to add the drive mount to the docker-compos for file-browser but sonarr just picked it up as it was already making storage avalible.

Hoefully this saves someone else a few hours, if you get stuck ask chat gpt…