Pier WebDAV, SFTP and NFS as a local Windows drive
Your cloud and your servers, as drive letters.
Pier is a Windows service that shows a cloud folder or a Linux server as a drive letter: Nextcloud, ownCloud and any WebDAV server, SFTP over SSH, NFS exports. Explorer, Office and every other program see an ordinary disk. A block cache on the local disk keeps large files fast, uploads continue where they stopped, and a broken connection is re-dialled on its own.
Direct link: Pier-0.1.0.zip (64-bit) · Release notes · WinFsp
Pier by iMobile is a Windows 10/11 application that mounts remote storage (WebDAV incl. Nextcloud, SFTP, NFSv3) as a local drive letter using the WinFsp file-system driver. It runs as a system service with a tray icon, caches file blocks on the local disk, resumes interrupted uploads and downloads, works offline from the cache, validates a server for write restrictions before use, and updates itself. Free edition: 5 drives with an ad banner. Pro edition: unlimited drives, no ads, $19 per year.
Built for slow links and big files
Everything a network drive needs to feel local.
A real drive letter
Pier uses the WinFsp file-system driver, so the remote folder is a proper disk: Explorer, Office, backup tools and scripts work on it as on any local drive — drag-and-drop, open, save, rename.
Block cache on your disk
Files are fetched in blocks and kept in a cache you size yourself. Reading a video or a large archive twice does not download it twice, and only the touched parts of a file are transferred.
Resume, never restart
An upload or download that breaks continues from the last block once the connection is back. Nextcloud chunked uploads, HTTP Range and SFTP offsets are used where the server supports them.
Reconnects by itself
Wi-Fi roaming, a VPN drop or a sleeping laptop: Pier notices the network change, re-dials with back-off and finishes the queued writes. Explorer keeps the drive.
Offline mode
Switch a drive to offline and keep working from the cache; changes are journaled and pushed to the server when you go back online.
Checks the server first
Before the first mount Pier probes the server: can it write, rename, keep timestamps, is the file system case-sensitive, does it resume uploads. Problems show up as a report, not as a mysterious error later.
Three protocols, one drive
Each backend uses what its protocol does best.
WebDAV — Nextcloud, ownCloud, Synology, Apache
HTTPS through WinHTTP with the system proxy, Range requests, Nextcloud chunked uploads for large files, ETag validation and PROPPATCH timestamps.
SFTP — any SSH server
Password or key authentication: OpenSSH keys (Ed25519, ECDSA, RSA) with a passphrase, resumable uploads via file offsets, a connection pool for parallel transfers.
NFSv3 — Linux and NAS exports
A built-in NFSv3 client (no Windows NFS feature needed), with the UID/GID mapping configured per drive.
How it works
Four steps from a server address to a drive letter.
- 1
Add a drive
Pick the protocol, enter the server, the folder and the credentials, choose a letter.
- 2
Check
Pier connects, tests writes and renames, measures what the server can do and saves the result.
- 3
Mount
The Pier service mounts the letter for every user on the machine and keeps it across reboots.
- 4
Work
Open, copy, edit. The cache, the transfer queue and the reconnects do their job in the background; the tray icon shows the state.
Screenshots
The settings window and the drive editor.
Free vs Pro
Start free. Pro lifts the drive limit and removes the ads.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Mounted drives | up to 5 | Unlimited |
| WebDAV, SFTP, NFS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cache, resume, offline mode | ✓ | ✓ |
| Runs as a service, auto-update | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ad banner | ✓ | ✗ |
| Price | Free | $19 per year |
| Download | Buy Pro — $19/year |
The free edition stays free: no trial, no expiry. Pro is a yearly subscription bought in your iMobile account; regional prices are shown at checkout.
Setup & requirements
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), Windows Server 2019 and newer. Administrator rights for the installation only.
- Install WinFsp — the open-source file-system driver Pier builds on (winfsp.dev). One installer, no reboot.
- Install Pier — unpack the archive, run Pier.exe and confirm the service installation when asked. The tray icon appears.
- Add a drive — Open Pier from the tray, press Add, fill in the server and press Check. The report lists what the server supports.
- Use it — the drive letter is there after the first mount, at every start of Windows, for every user.
Pier talks only to the servers you configure. Credentials are stored encrypted on the machine (DPAPI); the account server is contacted only for licensing, ads and updates.
Pier for teams on Nextcloud, NAS boxes and Linux servers
Windows has no built-in way to mount SFTP or NFS, and its WebDAV client is slow and fragile. Pier replaces mapped-drive scripts, sync clients that copy everything and third-party tools priced per user.
Nextcloud without the sync client
Mount the whole Nextcloud tree instead of syncing gigabytes to every laptop. Chunked uploads, ETags and Range requests are supported the way Nextcloud expects.
Linux servers over SSH
Any host with sshd becomes a drive — no Samba, no extra ports, key authentication with the keys you already have in ~/.ssh.
One price, not per user
The free edition covers five drives. Pro is $19 a year per installation, no seats to count.
Frequently asked questions
Which servers does Pier work with?
Any WebDAV server (Nextcloud, ownCloud, Synology, QNAP, Apache mod_dav, IIS), any SSH server with SFTP (OpenSSH on Linux, BSD, macOS, NAS firmware) and NFSv3 exports. Before the first mount Pier runs a check and reports what the server can do.
Does it need WinFsp?
Yes. WinFsp is the open-source file-system driver Pier uses to present the drive letter. Install it once from winfsp.dev; Pier tells you if it is missing.
What happens to a large upload when the connection drops?
The file stays in the local cache and the upload resumes from the last completed block as soon as the link is back. With Nextcloud the chunked-upload protocol is used, with SFTP the file offset.
Can I work without a connection?
Switch the drive to offline mode: everything already in the cache opens, and your changes are queued and pushed when you go online again.
How much does it cost?
Free: up to 5 drives, all protocols and features, an ad banner in the settings window. Pro: $19 per year, unlimited drives and no ads. Regional prices are applied at checkout.
Give your servers a drive letter
Download Pier for free, or go Pro for unlimited drives without ads.
$19 per year · unlimited drives · no ads