showmount

Additional Notes

showmount queries the mount daemon on an NFS server to display information about exported filesystems and connected clients. It is part of the nfs-utils package and communicates with the remote rpc.mountd service using the RPC protocol.

The command can show which filesystems are exported (available for mounting), which clients have mounted exports, and the list of directories that the local host has mounted from a specific server. It is useful for diagnosing NFS connectivity issues and understanding what an NFS server provides.

Syntax

showmount [options] [hostname]

Parameters

• hostname: The NFS server to query. Defaults to localhost if not specified.

Common Options

• -a, --all: List both the server export directory and the client hostname in the format host:dir.
• -d, --directories: List only directories that are currently mounted by clients.
• -e, --exports: Show the NFS server's export list (what is available to mount).
• -h, --help: Show usage information.
• -v, --verbose: Show verbose output (includes version of NFS protocol).
• --no-headers: Suppress headers in the output.

Examples

showmount -e nfs-server

List all exports available from nfs-server.

showmount -d nfs-server

List directories on nfs-server that are currently mounted by clients.

showmount -a nfs-server

List all NFS mounts in the format client:export.

showmount -e

List exports from the local NFS server.

Practical Notes

• The remote server must be running rpc.mountd and have the appropriate firewall rules.
• NFS export configuration is in /etc/exports on the server.
• showmount -e requires TCP/UDP port 111 (rpcbind) to be accessible on the server.
• If showmount -e hangs or fails, the rpcbind or nfs-server services may not be running.
• Modern NFSv4 exports are sometimes not reported by showmount; check /etc/exports directly.
• Use mount -t nfs to see what the local system has mounted from NFS servers.