Google Drive, as a real drive.
ExpanDrive connects to Google's API and turns Drive into a fast network drive, making your entire account available from any app on your desktop — on macOS, Windows, and Linux. No sync. No multi-gigabyte mirror. No Linux gap.
— What you get
The Drive experience your team is missing.
Mounted in Finder and Explorer.
Drive appears as a native volume in macOS Finder, Windows Explorer, and Linux file managers. Every app on your computer can open and save Drive files like local files — Word, Photoshop, IDEs, Terminal.
Stream files on demand.
No full local sync. ExpanDrive streams files when you open them and caches what you actually use. Your laptop's SSD doesn't fill up with terabytes of Workspace content.
Workspace, Education, free tier.
OAuth handles every Google account type — personal Gmail, Workspace, Education, Workspace for Nonprofits. Multiple accounts mounted side by side, each with its own volume name.
Offline cache that just works.
Pin folders for offline access. Changes you make while disconnected sync back automatically when you reconnect. The same cache strategy ExpanDrive uses on every cloud.
— Cross-platform
Same Drive. Three operating systems.
ExpanDrive is one of the very few cloud-drive tools that supports Linux as a first-class platform alongside Mac and Windows. Same product, same UX, same Drive experience on every OS your team runs.
macOS
Built on Apple's File Provider extension. No kernel extension, no reboot, native on Apple Silicon. Drive appears in Finder and ~/Library/CloudStorage.
Windows
Drive mounts to a user-selectable drive letter (G:, H:, whatever you pick) and appears in File Explorer. Signed MSI installer for Intune / SCCM / GPO deployment.
Linux
Native .deb and .rpm packages with signed apt and yum repositories for auto-updates. Drive mounts at a standard mount point and works with every Linux app. Google has no Linux client; ExpanDrive is the answer.
— vs Google Drive for Desktop
Where the official client falls short.
Google's Drive for Desktop works on Mac and Windows — but its sync-or-stream binary, its sync stability issues, and the complete absence of any Linux client leave real gaps. Here's where ExpanDrive fills them.
- No Linux client at all. Google ships Drive for Desktop on Mac and Windows only. Linux users get nothing — no official app, no supported sync, no real mount. ExpanDrive runs natively on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, and more.
- The sync-vs-stream choice is binary. Drive for Desktop forces you to pick: stream-only (no offline) or full mirror (sync everything). ExpanDrive streams by default and lets you pin specific folders offline — both at once.
- Multi-account is awkward. Drive for Desktop’s multi-account UX is a known sore spot. ExpanDrive mounts multiple Google accounts as separate volumes, each clearly labeled.
- Every app sees it as a drive. Some Drive integrations expose files only through a special folder or a Drive-aware app. ExpanDrive mounts as the OS’s native filesystem layer — Terminal, Photoshop, Visual Studio, command-line scripts all see Drive without knowing it’s the cloud.
— Other clouds
Mount Google Drive alongside every other cloud you use.
A single ExpanDrive install holds connections to every supported provider simultaneously. Drive next to Dropbox next to OneDrive next to S3 — all as drives, all at once.
Dropbox
Access and manage your Dropbox files as a network drive on any OS - no sync required, full read/write access.
OneDrive
Map personal OneDrive as a network drive on macOS, Windows, and Linux with ExpanDrive - no sync required.
SharePoint
Map SharePoint as a network drive on Mac, Windows, or Linux - access your Microsoft 365 files directly from any application.
Amazon S3
Connect to Amazon S3 or any S3-compatible storage as a network drive — multi-threaded transfers and full bucket browsing on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
— Common questions
Common questions about Drive on ExpanDrive.
Account types, security, Linux, mobile, and what happens when your laptop loses connection.
Need a File Orchestration Platform, not just a drive?
The cloud connectors mounting your drive on macOS, Windows, and Linux are the same ones that run on Files.com's high-performance cloud File Orchestration Platform — used by 4,000+ businesses including Equifax, Rag & Bone, Cognizant, and Michelin. If you need automations, audit logs, SFTP / AS2 servers, or compliance reporting on top of your file estate, that lives there.
Try it free.
Mount everything.
Free for personal use. Runs on every Mac, PC, and Linux box built in the last decade.