WebDav for Linux

Note: The features discussed in this article are available in all plans except the Light plan.

WebDAV on Linux – Integrating mailbox Drive

With the WebDAV protocol, you can directly integrate your personal mailbox Drive into your Linux system and access it conveniently – without using the browser. This integration is ideal for anyone who works regularly with files in the Drive and prefers seamless integration into their work environment. In this guide, we show you how to set up mailbox Drive either via a file manager or permanently via the terminal.

Requirements

To use WebDAV on Linux, you need an active mailbox account with Drive enabled, a stable internet connection, and – depending on the method – possibly administrator rights on your system.

Integration via the File Manager (without Terminal)

The easiest way to use WebDAV on Linux is by accessing it through the file manager of your desktop environment. Both GNOME (Nautilus) and KDE (Dolphin) support WebDAV by default.

Example with GNOME (Nautilus)

Open the file manager and select the option “Connect to Server.” Enter the following address:

davs://dav.mailbox.org/servlet/webdav.infostore

Confirm with “Connect” and then enter your full mailbox email address and your password.

Example with KDE (Dolphin)

Open Dolphin, click in the address bar, and enter the following address:

webdavs://dav.mailbox.org/servlet/webdav.infostore

Press Enter and authenticate with your credentials.

Note: The protocols davs:// and webdavs:// stand for encrypted WebDAV connections and ensure secure data transmission.

Integration with davfs2 (permanent terminal method)

If you want to permanently integrate mailbox Drive as a network drive – for example, to mount it automatically at system startup – we recommend using davfs2.

Setup steps

1. Install the davfs2 package:
   sudo apt install davfs2

2. Create a local folder for the integration:
   mkdir ~/mailbox-drive

3. Store your login data in the file ~/.davfs2/secrets with the following entry:
   /home/YourUsername/mailbox-drive Your@mailbox YourPassword

4. Protect the file with:
   chmod 600 ~/.davfs2/secrets

5. Mount the drive manually with:
   mount ~/mailbox-drive

6. Optional: Automatic integration at system startup by adding an entry in /etc/fstab.

Correct encoding of special characters

If your email address contains special characters, they must be encoded in the URL accordingly:

• Space | %20 (example: Dr. Max → Dr.%20Max)
• ä | %C3%A4 (example: Mäxchen → M%C3%A4xchen)

If necessary, use a UTF-8 encoding table for further special characters.

Troubleshooting

If access fails, check the WebDAV address and your credentials. If the message “Permission denied” appears, verify your permissions for the mount folder and the correct configuration of the secrets file. If the Drive is integrated successfully but shows no content, make sure that the Drive function is enabled in your mailbox account.