How to Mount a Cloud Account as a Local Drive with Air Live Drive

Updated

Install Air Live Drive, add your cloud account, and connect it as a disk; the account then appears in Windows Explorer or macOS Finder as its own drive letter or volume, and you open and save files there with any application. This works for the 40+ services the site lists, including Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, SharePoint, S3, WebDAV, and FTP/SFTP. No bulk sync is required: files stay in the cloud and are fetched when you open them.

Before you start

  • A Windows or macOS computer.
  • The login credentials for the cloud account you want to mount (for services like S3 or WebDAV, the endpoint and access details your provider gives you).
  • The free version is enough to try the workflow; the site says no credit card is needed and the Pro version adds unlimited drives and advanced features. Check the Pro page for current terms.

Mount the account

  1. Install and open Air Live Drive. Use the Windows or Mac download from the site.
  2. Add a cloud account. Choose your provider from the supported list and sign in or enter the connection details. Each account you add becomes its own disk.
  3. Connect the disk. After the account is added, connect it so it mounts as a local drive.
  4. Start working. Open Explorer or Finder and use the new drive like any local disk.

The site describes this as the whole flow: add account → connect disk → work in Explorer or Finder.

Verify it worked

  • The cloud account shows up as a separate drive in Explorer or Finder.
  • You can open a file directly from that drive in an app such as Word, Photoshop, or VLC.
  • Saving the file writes back to the cloud rather than creating a local copy.
  • Nothing was downloaded in bulk; local disk usage stays low.

What to expect in daily use

Behavior What happens
Opening a file Streamed from the cloud on demand
Saving a file Uploaded back to the cloud; uploads can run in the background so you keep working
Repeated access Optional local cache speeds up files you open often, including on slow connections
Multiple accounts Each account appears as its own drive
Disk space Remote files are not duplicated locally; on Windows you choose how much cache to keep

Right-click context menus in Explorer or Finder let you share links, open files in the browser, or stream video, per the site.

Common snags

  • A provider asks for extra details. Infrastructure services like S3, Azure Blob, WebDAV, or SFTP need endpoint and credential information rather than a simple sign-in; have it ready before adding the account.
  • Large files feel slow on first open. That is the trade-off of streaming instead of syncing. Turn on caching if you reopen the same files often.
  • You need many drives. The free version is for trying it out; unlimited drives are listed as a Pro feature.
  • Uploads seem pending. Background uploads continue while you work; check the app's upload activity rather than assuming the save failed.

If your goal is occasional access to cloud files without filling your disk, the mount-and-stream approach fits. If you need full offline copies of everything, a sync client is the better tool.