FAQ: How do I create a shared folder on Mac and add it as a watched folder in Roon?

Before Roon will be able to access your music library that's stored on your Mac OS device, you'll need to first ensure that the folder is properly shared. Once the folder has the proper share settings applied, it can be added as a watched folder in Roon. Follow the instructions below to properly share your folder:

Accessing Share Settings on the Mac

On the Mac, go into System Preferences and Select Sharing. From there, click the + sign under Shared Folders and navigate to where your music folder is located.

After pressing Add, here it is being shared:

You now need to make sure SMB file sharing and also Window File Sharing are selected in Options. Click the Options button on the Sharing screen:

You may be asked for your account password after you check the box next to your name. Remember this Name and Password. Then, Click Done.

On the Sharing screen, make a note of the path for your computer. In this case, it's Gregs-iMac.local and the shared folder is called Music. You may also be able to use the computer's IP address instead of Gregs-iMac.local.

 

Now you can go to Roon and Settings > Storage. After clicking Add Folder, enter the correct information for the shared folder you just created.

and here it is added:

Please Note: On early releases of macOS Catalina, you may receive an error when adding the Network Share. One thing to try is to click the File Sharing checkmark Off, then On again in System Preferences > Sharing.

Note: If you are unable to share the account properly and the username is grayed out, this might be because you don't have a local account on your Mac. You may need to create a new local user account and try sharing via that instead. 

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