Install from source

Use this when your distribution has no package (Packages lists which do). The result is a single native binary that needs neither Rust nor mise to run.

If you want to work on Wusel rather than just install it, follow Set up a development environment instead — it covers the same build plus the test suite.

1. Build tools

Rust uses the system linker, and the mount needs the FUSE library. Install both.

RPM-based:

sudo dnf group install development-tools
sudo dnf install pkgconf-pkg-config fuse3-devel fuse3

Debian-based:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libfuse3-dev fuse3

fuse3-devel / libfuse3-dev are the headers, needed while building; fuse3 is the runtime fusermount3 helper, needed while running. Missing compiler tooling shows up as error: linker 'cc' not found — that is this step, not a bug.

To build the Nautilus extension as well, add its development files: nautilus-devel glib2-devel gcc make on RPM-based systems, libnautilus-extension-dev libglib2.0-dev gcc make on Debian-based ones.

2. The toolchain

Wusel pins its exact Rust version with mise, so you do not install or manage Rust yourself:

curl https://mise.run | sh
echo 'eval "$(~/.local/bin/mise activate bash)"' >> ~/.bashrc   # zsh: activate zsh, ~/.zshrc

Open a new terminal so the activation takes effect.

Activation is the step people miss. Installing mise only puts the program on disk; until you activate it, cargo is "command not found" even though Rust is installed.

3. Build

git clone https://github.com/itbh-at/wusel.git
cd wusel
mise install
cargo build -p wusel --features fuse --release

--features fuse is what compiles the mount in. Without it you get a binary that can log in and manage pins but cannot mount anything.

4. Install the binary

System-wide, which is the reliable choice because /usr/local/bin is always on the PATH:

sudo install -Dm755 target/release/wusel /usr/local/bin/wusel

Or for your user alone, assuming ~/.local/bin is on your PATH:

install -Dm755 target/release/wusel ~/.local/bin/wusel

From here it is an ordinary command — wusel login …, wusel mount — with no cargo run, no --features, no -- separator.

5. Optional: the Nautilus extension

The packages ship this; a source build does not. Building it by hand:

cd integration/nautilus
make
sudo make install     # the .so into the extension dir, emblem icons into hicolor
nautilus -q           # restart Nautilus so it loads the extension

make install also refreshes the icon cache; make uninstall removes both. wusel must be on the PATH for the menu actions to work. The .so is tied to the Nautilus major version, so it is built against the Nautilus you have.

The GNOME Shell search provider is registered separately, from integration/gnome-search/install.sh.

6. Switch it on

wusel login https://cloud.example.org
wusel service enable

wusel service enable writes and enables the systemd user unit for you. Run it from the installed binary, not through cargo run: the service records the path of the binary you enabled it with, and one under target/ breaks the moment that directory is cleaned.

Updating

There is no auto-update. Pull, rebuild, re-install:

git pull
cargo build -p wusel --features fuse --release
sudo install -Dm755 target/release/wusel /usr/local/bin/wusel
systemctl --user restart wusel@default