vboximg-mount: error: Failed to load the fuse library, rc=VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND

[AlexanderBaranov]

vboximg-mount utility does not work on MacOS 10.15.7 I installed Mac FUSE from here: ​https://osxfuse.github.io But it does not help. I still have the same error:

vboximg-mount: error: Failed to load the fuse library, rc=VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND

[Darren Oh]

Same issue on macOS 11.

[Dominik.Pich]

same on macOS 11.1 with OSXFUSE 3.11 -- other apps work with it so it should work per se

$ vboximg-mount --help vboximg-mount: error: Failed to load the fuse library, rc=VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND

$ kextstat | grep osxfuse Executing: /usr/bin/kmutil showloaded No variant specified, falling back to release

193 0 0xffffff7fa252b000 0x17000 0x17000 com.github.osxfuse.filesystems.osxfuse (3.11.2) FC635049-53AB-3DA8-8939-69D200ABD3C4 <8 6 5 3 1

[Paul Crawford]

Note that the VirtualBox (VBox) 6.x installer also comes with its own {often somewhat older} FUSE for macOS (OSXFUSE) installer, which runs by default {the third screen has a Customize button at lower left, via which you can opt out}. That bundled FUSE installer also now seems to place its components directly into '/Library/…' and '/usr/local/…'. Perhaps VBox is most compatible with that bundled version?

{Hmm, come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure about that bundled version's compatibility with macOS 10.13.2 'High Sierra' & later (especially for new installations), where there might be various issues related to loading kernel extensions such as the one used by OSXFUSE & all its later renamed editions (e.g., the whole dance with "System Preferences > Security & Privacy => 'Allow' button that maybe shows up & works if we're lucky"). But I'll plough on ahead anyway …}

FWIW, VBox 6.1.18's vboximg-mount works well on my host Mac under macOS 10.13.6 'High Sierra'. I'm also a long-time user of initially MacFUSE {big 'M' (legacy)} and later OSXFUSE / FUSE for OS X / FUSE for macOS / macFUSE {little 'm' (latest renaming)}, independently of VBox. So, I have my own installation of macFUSE 4.0.5, along with what I recently noticed is an older OSXFUSE 3.10.4 that (presumably) VBox installed afterwards. However, I've also noticed that the macFUSE installer can try to remove all traces of OSXFUSE, so it's also possible that installing it after installing VBox could lead to this issue.

In any event, it might be worth a try to just re-run the VBox installer. Otherwise, a VBox update {possibly with a newer bundled macFUSE version} might be required.

{There's also an ongoing discussion in the related thread '​vboximg-mount unable to load fuse lib' (VirtualBox on Mac OS X Hosts; 2021-02-21+).}

[Shreedhar Hegde]

paulmc’s comment says it all, really.
I’d also like to add — for the benefit of any Homebrew users who might end up scratching their heads like me — that Homebrew also deselects the default OSXFUSE option in the flatpack installer. (See ​this pull request on the Homebrew Cask GitHub page).

Right now, I suppose the best way to be able to use vboximg-mount is to reinstall the flatpack (.pkg) manually. I will say that I haven’t tried this (yet), so I have no idea if such an outdated kext will even work on macOS 12 (Monterey).

I also want to point out that, unfortunately, macFUSE has ceased to be open-source, since version 3.10:

The license has changed. Starting with the 3.10.0 release, redistributions bundled with commercial software are not allowed without specific prior written permission. Please contact Benjamin Fleischer.

Sad to see it take this path, but I’m sure the author had his reasons, and I really don’t want to “second-guess an operation from an armchair,” as David Strathairn’s character says in that Bourne movie. (I’ve never built a Linux kernel module before, let alone a macOS kext)

I think it'd be really nice if VirtualBox somehow provided an option for users who already have macFUSE to somehow integrate with it, though.

[alanr]

Bump: Any progress?

[antoine2711]

I have the same problem. Can't load a .VDI disk.

antoine@Mac-Mini-AB /Volumes % vboximg-mount --help                                             
vboximg-mount: error: Failed to load the fuse library, rc=VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND

But I have everything installed.

antoine@Mac-Mini-AB /Volumes % ls -la /usr/local/lib | grep fuse
-rwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff  531808  7 avr 07:59 libfuse.2.dylib
lrwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff      15 14 mai 05:25 libfuse.dylib -> libfuse.2.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff     971  7 avr 07:59 libfuse.la
-rwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff  973488  4 oct  2020 libosxfuse.2.dylib
lrwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff      18 14 mai 05:58 libosxfuse.dylib -> libosxfuse.2.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff     933  4 oct  2020 libosxfuse.la
lrwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff      18 14 mai 05:58 libosxfuse_i64.2.dylib -> libosxfuse.2.dylib
lrwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff      16 14 mai 05:58 libosxfuse_i64.dylib -> libosxfuse.dylib
lrwxr-xr-x    1 antoine  staff      13 14 mai 05:58 libosxfuse_i64.la -> libosxfuse.la
antoine@Mac-Mini-AB-2019-i7 /Volumes % kextstat | grep osxfuse
Executing: /usr/bin/kmutil showloaded
No variant specified, falling back to release
  183    0 0xffffff7f9ce58000 0x17000    0x17000    com.github.osxfuse.filesystems.osxfuse (3.11.2) FC635049-53AB-3DA8-8939-69D200ABD3C4 <8 6 5 3 1>

antoine@Mac-Mini-AB 

What should I do?

Regards,

Antoine

[chas4]

As a possible workaround does it work if you install the current stable macFUSE ​https://osxfuse.github.io (which is compatible with recent macOS versions unlike the older version that VirtualBox has which is from around 2 years ago) (if you pick customize you can choose not to install the older FUSE installer when installing or updating VirtualBox)?

I wonder why Oracle has not contacted the macFUSE developer Benjamin Fleischer to get the written permission for redistribution to bundle macFUSE inside the VirtualBox installer for macOS.

[aeichner]

Due to the incompatible license of macFuse it is impossible to ship any recent version of it anytime soon. The last compatible version is not shipped with the installer because it is a security risk. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about this right now.