Continued invalid config for allow_list_dirs: error

Configuration
1

I have been fighting this issue for some time now, I cannot get my HA installation running on a linux box via VirtualBox to accept the following so that I can save camera images to a share located on the host machine. I cannot figure out for the life of me why I continue to get the Configuration errors

Screenshot from 2025-03-31 11-53-03
Screenshot from 2025-03-31 11-53-031161×322 26.6 KB

YAML below:

default_config:

homeassistant:
allowlist_external_dirs:
- ‘/Backups’

Load frontend themes from the themes folder

frontend:
themes: !include_dir_merge_named themes

automation: !include automations.yaml
script: !include scripts.yaml
scene: !include scenes.yaml

I have tried all sorts of variations, using " ", ’ ', and with no quotation marks, as well as with and without the /. I have also tried variations of

  • ‘/home/username/Backups’
  • ‘/username/Backups’
  • ‘ipaddress/Backups’

The HA installation has Backups and Backups/Garage as network storage within the Storage tab in settings. I am fairly certain that the indentation is correct, as

  • ‘/mnt’

is accepted.

Am I experiencing read/write permission issues, or do I need to add entries into the HA fstab? All of the posts and vids I have researched all point to indentation errors, but if that is the case, why does /mnt work and the others do not? Any and all help would be appreciated!

2

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/how-to-help-us-help-you-or-how-to-ask-a-good-question/114371#oneone-format-it-properly-16

3

Edited to format the YAML correctly

# Loads default set of integrations. Do not remove.
default_config:

homeassistant:
  allowlist_external_dirs:
    - '/Backups'
    
# Load frontend themes from the themes folder
frontend:
  themes: !include_dir_merge_named themes

automation: !include automations.yaml
script: !include scripts.yaml
scene: !include scenes.yaml
4

Is the directory called Backups or backups ? Linux is case-sensitive.

5

The directory is Backups. It is located at /home/username/Backups

6

Are you running HA Core (in a venv) ?

7

HA is running in a virtual environment via VirtualBox. Core is version 2025.3.4, Supervisor is 2025.03.4, O/S is 15.1, and Frontend is 20250306.0. This info was pulled from the HA UI on the host, but the VM instance is reporting the same for Core and O/S.