How to share directory using SMB

This post shows the basic steps to share a directory over the network using SMB on the commandline. If you prefer a GUI program, see the post about using Samba Server Configuration tool.

• Install the Samba server and its client (useful for local debugging):

$ sudo apt install samba smbclient

• Add Samba user: Samba uses its own list of users and passwords. To reduce confusion, assume we want the current Linux username to be used to access this share. Set the Samba password for this user, say joe:

$ sudo smbpasswd -a joe

Check if the username is listed in the database of Samba users:

$ sudo pdbedit -L -v

• Set access permissions: Check that the user has permissions to read and write to the directory you want to share. Else give the user those permissions:

$ sudo chown joe /path/to/share
$ sudo chown :joe /path/to/share

• Add share in smb.conf: Open the Samba configuration file for editing:

$ sudoedit /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add a section at the end of the file for your share. You will need to provide it a name:

[joe-share]
    path = /path/to/share
    available = yes
    valid users = joe
    read only = no
    browseable = yes
    public = yes
    writable = yes

• Check correctness:

To ensure your entry to smb.conf is correct, check if the share we added is listed in the output of this command:

$ testparm -s

• Restart server: Restart the Samba server to enable this share:

$ sudo service smbd restart

or

$ sudo service samba restart

• Check share:

To check status of the shares and see which computers are connected to the shares:

$ sudo smbstatus

To check if the shares are visible locally to a Samba client:

$ smbclient -L localhost -U joe

• Access share on remote computer: You can access this shared directory from any Windows/MacOS/Linux computer on the network. For example, if the IP address of the shared computer is 192.168.0.10, then type this into the address bar of Nautilus: smb://192.168.0.10/joe-share. You will be asked to provide the username and password to access the share.

Tried with: Samba 4.19.5 and Ubuntu 24.04