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Quick Reference
Samba Commands
| Command | What It Does |
|---|---|
smbclient -L //server |
List all shares on a server |
smbclient //server/share -U user |
Connect to a share interactively |
smbclient -L //server -N |
List shares anonymously (no password) |
testparm |
Validate smb.conf and show effective config |
testparm -s |
Validate silently (suppress the “press enter” prompt) |
smbpasswd -a username |
Add/change a Samba password for a Linux user |
pdbedit -L |
List all Samba user accounts |
systemctl status smbd |
Check if Samba daemon is running |
systemctl restart smbd nmbd |
Restart both Samba daemons |
smbstatus |
Show active connections, open files, and locks |
smb.conf Directives
| Directive | Section | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
workgroup = MYGROUP |
[global] | Sets the NetBIOS workgroup name |
security = user |
[global] | Requires username/password authentication |
path = /srv/samba/docs |
[share] | Directory this share maps to on disk |
browseable = yes |
[share] | Share appears in network browse list |
read only = no |
[share] | Allows write access (default is read-only) |
valid users = @group |
[share] | Only these users/groups can access |
guest ok = yes |
[share] | Allows anonymous access (use with caution) |
force user = nobody |
[share] | All file ops run as this user (never root) |
create mask = 0660 |
[share] | Permissions for newly created files |
directory mask = 0770 |
[share] | Permissions for newly created directories |
Common Error Codes
| Error | Meaning | First Thing to Check |
|---|---|---|
errno 111 (Connection refused) |
Nothing listening on port 445 | Is smbd running? |
errno 113 (No route to host) |
Network can’t reach the server | Ping the IP, check firewall |
NT_STATUS_BAD_NETWORK_NAME |
Share exists in config but can’t be served | Does the path exist on disk? |
NT_STATUS_LOGON_FAILURE |
Wrong credentials | smbpasswd -a user (Samba passwords are separate) |
NT_STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED |
Authenticated but no permission | Check valid users and Linux file permissions |