Configure Samba File Sharing on Linux Mint 22

Samba lets you share files between Linux and Windows machines over a network using the SMB/CIFS protocol. On a Linux Mint desktop, this is the most practical way to make folders accessible to Windows PCs on the same LAN, or to mount Windows shares on your Mint box. The setup takes about 10 minutes.

Original content from computingforgeeks.com - post 161440

This guide covers two share types: a public share that anyone on the network can access without a password, and an authenticated share restricted to specific Samba users. The server side runs on Linux Mint (or Ubuntu), and we test access from Linux clients, Windows, and the Mint file manager.

Tested March 2026 on Ubuntu 24.04 (same packages as Linux Mint 22). Samba 4.19.5.

Server Side: Install and Configure Samba

All steps in this section run on the Linux Mint machine that will host the shared folders.

Install Samba

Open a terminal and install the Samba server package:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y samba samba-common-bin

Verify Samba installed and the service is running:

smbd --version
sudo systemctl status smbd --no-pager | head -5

Confirm smbd shows active (running):

Version 4.19.5-Ubuntu
● smbd.service - Samba SMB Daemon
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/smbd.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2026-03-26 11:43:19 UTC; 22ms ago
       Docs: man:smbd(8)

Create Share Directories

Create two directories: one for the public share and one for authenticated access. Using /srv/samba/ keeps shares organized and separate from home directories.

sudo mkdir -p /srv/samba/public
sudo mkdir -p /srv/samba/projects

Set permissions. The public share needs world-writable access. The projects share is restricted to the sambashare group (created automatically when Samba is installed), with the setgid bit so new files inherit the group:

sudo chmod 0777 /srv/samba/public
sudo chgrp sambashare /srv/samba/projects
sudo chmod 2770 /srv/samba/projects

Create a Samba User

Samba maintains its own user database, separate from Linux system users. Create a dedicated Samba user with no login shell and add them to the sambashare group:

sudo useradd -M -d /dev/null -s /usr/sbin/nologin -G sambashare smbuser1

Set the Samba password (this is separate from any Linux password):

sudo smbpasswd -a smbuser1
sudo smbpasswd -e smbuser1

The -a flag adds the user to the Samba database. The -e flag enables the account. You’ll be prompted to enter and confirm the password.

To add more users later, repeat these commands with a different username. Any user in the sambashare group automatically gets access to the projects share.

Configure smb.conf

Back up the default configuration file, then replace it:

sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.bak
sudo vi /etc/samba/smb.conf

Replace the contents with:

[global]
   workgroup = WORKGROUP
   server string = Samba on %h
   server role = standalone server
   log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
   max log size = 1000
   logging = file
   map to guest = bad user

[public]
   comment = Public Share (no authentication required)
   path = /srv/samba/public
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   guest ok = yes
   create mask = 0664
   directory mask = 0775

[projects]
   comment = Authenticated project share
   path = /srv/samba/projects
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   guest ok = no
   valid users = @sambashare
   create mask = 0660
   directory mask = 2770
   force group = sambashare

What each section does:

• [global] – Sets the workgroup (match your Windows network, typically WORKGROUP), logging, and maps unknown users to guest access.
• [public] – A share at /srv/samba/public that anyone on the network can read and write without credentials. guest ok = yes is the key setting.
• [projects] – A share at /srv/samba/projects restricted to members of the sambashare group. force group = sambashare ensures all files created through Samba are owned by the group, preventing permission issues between users.

Validate and Start

Check the configuration for syntax errors:

testparm -s

A clean config produces:

Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
Loaded services file OK.

Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE

[global]
	log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
	map to guest = Bad User
	max log size = 1000
	server role = standalone server
	server string = Samba on %h

[public]
	comment = Public Share (no authentication required)
	create mask = 0664
	directory mask = 0775
	guest ok = Yes
	path = /srv/samba/public
	read only = No

[projects]
	comment = Authenticated project share
	create mask = 0660
	directory mask = 02770
	force group = sambashare
	path = /srv/samba/projects
	read only = No
	valid users = @sambashare

If testparm shows errors, fix them before proceeding. Now restart Samba to apply the new configuration:

sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd

Samba uses two services: smbd handles file sharing, nmbd handles NetBIOS name resolution so Windows machines can find the server by hostname.

Open the Firewall

If ufw is enabled, allow Samba through:

sudo ufw allow samba
sudo ufw status

This opens TCP ports 139 and 445 (SMB), plus UDP ports 137 and 138 (NetBIOS):

Status: active

To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
OpenSSH                    ALLOW       Anywhere
Samba                      ALLOW       Anywhere

Verify Samba is listening:

ss -tlnp | grep -E "445|139"

Both ports should show as LISTEN:

LISTEN  0  50  0.0.0.0:139  0.0.0.0:*  users:(("smbd",pid=12872,fd=31))
LISTEN  0  50  0.0.0.0:445  0.0.0.0:*  users:(("smbd",pid=12872,fd=30))

The server is ready. Everything below happens on the client machine.

Client Side: Access Shares from Linux

These steps run on the machine that needs to access the shared folders (another Linux Mint box, Ubuntu, Debian, or any Linux distribution). Replace 192.168.1.130 with your Samba server’s IP address throughout.

Install Client Tools

Install the SMB client and CIFS mount utilities:

sudo apt install -y smbclient cifs-utils

List Available Shares

Discover what the Samba server is sharing:

smbclient -L //192.168.1.130 -N

The -N flag means no password (anonymous). Both shares should appear:

	Sharename       Type      Comment
	---------       ----      -------
	public          Disk      Public Share (no authentication required)
	projects        Disk      Authenticated project share
	IPC$            IPC       IPC Service (Samba on samba-server)

Interactive Access with smbclient

Connect to the public share as a guest:

smbclient //192.168.1.130/public -N

This drops you into an interactive SMB shell where you can use ls, get, put, and exit:

smb: \> ls
  .                                   D        0  Thu Mar 26 11:57:32 2026
  ..                                  D        0  Thu Mar 26 11:57:32 2026
  readme.txt                          N       28  Thu Mar 26 11:46:47 2026

smb: \> put /etc/hostname testfile.txt
putting file /etc/hostname as \testfile.txt (12.7 kb/s) (average 12.7 kb/s)
smb: \> exit

For the authenticated projects share, connect as smbuser1:

smbclient //192.168.1.130/projects -U smbuser1

Enter the Samba password when prompted. Attempting guest access to this share is correctly denied:

smbclient //192.168.1.130/projects -N

The connection is rejected as expected:

tree connect failed: NT_STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

Mount Shares with CIFS

For regular file access through your file manager and applications (not just the interactive SMB shell), mount the share to a local directory:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/samba-public
sudo mount -t cifs //192.168.1.130/public /mnt/samba-public -o guest

For the authenticated share:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/samba-projects
sudo mount -t cifs //192.168.1.130/projects /mnt/samba-projects -o username=smbuser1

Verify both mounts are active:

df -hT | grep cifs

Both shares should appear as mounted filesystems:

//192.168.1.130/public   cifs    29G  2.4G   26G   9% /mnt/samba-public
//192.168.1.130/projects cifs    29G  2.4G   26G   9% /mnt/samba-projects

Persistent Mounts with fstab

The mounts above are lost on reboot. To make them persistent, add entries to /etc/fstab.

For the authenticated share, never put passwords directly in fstab. Create a credentials file instead:

sudo vi /root/.smbcredentials

Add the username and password:

username=smbuser1
password=your_samba_password

Lock down the file so only root can read it:

sudo chmod 600 /root/.smbcredentials

Now add the fstab entries:

sudo vi /etc/fstab

Append these lines (replace the IP with your Samba server’s address):

//192.168.1.130/public    /mnt/samba-public    cifs  guest,uid=1000  0  0
//192.168.1.130/projects  /mnt/samba-projects  cifs  credentials=/root/.smbcredentials,uid=1000  0  0

Test by unmounting and remounting through fstab:

sudo umount /mnt/samba-public /mnt/samba-projects
sudo mount -a

Verify the mounts came back:

df -hT | grep cifs

Both shares should reappear:

//192.168.1.130/public   cifs    29G  2.4G   26G   9% /mnt/samba-public
//192.168.1.130/projects cifs    29G  2.4G   26G   9% /mnt/samba-projects

These mounts will now survive reboots.

Client Side: Access from Windows

On a Windows machine on the same network, open File Explorer and type the server address in the address bar:

\\192.168.1.130

You should see both public and projects shares listed. The public share opens without credentials. For the projects share, Windows will prompt for a username and password. Enter the Samba username (smbuser1) and the password you set with smbpasswd.

To map a share as a network drive: right-click This PC, select Map network drive, and enter \\192.168.1.130\projects as the folder path. Check “Connect using different credentials” and enter the Samba user credentials.

Client Side: Access from the Linux Mint File Manager

In Linux Mint’s Nemo file manager (or any GTK file manager like Nautilus), click File > Connect to Server or type directly in the address bar:

smb://192.168.1.130/public

For the authenticated share:

smb://192.168.1.130/projects

Nemo will prompt for the username, domain (use WORKGROUP), and password.

Server Side: Adding More Users

Back on the Samba server, add another user with access to the projects share:

sudo useradd -M -d /dev/null -s /usr/sbin/nologin -G sambashare smbuser2
sudo smbpasswd -a smbuser2
sudo smbpasswd -e smbuser2

No config changes or restarts needed. The valid users = @sambashare directive in the projects share automatically grants access to all members of the sambashare group.

Troubleshooting

NT_STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED when connecting

This means authentication failed. On the server, verify the user exists in Samba’s database:

sudo pdbedit -L

If the user is not listed, re-add them with sudo smbpasswd -a username. Also confirm the user is in the sambashare group: groups username.

Share not visible from Windows

On the server, check that nmbd is running (sudo systemctl status nmbd) and the firewall allows Samba (sudo ufw status). On the Windows client, verify the machine is on the same WORKGROUP. You can also try the direct path: type \\server-ip\sharename in File Explorer instead of browsing the network.

Permission denied when writing files

On the server, check that the Samba user is in the sambashare group and the directory has the correct group ownership:

ls -la /srv/samba/projects/

The directory should show drwxrws--- with group sambashare. The s in the group execute position is the setgid bit, which ensures new files inherit the group.

mount.cifs: iocharset utf8 not found

This error appears on the client when the nls_utf8 kernel module is missing (common on minimal server installations). Either load it with sudo modprobe nls_utf8, or remove the iocharset=utf8 option from your mount command and fstab entry. Modern Samba handles UTF-8 correctly without this option.