Samba – Part 2 – Share a Folder with Read and Write Access in LAN

Introduction

In a local network (LAN), file sharing between computers is a common need — especially when you need to exchange data between Linux and Windows systems.
Samba on Linux allows you to create shared folders easily, supporting user authentication and flexible read/write permissions.

In the previous article, we already installed Samba on Ubuntu. In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a shared folder with read and write (R/W) access, and allow Windows clients to connect using a specific user account.

Create a Samba User Account

Recent versions of Windows no longer allow access to shared folders without authentication.
Therefore, we need to create a dedicated user account for Samba:

sudo adduser samba_every

sudo smbpasswd -a samba_every

• adduser samba_every: creates a new system user named samba_every.
• smbpasswd -a samba_every: enables this account in Samba and sets its password.

Create the Shared Folder

Let’s create the shared directory at /srv/samba/share:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/samba/share

sudo chown samba_every:samba_every /srv/samba/share

sudo chmod 2770 /srv/samba/share

Explanation:

• chown: assigns ownership of the folder to user and group samba_every.
• chmod 2770: allows the owner and group to read/write, and keeps group ownership for newly created files (the 2 bit sets the “setgid” flag).

Edit the Samba Configuration File

Open the main Samba configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Here, verify or add the following sections: [global] and your new share definition.

Minimal [global] section:

[global]
   security = user
   map to guest = Bad User

• security = user: enables user-based authentication (default in Samba 4, but recommended to state explicitly).
• map to guest = Bad User: if someone enters an invalid username or password, Samba maps them as a guest instead of denying access immediately.

Shared Folder Section [share]:

[share]
   path = /srv/samba/share
   writable = yes
   browseable = yes
   valid users = samba_every
   create mask = 0660
   directory mask = 0770

Parameter explanation:

Parameter	Description
path	Path to the actual folder being shared.
writable	Allows writing data to the folder.
browseable	Makes the folder visible when browsing the network.
valid users	Specifies who can access the share.
create mask	Default permissions for new files (owner and group can read/write).
directory mask	Default permissions for new directories.

Restart Samba Services

After saving your configuration, restart Samba to apply changes:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Check for syntax errors:

testparm

If you see Loaded services file OK, your configuration is valid.

Access from Windows

From a Windows machine, open File Explorer and type the following path:

\\<your-Ubuntu-IP-address>\share

Example:

\\192.168.1.10\share

When prompted for login credentials, enter:

• Username: samba_every
• Password: the password you set earlier

You can now read, write, and edit files directly in this shared folder from Windows.

Optional: Allow Multiple Users to Write

If multiple users need to write to the same folder, you can enable group write access:

sudo chgrp -R sambashare /srv/samba/share
sudo chmod -R g+rw /srv/samba/share

This ensures that all users in the sambashare group have read/write access without permission conflicts.

Conclusion

With just a few simple steps, you’ve successfully created a Samba shared folder with read/write access, secure and convenient for your local network.
In upcoming guides, we’ll extend this setup to public shares or group-based permissions for more advanced management.

Read more

• Samba – Part 3 – Set Up Samba with Separate Read/Write Access for Each User
• Samba – Part 2 – Share a Folder with Read and Write Access in LAN
• Samba – Part 1 – Install Samba Server on Linux Ubuntu | Debian
• How to Install Windows Server 2025 on Hyper-V (Step-by-Step Tutorial)
• How to Install Android on Hyper-V using BlissOS on Windows

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