CentOS Linux Ubuntu | Debian

Samba – Share a Folder on Samba Without Asking for Username and Password

March 18, 2024
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In the previous article, we successfully set up a Samba server. In this article, we will learn How to Share a Folder on Samba without asking for a Username and Password.

By doing this, we can create a flexible and convenient sharing environment, especially in cases where authentication is unnecessary

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Diagram

Let’s assume we have the following directory structure:

On the Samba server, there is a Share directory containing Read-Write and Read-Only directories. We will share these directories without requiring authentication by username and password, where:

  • The Read-Write directory allows everyone to access with full Read-Write permissions (Create – Edit – Delete…).
  • The Read-Only directory only allows everyone with Read permissions.

Step 1 – Create a structure directory

Open a command prompt window and execute the following commands one by one to create the directory structure as described above:

sudo mkdir /Share

sudo mkdir /Share/Read-Write

sudo mkdir /Share/Read-Only

ll /Share

Step 2 – Configure Sharing

For the Read-Write directory, grant everyone full Read-Write permissions by executing the following command to change the access rights on the Read-Write directory:

sudo chmod -R 777 /Share/Read-Write

ll

Next, open the Samba configuration file using the following command:

sudo vim /etc/samba/smb.conf

Keep the default configuration unchanged in the [global] section, scroll down to the end of the file, and add the following content:

# For Read Write
[Read-Write]
    comment = Allow Read Write
    path = /Share/Read-Write
    browsable = yes
    guest ok = yes
    read only = no
# For Read Only
[Read-Only]
    comment = Only Read
    path = /Share/Read-Only
    browsable = yes
    guest ok = yes
    read only = yes

Here’s the breakdown of each attribute:

  • [Read-Write] or [Read-Only]: This is the name of the Samba share being configured.
  • comment = Allow Read Write or comment = Only Read : This is a comment describing the share.
  • path = /Share/Read-Write or path = /Share/Read-Only: This is the path to the directory we want to share.
  • browsable = yes: Sets whether the share can be browsed from another computer on the LAN.
  • guest ok = yes: Allows guest users to access the share without authentication.
  • read only = no or read only = yes: Sets the access rights to read-only or read-write
    • if no: we are allowing both reading and writing to the directory.
    • if yes: we are allowing reading to the directory.

Configuration completed, save and exit the file.

Now, restart the Samba service to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Check the status of the Samba service to ensure that its status is running:

sudo systemctl status smbd

Step 3 – Verify

To check, on a Windows machine, press the Windows key and R simultaneously to open the Run dialog box. Then enter the command \\IP-Samba-Server. You will see the two folders, Read-Write and Read-Only, shared

For the Read-Write folder, you can create, edit, and delete files or folders:

For the Read-Only folder, you cannot create or delete files or folders:

Conclusions

In this article, we learned how to configure and share folders on a Samba server without requiring authentication by username and password. We set up two types of shares: one allowing everyone to read and write, and another allowing everyone only to read. This allows us to create a flexible and convenient sharing environment, suitable for the needs of each user.

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