📁 $ samba - Samba Setup in Debian 12

This guide explains step by step how to set up a Samba server on Debian 12, using the directory /rack with three subdirectories: shared, martin, and marian. The setup will allow:

• 🔓 shared folder - full access for everyone
• 🔐 martin folder - full access only for martin, others get read-only
• 🔐 marian folder - full access only for marian, others get read-only

1️⃣ Install Samba

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

2️⃣ Create folder structure

sudo mkdir -p /rack/shared
sudo mkdir -p /rack/martin
sudo mkdir -p /rack/marian

3️⃣ Create users and passwords

sudo adduser martin
sudo smbpasswd -a martin

sudo adduser marian
sudo smbpasswd -a marian

4️⃣ Set folder permissions (Linux)

sudo chown -R nobody:nogroup /rack/shared
sudo chmod -R 0777 /rack/shared

sudo chown -R martin:martin /rack/martin
sudo chmod -R 0755 /rack/martin

sudo chown -R marian:marian /rack/marian
sudo chmod -R 0755 /rack/marian

5️⃣ Edit /etc/samba/smb.conf

In Samba, you can set valid users and who has read only, write only, or write list access. See the example below:

[shared]
  path = /rack/shared
  browseable = yes
  read only = no
  guest ok = yes
  create mask = 0777
  directory mask = 0777

[martin]
  path = /rack/martin
  valid users = martin @users
  read only = yes
  write list = martin
  create mask = 0755
  directory mask = 0755

[marian]
  path = /rack/marian
  valid users = marian @users
  read only = yes
  write list = marian
  create mask = 0755
  directory mask = 0755

💡 Explanation of parameters:

• valid users - who can access the share
• read only - default read-only for everyone
• write list - users allowed to write
• create mask - permissions for new files
• directory mask - permissions for new directories

6️⃣ Restart Samba service

sudo systemctl restart smbd.service

7️⃣ Access from Windows

\\your-server-ip\shared
\\your-server-ip\martin
\\your-server-ip\marian

"A stable shared structure is the foundation of every digital workshop. Samba is the bridge between machines - and between people."