1SMBCLIENT(1) User Commands SMBCLIENT(1)
2
3
4
6 smbclient - ftp-like client to access SMB/CIFS resources on servers
7
9 smbclient [-M|--message=HOST] [-I|--ip-address=IP] [-E|--stderr]
10 [-L|--list=HOST] [-T|--tar=<c|x>IXFvgbNan] [-D|--directory=DIR]
11 [-b|--send-buffer=BYTES] [-t|--timeout=SECONDS] [-p|--port=PORT]
12 [-g|--grepable] [-q|--quiet] [-B|--browse] [-?|--help] [--usage]
13 [-d|--debuglevel=DEBUGLEVEL] [--debug-stdout]
14 [-s|--configfile=CONFIGFILE] [--option=name=value]
15 [-l|--log-basename=LOGFILEBASE] [--leak-report] [--leak-report-full]
16 [-R|--name-resolve=NAME-RESOLVE-ORDER]
17 [-O|--socket-options=SOCKETOPTIONS] [-m|--max-protocol=MAXPROTOCOL]
18 [-n|--netbiosname=NETBIOSNAME] [--netbios-scope=SCOPE]
19 [-W|--workgroup=WORKGROUP] [--realm=REALM]
20 [-U|--user=[DOMAIN/]USERNAME%[PASSWORD]] [-N|--no-pass]
21 [--password=STRING] [--pw-nt-hash] [-A|--authentication-file=FILE]
22 [-P|--machine-pass] [--simple-bind-dn=DN]
23 [--use-kerberos=desired|required|off] [--use-krb5-ccache=CCACHE]
24 [--use-winbind-ccache] [--client-protection=sign|encrypt|off]
25 [-V|--version] [-c|--command=STRING]
26
28 This tool is part of the samba(7) suite.
29
30 smbclient is a client that can 'talk' to an SMB/CIFS server. It offers
31 an interface similar to that of the ftp program (see ftp(1)).
32 Operations include things like getting files from the server to the
33 local machine, putting files from the local machine to the server,
34 retrieving directory information from the server and so on.
35
37 servicename
38 servicename is the name of the service you want to use on the
39 server. A service name takes the form //server/service where server
40 is the NetBIOS name of the SMB/CIFS server offering the desired
41 service and service is the name of the service offered. Thus to
42 connect to the service "printer" on the SMB/CIFS server
43 "smbserver", you would use the servicename //smbserver/printer
44
45 Note that the server name required is NOT necessarily the IP (DNS)
46 host name of the server ! The name required is a NetBIOS server
47 name, which may or may not be the same as the IP hostname of the
48 machine running the server.
49
50 The server name is looked up according to either the
51 -R|--name-resolve parameter to smbclient or using the name resolve
52 order parameter in the smb.conf(5) file, allowing an administrator
53 to change the order and methods by which server names are looked
54 up.
55
56 password
57 The password required to access the specified service on the
58 specified server. If this parameter is supplied, the -N option
59 (suppress password prompt) is assumed.
60
61 There is no default password. If no password is supplied on the
62 command line (either by using this parameter or adding a password
63 to the -U option (see below)) and the -N option is not specified,
64 the client will prompt for a password, even if the desired service
65 does not require one. (If no password is required, simply press
66 ENTER to provide a null password.)
67
68 Note: Some servers (including OS/2 and Windows for Workgroups)
69 insist on an uppercase password. Lowercase or mixed case passwords
70 may be rejected by these servers.
71
72 Be cautious about including passwords in scripts.
73
74 -M|--message NetBIOS name
75 This options allows you to send messages, using the "WinPopup"
76 protocol, to another computer. Once a connection is established you
77 then type your message, pressing ^D (control-D) to end.
78
79 If the receiving computer is running WinPopup the user will receive
80 the message and probably a beep. If they are not running WinPopup
81 the message will be lost, and no error message will occur.
82
83 The message is also automatically truncated if the message is over
84 1600 bytes, as this is the limit of the protocol.
85
86 One useful trick is to pipe the message through smbclient. For
87 example: smbclient -M FRED < mymessage.txt will send the message in
88 the file mymessage.txt to the machine FRED.
89
90 You may also find the -U and -I options useful, as they allow you
91 to control the FROM and TO parts of the message.
92
93 See the message command parameter in the smb.conf(5) for a
94 description of how to handle incoming WinPopup messages in Samba.
95
96 Note: Copy WinPopup into the startup group on your WfWg PCs if you
97 want them to always be able to receive messages.
98
99 -p|--port port
100 This number is the TCP port number that will be used when making
101 connections to the server. The standard (well-known) TCP port
102 number for an SMB/CIFS server is 139, which is the default.
103
104 -g|--grepable
105 This parameter provides combined with -L easy parseable output that
106 allows processing with utilities such as grep and cut.
107
108 -m|--max-protocol protocol
109 This allows the user to select the highest SMB protocol level that
110 smbclient will use to connect to the server. By default this is set
111 to highest available SMB3 protocol version. To connect using SMB2
112 or SMB1 protocol, use the strings SMB2 or NT1 respectively. Note
113 that to connect to a Windows 2012 server with encrypted transport
114 selecting a max-protocol of SMB3 is required.
115
116 -P|--machine-pass
117 Make queries to the external server using the machine account of
118 the local server.
119
120 -I|--ip-address IP-address
121 IP address is the address of the server to connect to. It should be
122 specified in standard "a.b.c.d" notation.
123
124 Normally the client would attempt to locate a named SMB/CIFS server
125 by looking it up via the NetBIOS name resolution mechanism
126 described above in the name resolve order parameter above. Using
127 this parameter will force the client to assume that the server is
128 on the machine with the specified IP address and the NetBIOS name
129 component of the resource being connected to will be ignored.
130
131 There is no default for this parameter. If not supplied, it will be
132 determined automatically by the client as described above.
133
134 -E|--stderr
135 This parameter causes the client to write messages to the standard
136 error stream (stderr) rather than to the standard output stream.
137
138 By default, the client writes messages to standard output -
139 typically the user's tty.
140
141 -L|--list
142 This option allows you to look at what services are available on a
143 server. You use it as smbclient -L host and a list should appear.
144 The -I option may be useful if your NetBIOS names don't match your
145 TCP/IP DNS host names or if you are trying to reach a host on
146 another network.
147
148 -b|--send-buffer buffersize
149 When sending or receiving files, smbclient uses an internal buffer
150 sized by the maximum number of allowed requests to the connected
151 server. This command allows this size to be set to any range
152 between 0 (which means use the default server controlled size)
153 bytes and 16776960 (0xFFFF00) bytes. Using the server controlled
154 size is the most efficient as smbclient will pipeline as many
155 simultaneous reads or writes needed to keep the server as busy as
156 possible. Setting this to any other size will slow down the
157 transfer. This can also be set using the iosize command inside
158 smbclient.
159
160 -B|--browse
161 Browse SMB servers using DNS.
162
163 -t|--timeout <timeout-seconds>
164 This allows the user to tune the default timeout used for each SMB
165 request. The default setting is 20 seconds. Increase it if requests
166 to the server sometimes time out. This can happen when SMB3
167 encryption is selected and smbclient is overwhelming the server
168 with requests. This can also be set using the timeout command
169 inside smbclient.
170
171 -T|--tar tar options
172 smbclient may be used to create tar(1) compatible backups of all
173 the files on an SMB/CIFS share. The secondary tar flags that can be
174 given to this option are:
175
176 • c - Create a tar backup archive on the local system.
177 Must be followed by the name of a tar file, tape device
178 or "-" for standard output. If using standard output you
179 must turn the log level to its lowest value -d0 to avoid
180 corrupting your tar file. This flag is mutually
181 exclusive with the x flag.
182
183 • n - In combination with the c flag, do not actually
184 create the archive, instead perform a dry run that
185 attempts everything that involved in creation other than
186 writing the file.
187
188 • x - Extract (restore) a local tar file back to a share.
189 Unless the -D option is given, the tar files will be
190 restored from the top level of the share. Must be
191 followed by the name of the tar file, device or "-" for
192 standard input. Mutually exclusive with the c flag.
193 Restored files have their creation times (mtime) set to
194 the date saved in the tar file. Directories currently do
195 not get their creation dates restored properly.
196
197 • I - Include files and directories. Is the default
198 behavior when filenames are specified above. Causes
199 files to be included in an extract or create (and
200 therefore everything else to be excluded). See example
201 below. Filename globbing works in one of two ways. See r
202 below.
203
204 • X - Exclude files and directories. Causes files to be
205 excluded from an extract or create. See example below.
206 Filename globbing works in one of two ways. See r below.
207
208 • F - File containing a list of files and directories. The
209 F causes the name following the tarfile to create to be
210 read as a filename that contains a list of files and
211 directories to be included in an extract or create (and
212 therefore everything else to be excluded). See example
213 below. Filename globbing works in one of two ways. See r
214 below.
215
216 • b - Blocksize. Must be followed by a valid (greater than
217 zero) blocksize. Causes tar file to be written out in
218 blocksize*TBLOCK (512 byte) blocks.
219
220 • g - Incremental. Only back up files that have the
221 archive bit set. Useful only with the c flag.
222
223 • v - Verbose. Makes tar print out the files being
224 processed. By default tar is not verbose. This is the
225 same as tarmode verbose.
226
227 • r - Use wildcard matching to include or exclude.
228 Deprecated.
229
230 • N - Newer than. Must be followed by the name of a file
231 whose date is compared against files found on the share
232 during a create. Only files newer than the file
233 specified are backed up to the tar file. Useful only
234 with the c flag.
235
236 • a - Set archive bit. Causes the archive bit to be reset
237 when a file is backed up. Useful with the g and c flags.
238
239 Tar Long File Names
240
241 smbclient's tar option now supports long file names both on backup
242 and restore. However, the full path name of the file must be less
243 than 1024 bytes. Also, when a tar archive is created, smbclient's
244 tar option places all files in the archive with relative names, not
245 absolute names.
246
247 Tar Filenames
248
249 All file names can be given as DOS path names (with '\\' as the
250 component separator) or as UNIX path names (with '/' as the
251 component separator).
252
253 Examples
254
255 Restore from tar file backup.tar into myshare on mypc (no password
256 on share).
257
258 smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tx backup.tar
259
260 Restore everything except users/docs
261
262 smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -TXx backup.tar users/docs
263
264 Create a tar file of the files beneath users/docs.
265
266 smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tc backup.tar users/docs
267
268 Create the same tar file as above, but now use a DOS path name.
269
270 smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tc backup.tar users\edocs
271
272 Create a tar file of the files listed in the file tarlist.
273
274 smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -TcF backup.tar tarlist
275
276 Create a tar file of all the files and directories in the share.
277
278 smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tc backup.tar *
279
280 -D|--directory initial directory
281 Change to initial directory before starting. Probably only of any
282 use with the tar -T option.
283
284 -c|--command command string
285 command string is a semicolon-separated list of commands to be
286 executed instead of prompting from stdin.
287 -N is implied by -c.
288
289 This is particularly useful in scripts and for printing stdin to
290 the server, e.g. -c 'print -'.
291
292 -?|--help
293 Print a summary of command line options.
294
295 --usage
296 Display brief usage message.
297
298 -d|--debuglevel=DEBUGLEVEL
299 level is an integer from 0 to 10. The default value if this
300 parameter is not specified is 1 for client applications.
301
302 The higher this value, the more detail will be logged to the log
303 files about the activities of the server. At level 0, only critical
304 errors and serious warnings will be logged. Level 1 is a reasonable
305 level for day-to-day running - it generates a small amount of
306 information about operations carried out.
307
308 Levels above 1 will generate considerable amounts of log data, and
309 should only be used when investigating a problem. Levels above 3
310 are designed for use only by developers and generate HUGE amounts
311 of log data, most of which is extremely cryptic.
312
313 Note that specifying this parameter here will override the log
314 level parameter in the smb.conf file.
315
316 --debug-stdout
317 This will redirect debug output to STDOUT. By default all clients
318 are logging to STDERR.
319
320 --configfile=<configuration file>
321 The file specified contains the configuration details required by
322 the client. The information in this file can be general for client
323 and server or only provide client specific like options such as
324 client smb encrypt. See smb.conf for more information. The default
325 configuration file name is determined at compile time.
326
327 --option=<name>=<value>
328 Set the smb.conf(5) option "<name>" to value "<value>" from the
329 command line. This overrides compiled-in defaults and options read
330 from the configuration file. If a name or a value includes a space,
331 wrap whole --option=name=value into quotes.
332
333 -l|--log-basename=logdirectory
334 Base directory name for log/debug files. The extension ".progname"
335 will be appended (e.g. log.smbclient, log.smbd, etc...). The log
336 file is never removed by the client.
337
338 --leak-report
339 Enable talloc leak reporting on exit.
340
341 --leak-report-full
342 Enable full talloc leak reporting on exit.
343
344 -V|--version
345 Prints the program version number.
346
347 -R|--name-resolve=NAME-RESOLVE-ORDER
348 This option is used to determine what naming services and in what
349 order to resolve host names to IP addresses. The option takes a
350 space-separated string of different name resolution options. The
351 best ist to wrap the whole --name-resolve=NAME-RESOLVE-ORDER into
352 quotes.
353
354 The options are: "lmhosts", "host", "wins" and "bcast". They cause
355 names to be resolved as follows:
356
357 • lmhosts: Lookup an IP address in the Samba lmhosts file.
358 If the line in lmhosts has no name type attached to the
359 NetBIOS name (see the lmhosts(5) for details) then any
360 name type matches for lookup.
361
362 • host: Do a standard host name to IP address resolution,
363 using the system /etc/hosts, NIS, or DNS lookups. This
364 method of name resolution is operating system dependent,
365 for instance on IRIX or Solaris this may be controlled
366 by the /etc/nsswitch.conf file). Note that this method
367 is only used if the NetBIOS name type being queried is
368 the 0x20 (server) name type, otherwise it is ignored.
369
370 • wins: Query a name with the IP address listed in the
371 wins server parameter. If no WINS server has been
372 specified this method will be ignored.
373
374 • bcast: Do a broadcast on each of the known local
375 interfaces listed in the interfaces parameter. This is
376 the least reliable of the name resolution methods as it
377 depends on the target host being on a locally connected
378 subnet.
379
380 If this parameter is not set then the name resolve order defined in
381 the smb.conf file parameter (name resolve order) will be used.
382
383 The default order is lmhosts, host, wins, bcast. Without this
384 parameter or any entry in the name resolve order parameter of the
385 smb.conf file, the name resolution methods will be attempted in
386 this order.
387
388 -O|--socket-options=SOCKETOPTIONS
389 TCP socket options to set on the client socket. See the socket
390 options parameter in the smb.conf manual page for the list of valid
391 options.
392
393 -m|--max-protocol=MAXPROTOCOL
394 The value of the parameter (a string) is the highest protocol level
395 that will be supported by the client.
396
397 Note that specifying this parameter here will override the client
398 max protocol parameter in the smb.conf file.
399
400 -n|--netbiosname=NETBIOSNAME
401 This option allows you to override the NetBIOS name that Samba uses
402 for itself. This is identical to setting the netbios name parameter
403 in the smb.conf file. However, a command line setting will take
404 precedence over settings in smb.conf.
405
406 --netbios-scope=SCOPE
407 This specifies a NetBIOS scope that nmblookup will use to
408 communicate with when generating NetBIOS names. For details on the
409 use of NetBIOS scopes, see rfc1001.txt and rfc1002.txt. NetBIOS
410 scopes are very rarely used, only set this parameter if you are the
411 system administrator in charge of all the NetBIOS systems you
412 communicate with.
413
414 -W|--workgroup=WORKGROUP
415 Set the SMB domain of the username. This overrides the default
416 domain which is the domain defined in smb.conf. If the domain
417 specified is the same as the servers NetBIOS name, it causes the
418 client to log on using the servers local SAM (as opposed to the
419 Domain SAM).
420
421 Note that specifying this parameter here will override the
422 workgroup parameter in the smb.conf file.
423
424 -r|--realm=REALM
425 Set the realm for the domain.
426
427 Note that specifying this parameter here will override the realm
428 parameter in the smb.conf file.
429
430 -U|--user=[DOMAIN\]USERNAME[%PASSWORD]
431 Sets the SMB username or username and password.
432
433 If %PASSWORD is not specified, the user will be prompted. The
434 client will first check the USER environment variable (which is
435 also permitted to also contain the password seperated by a %), then
436 the LOGNAME variable (which is not permitted to contain a password)
437 and if either exists, the value is used. If these environmental
438 variables are not found, the username found in a Kerberos
439 Credentials cache may be used.
440
441 A third option is to use a credentials file which contains the
442 plaintext of the username and password. This option is mainly
443 provided for scripts where the admin does not wish to pass the
444 credentials on the command line or via environment variables. If
445 this method is used, make certain that the permissions on the file
446 restrict access from unwanted users. See the -A for more details.
447
448 Be cautious about including passwords in scripts or passing
449 user-supplied values onto the command line. For security it is
450 better to let the Samba client tool ask for the password if needed,
451 or obtain the password once with kinit.
452
453 While Samba will attempt to scrub the password from the process
454 title (as seen in ps), this is after startup and so is subject to a
455 race.
456
457 -N|--no-pass
458 If specified, this parameter suppresses the normal password prompt
459 from the client to the user. This is useful when accessing a
460 service that does not require a password.
461
462 Unless a password is specified on the command line or this
463 parameter is specified, the client will request a password.
464
465 If a password is specified on the command line and this option is
466 also defined the password on the command line will be silently
467 ignored and no password will be used.
468
469 --password
470 Specify the password on the commandline.
471
472 Be cautious about including passwords in scripts or passing
473 user-supplied values onto the command line. For security it is
474 better to let the Samba client tool ask for the password if needed,
475 or obtain the password once with kinit.
476
477 If --password is not specified, the tool will check the PASSWD
478 environment variable, followed by PASSWD_FD which is expected to
479 contain an open file descriptor (FD) number.
480
481 Finally it will check PASSWD_FILE (containing a file path to be
482 opened). The file should only contain the password. Make certain
483 that the permissions on the file restrict access from unwanted
484 users!
485
486 While Samba will attempt to scrub the password from the process
487 title (as seen in ps), this is after startup and so is subject to a
488 race.
489
490 --pw-nt-hash
491 The supplied password is the NT hash.
492
493 -A|--authentication-file=filename
494 This option allows you to specify a file from which to read the
495 username and password used in the connection. The format of the
496 file is:
497
498 username = <value>
499 password = <value>
500 domain = <value>
501
502
503 Make certain that the permissions on the file restrict access from
504 unwanted users!
505
506 -P|--machine-pass
507 Use stored machine account password.
508
509 --simple-bind-dn=DN
510 DN to use for a simple bind.
511
512 --use-kerberos=desired|required|off
513 This parameter determines whether Samba client tools will try to
514 authenticate using Kerberos. For Kerberos authentication you need
515 to use dns names instead of IP addresses when connnecting to a
516 service.
517
518 Note that specifying this parameter here will override the client
519 use kerberos parameter in the smb.conf file.
520
521 --use-krb5-ccache=CCACHE
522 Specifies the credential cache location for Kerberos
523 authentication.
524
525 This will set --use-kerberos=required too.
526
527 --use-winbind-ccache
528 Try to use the credential cache by winbind.
529
530 --client-protection=sign|encrypt|off
531 Sets the connection protection the client tool should use.
532
533 Note that specifying this parameter here will override the client
534 protection parameter in the smb.conf file.
535
536 In case you need more fine grained control you can use:
537 --option=clientsmbencrypt=OPTION, --option=clientipcsigning=OPTION,
538 --option=clientsigning=OPTION.
539
541 Once the client is running, the user is presented with a prompt :
542
543 smb:\>
544
545 The backslash ("\\") indicates the current working directory on the
546 server, and will change if the current working directory is changed.
547
548 The prompt indicates that the client is ready and waiting to carry out
549 a user command. Each command is a single word, optionally followed by
550 parameters specific to that command. Command and parameters are
551 space-delimited unless these notes specifically state otherwise. All
552 commands are case-insensitive. Parameters to commands may or may not be
553 case sensitive, depending on the command.
554
555 You can specify file names which have spaces in them by quoting the
556 name with double quotes, for example "a long file name".
557
558 Parameters shown in square brackets (e.g., "[parameter]") are optional.
559 If not given, the command will use suitable defaults. Parameters shown
560 in angle brackets (e.g., "<parameter>") are required.
561
562 Note that all commands operating on the server are actually performed
563 by issuing a request to the server. Thus the behavior may vary from
564 server to server, depending on how the server was implemented.
565
566 The commands available are given here in alphabetical order.
567
568 ? [command]
569 If command is specified, the ? command will display a brief
570 informative message about the specified command. If no command is
571 specified, a list of available commands will be displayed.
572
573 ! [shell command]
574 If shell command is specified, the ! command will execute a shell
575 locally and run the specified shell command. If no command is
576 specified, a local shell will be run.
577
578 allinfo file
579 The client will request that the server return all known
580 information about a file or directory (including streams).
581
582 altname file
583 The client will request that the server return the "alternate" name
584 (the 8.3 name) for a file or directory.
585
586 archive <number>
587 Sets the archive level when operating on files. 0 means ignore the
588 archive bit, 1 means only operate on files with this bit set, 2
589 means only operate on files with this bit set and reset it after
590 operation, 3 means operate on all files and reset it after
591 operation. The default is 0.
592
593 backup
594 Toggle the state of the "backup intent" flag sent to the server on
595 directory listings and file opens. If the "backup intent" flag is
596 true, the server will try and bypass some file system checks if the
597 user has been granted SE_BACKUP or SE_RESTORE privileges. This
598 state is useful when performing a backup or restore operation.
599
600 blocksize <number>
601 Sets the blocksize parameter for a tar operation. The default is
602 20. Causes tar file to be written out in blocksize*TBLOCK (normally
603 512 byte) units.
604
605 cancel jobid0 [jobid1] ... [jobidN]
606 The client will request that the server cancel the printjobs
607 identified by the given numeric print job ids.
608
609 case_sensitive
610 Toggles the setting of the flag in SMB packets that tells the
611 server to treat filenames as case sensitive. Set to OFF by default
612 (tells file server to treat filenames as case insensitive). Only
613 currently affects Samba 3.0.5 and above file servers with the case
614 sensitive parameter set to auto in the smb.conf.
615
616 cd <directory name>
617 If "directory name" is specified, the current working directory on
618 the server will be changed to the directory specified. This
619 operation will fail if for any reason the specified directory is
620 inaccessible.
621
622 If no directory name is specified, the current working directory on
623 the server will be reported.
624
625 chmod file mode in octal
626 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
627 extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client
628 requests that the server change the UNIX permissions to the given
629 octal mode, in standard UNIX format.
630
631 chown file uid gid
632 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
633 extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client
634 requests that the server change the UNIX user and group ownership
635 to the given decimal values. Note there is currently no way to
636 remotely look up the UNIX uid and gid values for a given name. This
637 may be addressed in future versions of the CIFS UNIX extensions.
638
639 close <fileid>
640 Closes a file explicitly opened by the open command. Used for
641 internal Samba testing purposes.
642
643 del <mask>
644 The client will request that the server attempt to delete all files
645 matching mask from the current working directory on the server.
646
647 deltree <mask>
648 The client will request that the server attempt to delete all files
649 and directories matching mask from the current working directory on
650 the server. Note this will recursively delete files and directories
651 within the directories selected even without the recurse command
652 being set. If any of the delete requests fail the command will stop
653 processing at that point, leaving files and directories not yet
654 processed untouched. This is by design.
655
656 dir <mask>
657 A list of the files matching mask in the current working directory
658 on the server will be retrieved from the server and displayed.
659
660 du <filename>
661 Does a directory listing and then prints out the current disk usage
662 and free space on a share.
663
664 echo <number> <data>
665 Does an SMBecho request to ping the server. Used for internal Samba
666 testing purposes.
667
668 exit
669 Terminate the connection with the server and exit from the program.
670
671 get <remote file name> [local file name]
672 Copy the file called remote file name from the server to the
673 machine running the client. If specified, name the local copy local
674 file name. Note that all transfers in smbclient are binary. See
675 also the lowercase command.
676
677 getfacl <filename>
678 Requires the server support the UNIX extensions. Requests and
679 prints the POSIX ACL on a file.
680
681 hardlink <src> <dest>
682 Creates a hardlink on the server using Windows CIFS semantics.
683
684 help [command]
685 See the ? command above.
686
687 history
688 Displays the command history.
689
690 iosize <bytes>
691 When sending or receiving files, smbclient uses an internal buffer
692 sized by the maximum number of allowed requests to the connected
693 server. This command allows this size to be set to any range
694 between 0 (which means use the default server controlled size)
695 bytes and 16776960 (0xFFFF00) bytes. Using the server controlled
696 size is the most efficient as smbclient will pipeline as many
697 simultaneous reads or writes needed to keep the server as busy as
698 possible. Setting this to any other size will slow down the
699 transfer.
700
701 lcd [directory name]
702 If directory name is specified, the current working directory on
703 the local machine will be changed to the directory specified. This
704 operation will fail if for any reason the specified directory is
705 inaccessible.
706
707 If no directory name is specified, the name of the current working
708 directory on the local machine will be reported.
709
710 link target linkname
711 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
712 extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client
713 requests that the server create a hard link between the linkname
714 and target files. The linkname file must not exist.
715
716 listconnect
717 Show the current connections held for DFS purposes.
718
719 lock <filenum> <r|w> <hex-start> <hex-len>
720 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
721 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Tries to set a
722 POSIX fcntl lock of the given type on the given range. Used for
723 internal Samba testing purposes.
724
725 logon <username> <password>
726 Establishes a new vuid for this session by logging on again.
727 Replaces the current vuid. Prints out the new vuid. Used for
728 internal Samba testing purposes.
729
730 logoff
731 Logs the user off the server, closing the session. Used for
732 internal Samba testing purposes.
733
734 lowercase
735 Toggle lowercasing of filenames for the get and mget commands.
736
737 When lowercasing is toggled ON, local filenames are converted to
738 lowercase when using the get and mget commands. This is often
739 useful when copying (say) MSDOS files from a server, because
740 lowercase filenames are the norm on UNIX systems.
741
742 ls <mask>
743 See the dir command above.
744
745 mask <mask>
746 This command allows the user to set up a mask which will be used
747 during recursive operation of the mget and mput commands.
748
749 The masks specified to the mget and mput commands act as filters
750 for directories rather than files when recursion is toggled ON.
751
752 The mask specified with the mask command is necessary to filter
753 files within those directories. For example, if the mask specified
754 in an mget command is "source*" and the mask specified with the
755 mask command is "*.c" and recursion is toggled ON, the mget command
756 will retrieve all files matching "*.c" in all directories below and
757 including all directories matching "source*" in the current working
758 directory.
759
760 Note that the value for mask defaults to blank (equivalent to "*")
761 and remains so until the mask command is used to change it. It
762 retains the most recently specified value indefinitely. To avoid
763 unexpected results it would be wise to change the value of mask
764 back to "*" after using the mget or mput commands.
765
766 md <directory name>
767 See the mkdir command.
768
769 mget <mask>
770 Copy all files matching mask from the server to the machine running
771 the client.
772
773 Note that mask is interpreted differently during recursive
774 operation and non-recursive operation - refer to the recurse and
775 mask commands for more information. Note that all transfers in
776 smbclient are binary. See also the lowercase command.
777
778 mkdir <directory name>
779 Create a new directory on the server (user access privileges
780 permitting) with the specified name.
781
782 more <file name>
783 Fetch a remote file and view it with the contents of your PAGER
784 environment variable.
785
786 mput <mask>
787 Copy all files matching mask in the current working directory on
788 the local machine to the current working directory on the server.
789
790 Note that mask is interpreted differently during recursive
791 operation and non-recursive operation - refer to the recurse and
792 mask commands for more information. Note that all transfers in
793 smbclient are binary.
794
795 notify <dir name>
796 Query a directory for change notifications. This command issues a
797 recursive filechangenotify call for all possible changes. As
798 changes come in will print one line per change. See
799 https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn392331.aspx for a
800 description of the action numbers that this command prints.
801
802 This command never ends, it waits for event indefinitely.
803
804 posix
805 Query the remote server to see if it supports the CIFS UNIX
806 extensions and prints out the list of capabilities supported. If
807 so, turn on POSIX pathname processing and large file read/writes
808 (if available),.
809
810 posix_encrypt <domain> <username> <password>
811 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
812 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Attempt to
813 negotiate SMB encryption on this connection. If smbclient connected
814 with kerberos credentials (-k) the arguments to this command are
815 ignored and the kerberos credentials are used to negotiate GSSAPI
816 signing and sealing instead. See also the -e option to smbclient to
817 force encryption on initial connection. This command is new with
818 Samba 3.2.
819
820 posix_open <filename> <octal mode>
821 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
822 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Opens a remote
823 file using the CIFS UNIX extensions and prints a fileid. Used for
824 internal Samba testing purposes.
825
826 posix_mkdir <directoryname> <octal mode>
827 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
828 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Creates a remote
829 directory using the CIFS UNIX extensions with the given mode.
830
831 posix_rmdir <directoryname>
832 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
833 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Deletes a remote
834 directory using the CIFS UNIX extensions.
835
836 posix_unlink <filename>
837 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
838 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Deletes a remote
839 file using the CIFS UNIX extensions.
840
841 posix_whoami
842 Query the remote server for the user token using the CIFS UNIX
843 extensions WHOAMI call. Prints out the guest status, user, group,
844 group list and sid list that the remote server is using on behalf
845 of the logged on user.
846
847 print <file name>
848 Print the specified file from the local machine through a printable
849 service on the server.
850
851 prompt
852 Toggle prompting for filenames during operation of the mget and
853 mput commands.
854
855 When toggled ON, the user will be prompted to confirm the transfer
856 of each file during these commands. When toggled OFF, all specified
857 files will be transferred without prompting.
858
859 put <local file name> [remote file name]
860 Copy the file called local file name from the machine running the
861 client to the server. If specified, name the remote copy remote
862 file name. Note that all transfers in smbclient are binary. See
863 also the lowercase command.
864
865 queue
866 Displays the print queue, showing the job id, name, size and
867 current status.
868
869 quit
870 See the exit command.
871
872 readlink symlinkname
873 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
874 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Print the value of
875 the symlink "symlinkname".
876
877 rd <directory name>
878 See the rmdir command.
879
880 recurse
881 Toggle directory recursion for the commands mget and mput.
882
883 When toggled ON, these commands will process all directories in the
884 source directory (i.e., the directory they are copying from ) and
885 will recurse into any that match the mask specified to the command.
886 Only files that match the mask specified using the mask command
887 will be retrieved. See also the mask command.
888
889 When recursion is toggled OFF, only files from the current working
890 directory on the source machine that match the mask specified to
891 the mget or mput commands will be copied, and any mask specified
892 using the mask command will be ignored.
893
894 rename <old filename> <new filename> [-f]
895 Rename files in the current working directory on the server from
896 old filename to new filename. The optional -f switch allows for
897 superseding the destination file, if it exists. This is supported
898 by NT1 protocol dialect and SMB2 protocol family.
899
900 rm <mask>
901 Remove all files matching mask from the current working directory
902 on the server.
903
904 rmdir <directory name>
905 Remove the specified directory (user access privileges permitting)
906 from the server.
907
908 scopy <source filename> <destination filename>
909 Attempt to copy a file on the server using the most efficient
910 server-side copy calls. Falls back to using read then write if
911 server doesn't support server-side copy.
912
913 setmode <filename> <perm=[+|\-]rsha>
914 A version of the DOS attrib command to set file permissions. For
915 example:
916
917 setmode myfile +r
918
919 would make myfile read only.
920
921 showconnect
922 Show the currently active connection held for DFS purposes.
923
924 stat file
925 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
926 extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client
927 requests the UNIX basic info level and prints out the same info
928 that the Linux stat command would about the file. This includes the
929 size, blocks used on disk, file type, permissions, inode number,
930 number of links and finally the three timestamps (access, modify
931 and change). If the file is a special file (symlink, character or
932 block device, fifo or socket) then extra information may also be
933 printed.
934
935 symlink target linkname
936 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
937 extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client
938 requests that the server create a symbolic hard link between the
939 target and linkname files. The linkname file must not exist. Note
940 that the server will not create a link to any path that lies
941 outside the currently connected share. This is enforced by the
942 Samba server.
943
944 tar <c|x>[IXbgNa]
945 Performs a tar operation - see the -T command line option above.
946 Behavior may be affected by the tarmode command (see below). Using
947 g (incremental) and N (newer) will affect tarmode settings. Note
948 that using the "-" option with tar x may not work - use the command
949 line option instead.
950
951 blocksize <blocksize>
952 Blocksize. Must be followed by a valid (greater than zero)
953 blocksize. Causes tar file to be written out in blocksize*TBLOCK
954 (512 byte) blocks.
955
956 tarmode
957 <full|inc|reset|noreset|system|nosystem|hidden|nohidden|verbose|noverbose>
958 Changes tar's behavior with regard to DOS attributes. There are 4
959 modes which can be turned on or off.
960
961 Incremental mode (default off). When off (using full) tar will back
962 up everything regardless of the archive bit setting. When on (using
963 inc), tar will only back up files with the archive bit set.
964
965 Reset mode (default off). When on (using reset), tar will remove
966 the archive bit on all files it backs up (implies read/write
967 share). Use noreset to turn off.
968
969 System mode (default on). When off, tar will not backup system
970 files. Use nosystem to turn off.
971
972 Hidden mode (default on). When off, tar will not backup hidden
973 files. Use nohidden to turn off.
974
975 timeout <per-operation timeout in seconds>
976 This allows the user to tune the default timeout used for each SMB
977 request. The default setting is 20 seconds. Increase it if requests
978 to the server sometimes time out. This can happen when SMB3
979 encryption is selected and smbclient is overwhelming the server
980 with requests.
981
982 unlock <filenum> <hex-start> <hex-len>
983 This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS UNIX
984 extensions and will fail if the server does not. Tries to unlock a
985 POSIX fcntl lock on the given range. Used for internal Samba
986 testing purposes.
987
988 volume
989 Prints the current volume name of the share.
990
991 vuid <number>
992 Changes the currently used vuid in the protocol to the given
993 arbitrary number. Without an argument prints out the current vuid
994 being used. Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
995
996 tcon <sharename>
997 Establishes a new tree connect (connection to a share). Replaces
998 the current tree connect. Prints the new tid (tree id). Used for
999 internal Samba testing purposes.
1000
1001 tdis
1002 Close the current share connection (tree disconnect). Used for
1003 internal Samba testing purposes.
1004
1005 tid <number>
1006 Changes the current tree id (tid) in the protocol to a new
1007 arbitrary number. Without an argument, it prints out the tid
1008 currently used. Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
1009
1010 utimes <filename> <create time> <access time> <write time> < change
1011 time>
1012 Changes the timestamps on a file by name. Times should be specified
1013 in the format [YY]YY:MM:DD-HH:MM:SS or -1 for no change.
1014
1016 Some servers are fussy about the case of supplied usernames, passwords,
1017 share names (AKA service names) and machine names. If you fail to
1018 connect try giving all parameters in uppercase.
1019
1020 It is often necessary to use the -n option when connecting to some
1021 types of servers. For example OS/2 LanManager insists on a valid
1022 NetBIOS name being used, so you need to supply a valid name that would
1023 be known to the server.
1024
1025 smbclient supports long file names where the server supports the
1026 LANMAN2 protocol or above.
1027
1029 See the --user and --password options for details on ways to specify a
1030 username and password via an environment variable.
1031
1033 The location of the client program is a matter for individual system
1034 administrators. The following are thus suggestions only.
1035
1036 It is recommended that the smbclient software be installed in the
1037 /usr/local/samba/bin/ or /usr/samba/bin/ directory, this directory
1038 readable by all, writeable only by root. The client program itself
1039 should be executable by all. The client should NOT be setuid or setgid!
1040
1041 The client log files should be put in a directory readable and
1042 writeable only by the user.
1043
1044 To test the client, you will need to know the name of a running
1045 SMB/CIFS server. It is possible to run smbd(8) as an ordinary user -
1046 running that server as a daemon on a user-accessible port (typically
1047 any port number over 1024) would provide a suitable test server.
1048
1050 Most diagnostics issued by the client are logged in a specified log
1051 file. The log file name is specified at compile time, but may be
1052 overridden on the command line.
1053
1054 The number and nature of diagnostics available depends on the debug
1055 level used by the client. If you have problems, set the debug level to
1056 3 and peruse the log files.
1057
1059 This man page is part of version 4.16.2 of the Samba suite.
1060
1062 The original Samba software and related utilities were created by
1063 Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed by the Samba Team as an Open
1064 Source project similar to the way the Linux kernel is developed.
1065
1066
1067
1068Samba 4.16.2 06/13/2022 SMBCLIENT(1)