smbclient
1
Samba
User Commands
3.6
smbclient
ftp-like client to access SMB/CIFS resources
on servers
smbclient
-b <buffer size>
-d debuglevel
-e
-L <netbios name>
-U username
-I destinationIP
-M <netbios name>
-m maxprotocol
-A authfile
-N
-C
-g
-i scope
-O <socket options>
-p port
-R <name resolve order>
-s <smb config file>
-k
-P
-c <command>
smbclient
servicename
password
-b <buffer size>
-d debuglevel
-e
-D Directory
-U username
-W workgroup
-M <netbios name>
-m maxprotocol
-A authfile
-N
-C
-g
-l log-basename
-I destinationIP
-E
-c <command string>
-i scope
-O <socket options>
-p port
-R <name resolve order>
-s <smb config file>
-T<c|x>IXFqgbNan
-k
DESCRIPTION
This tool is part of the samba
7 suite.
smbclient is a client that can
'talk' to an SMB/CIFS server. It offers an interface
similar to that of the ftp program (see ftp
1).
Operations include things like getting files from the server
to the local machine, putting files from the local machine to
the server, retrieving directory information from the server
and so on.
OPTIONS
servicename
servicename is the name of the service
you want to use on the server. A service name takes the form
//server/service where server
is the NetBIOS name of the SMB/CIFS server
offering the desired service and service
is the name of the service offered. Thus to connect to
the service "printer" on the SMB/CIFS server "smbserver",
you would use the servicename //smbserver/printer
Note that the server name required is NOT necessarily
the IP (DNS) host name of the server ! The name required is
a NetBIOS server name, which may or may not be the
same as the IP hostname of the machine running the server.
The server name is looked up according to either
the -R parameter to smbclient or
using the name resolve order parameter in
the smb.conf
5 file,
allowing an administrator to change the order and methods
by which server names are looked up.
password
The password required to access the specified
service on the specified server. If this parameter is
supplied, the -N option (suppress
password prompt) is assumed.
There is no default password. If no password is supplied
on the command line (either by using this parameter or adding
a password to the -U option (see
below)) and the -N option is not
specified, the client will prompt for a password, even if
the desired service does not require one. (If no password is
required, simply press ENTER to provide a null password.)
Note: Some servers (including OS/2 and Windows for
Workgroups) insist on an uppercase password. Lowercase
or mixed case passwords may be rejected by these servers.
Be cautious about including passwords in scripts.
-R|--name-resolve <name resolve order>
This option is used by the programs in the Samba
suite to determine what naming services and in what order to resolve
host names to IP addresses. The option takes a space-separated
string of different name resolution options.
The options are :"lmhosts", "host", "wins" and "bcast". They
cause names to be resolved as follows:
lmhosts: Lookup an IP
address in the Samba lmhosts file. If the line in lmhosts has
no name type attached to the NetBIOS name (see
the lmhosts
5 for details) then
any name type matches for lookup.
host: Do a standard host
name to IP address resolution, using the system /etc/hosts
, NIS, or DNS lookups. This method of name resolution
is operating system dependent, for instance on IRIX or Solaris this
may be controlled by the /etc/nsswitch.conf
file). Note that this method is only used if the NetBIOS name
type being queried is the 0x20 (server) name type, otherwise
it is ignored.
wins: Query a name with
the IP address listed in the wins server
parameter. If no WINS server has
been specified this method will be ignored.
bcast: Do a broadcast on
each of the known local interfaces listed in the
interfaces
parameter. This is the least reliable of the name resolution
methods as it depends on the target host being on a locally
connected subnet.
If this parameter is not set then the name resolve order
defined in the smb.conf
5 file parameter
(name resolve order) will be used.
The default order is lmhosts, host, wins, bcast and without
this parameter or any entry in the name resolve order
parameter of the smb.conf
5 file the name resolution
methods will be attempted in this order.
-M|--message NetBIOS name
This options allows you to send messages, using
the "WinPopup" protocol, to another computer. Once a connection is
established you then type your message, pressing ^D (control-D) to
end.
If the receiving computer is running WinPopup the user will
receive the message and probably a beep. If they are not running
WinPopup the message will be lost, and no error message will
occur.
The message is also automatically truncated if the message
is over 1600 bytes, as this is the limit of the protocol.
One useful trick is to pipe the message through smbclient.
For example: smbclient -M FRED < mymessage.txt will send the
message in the file mymessage.txt to the
machine FRED.
You may also find the -U and
-I options useful, as they allow you to
control the FROM and TO parts of the message.
See the message command parameter in the smb.conf
5 for a description of how to handle incoming
WinPopup messages in Samba.
Note: Copy WinPopup into the startup group
on your WfWg PCs if you want them to always be able to receive
messages.
-p|--port port
This number is the TCP port number that will be used
when making connections to the server. The standard (well-known)
TCP port number for an SMB/CIFS server is 139, which is the
default.
-g|--grepable
This parameter provides combined with
-L easy parseable output that allows processing
with utilities such as grep and cut.
-m|--max-protocol protocol
This parameter sets the maximum protocol version announced by the client.
-P|--machine-pass
Make queries to the external server using the machine account of the local server.
&stdarg.help;
-I|--ip-address IP-address
IP address is the address of the server to connect to.
It should be specified in standard "a.b.c.d" notation.
Normally the client would attempt to locate a named
SMB/CIFS server by looking it up via the NetBIOS name resolution
mechanism described above in the name resolve order
parameter above. Using this parameter will force the client
to assume that the server is on the machine with the specified IP
address and the NetBIOS name component of the resource being
connected to will be ignored.
There is no default for this parameter. If not supplied,
it will be determined automatically by the client as described
above.
-E|--stderr
This parameter causes the client to write messages
to the standard error stream (stderr) rather than to the standard
output stream.
By default, the client writes messages to standard output
- typically the user's tty.
-L|--list
This option allows you to look at what services
are available on a server. You use it as smbclient -L
host and a list should appear. The -I
option may be useful if your NetBIOS names don't
match your TCP/IP DNS host names or if you are trying to reach a
host on another network.
-b|--send-buffer buffersize
This option changes the transmit/send buffer
size when getting or putting a file from/to the server. The default
is 65520 bytes. Setting this value smaller (to 1200 bytes) has been
observed to speed up file transfers to and from a Win9x server.
-e|--encrypt
This command line parameter requires the remote
server support the UNIX extensions. Request that the connection be
encrypted. This is new for Samba 3.2 and will only work with Samba
3.2 or above servers. Negotiates SMB encryption using GSSAPI. Uses
the given credentials for the encryption negotiaion (either kerberos
or NTLMv1/v2 if given domain/username/password triple. Fails the
connection if encryption cannot be negotiated.
&stdarg.client.debug;
&popt.common.samba;
&popt.common.credentials;
&popt.common.connection;
-T|--tar tar options
smbclient may be used to create tar(1)
compatible backups of all the files on an SMB/CIFS
share. The secondary tar flags that can be given to this option
are :
c - Create a tar file on UNIX.
Must be followed by the name of a tar file, tape device
or "-" for standard output. If using standard output you must
turn the log level to its lowest value -d0 to avoid corrupting
your tar file. This flag is mutually exclusive with the
x flag.
x - Extract (restore) a local
tar file back to a share. Unless the -D option is given, the tar
files will be restored from the top level of the share. Must be
followed by the name of the tar file, device or "-" for standard
input. Mutually exclusive with the c flag.
Restored files have their creation times (mtime) set to the
date saved in the tar file. Directories currently do not get
their creation dates restored properly.
I - Include files and directories.
Is the default behavior when filenames are specified above. Causes
files to be included in an extract or create (and therefore
everything else to be excluded). See example below. Filename globbing
works in one of two ways. See r below.
X - Exclude files and directories.
Causes files to be excluded from an extract or create. See
example below. Filename globbing works in one of two ways now.
See r below.
F - File containing a list of files and directories.
The F causes the name following the tarfile to
create to be read as a filename that contains a list of files and directories to
be included in an extract or create (and therefore everything else to be excluded).
See example below. Filename globbing works in one of two ways.
See r below.
b - Blocksize. Must be followed
by a valid (greater than zero) blocksize. Causes tar file to be
written out in blocksize*TBLOCK (usually 512 byte) blocks.
g - Incremental. Only back up
files that have the archive bit set. Useful only with the
c flag.
q - Quiet. Keeps tar from printing
diagnostics as it works. This is the same as tarmode quiet.
r - Regular expression include
or exclude. Uses regular expression matching for
excluding or excluding files if compiled with HAVE_REGEX_H.
However this mode can be very slow. If not compiled with
HAVE_REGEX_H, does a limited wildcard match on '*' and '?'.
N - Newer than. Must be followed
by the name of a file whose date is compared against files found
on the share during a create. Only files newer than the file
specified are backed up to the tar file. Useful only with the
c flag.
a - Set archive bit. Causes the
archive bit to be reset when a file is backed up. Useful with the
g and c flags.
Tar Long File Names
smbclient's tar option now supports long
file names both on backup and restore. However, the full path
name of the file must be less than 1024 bytes. Also, when
a tar archive is created, smbclient's tar option places all
files in the archive with relative names, not absolute names.
Tar Filenames
All file names can be given as DOS path names (with '\\'
as the component separator) or as UNIX path names (with '/' as
the component separator).
Examples
Restore from tar file backup.tar into myshare on mypc
(no password on share).
smbclient //mypc/yshare "" -N -Tx backup.tar
Restore everything except users/docs
smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -TXx backup.tar
users/docs
Create a tar file of the files beneath
users/docs.
smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tc
backup.tar users/docs
Create the same tar file as above, but now use
a DOS path name.
smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -tc backup.tar
users\edocs
Create a tar file of the files listed in the file tarlist.
smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -TcF
backup.tar tarlist
Create a tar file of all the files and directories in
the share.
smbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tc backup.tar *
-D|--directory initial directory
Change to initial directory before starting. Probably
only of any use with the tar -T option.
-c|--command command string
command string is a semicolon-separated list of
commands to be executed instead of prompting from stdin.
-N is implied by -c.
This is particularly useful in scripts and for printing stdin
to the server, e.g. -c 'print -'.
OPERATIONS
Once the client is running, the user is presented with
a prompt :
smb:\>
The backslash ("\\") indicates the current working directory
on the server, and will change if the current working directory
is changed.
The prompt indicates that the client is ready and waiting to
carry out a user command. Each command is a single word, optionally
followed by parameters specific to that command. Command and parameters
are space-delimited unless these notes specifically
state otherwise. All commands are case-insensitive. Parameters to
commands may or may not be case sensitive, depending on the command.
You can specify file names which have spaces in them by quoting
the name with double quotes, for example "a long file name".
Parameters shown in square brackets (e.g., "[parameter]") are
optional. If not given, the command will use suitable defaults. Parameters
shown in angle brackets (e.g., "<parameter>") are required.
Note that all commands operating on the server are actually
performed by issuing a request to the server. Thus the behavior may
vary from server to server, depending on how the server was implemented.
The commands available are given here in alphabetical order.
? [command]
If command is specified, the ? command will display
a brief informative message about the specified command. If no
command is specified, a list of available commands will
be displayed.
! [shell command]
If shell command is specified, the !
command will execute a shell locally and run the specified shell
command. If no command is specified, a local shell will be run.
allinfo file
The client will request that the server return
all known information about a file or directory (including streams).
altname file
The client will request that the server return
the "alternate" name (the 8.3 name) for a file or directory.
archive <number>
Sets the archive level when operating on files.
0 means ignore the archive bit, 1 means only operate on files with this bit set,
2 means only operate on files with this bit set and reset it after operation,
3 means operate on all files and reset it after operation. The default is 0.
blocksize <number>
Sets the blocksize parameter for a tar operation. The default is 20.
Causes tar file to be written out in blocksize*TBLOCK (normally 512 byte) units.
cancel jobid0 [jobid1] ... [jobidN]
The client will request that the server cancel
the printjobs identified by the given numeric print job ids.
case_sensitive
Toggles the setting of the flag in SMB packets that
tells the server to treat filenames as case sensitive. Set to OFF by
default (tells file server to treat filenames as case insensitive). Only
currently affects Samba 3.0.5 and above file servers with the case sensitive
parameter set to auto in the smb.conf.
cd <directory name>
If "directory name" is specified, the current
working directory on the server will be changed to the directory
specified. This operation will fail if for any reason the specified
directory is inaccessible.
If no directory name is specified, the current working
directory on the server will be reported.
chmod file mode in octal
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client requests that the server
change the UNIX permissions to the given octal mode, in standard UNIX format.
chown file uid gid
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client requests that the server
change the UNIX user and group ownership to the given decimal values. Note there is
currently no way to remotely look up the UNIX uid and gid values for a given name.
This may be addressed in future versions of the CIFS UNIX extensions.
close <fileid>
Closes a file explicitly opened by the open command. Used for
internal Samba testing purposes.
del <mask>
The client will request that the server attempt
to delete all files matching mask from the current working
directory on the server.
dir <mask>
A list of the files matching mask in the current
working directory on the server will be retrieved from the server
and displayed.
du <filename>
Does a directory listing and then prints out the current disk useage and free space on a share.
echo <number> <data>
Does an SMBecho request to ping the server. Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
exit
Terminate the connection with the server and exit
from the program.
get <remote file name> [local file name]
Copy the file called remote file name from
the server to the machine running the client. If specified, name
the local copy local file name. Note that all transfers in
smbclient are binary. See also the
lowercase command.
getfacl <filename>
Requires the server support the UNIX extensions. Requests and prints
the POSIX ACL on a file.
hardlink <src> <dest>
Creates a hardlink on the server using Windows CIFS semantics.
help [command]
See the ? command above.
history Displays the command history.
iosize <bytes>
When sending or receiving files, smbclient uses an
internal memory buffer by default of size 64512 bytes. This command
allows this size to be set to any range between 16384 (0x4000) bytes
and 16776960 (0xFFFF00) bytes. Larger sizes may mean more efficient
data transfer as smbclient will try and use the most efficient
read and write calls for the connected server.
lcd [directory name]
If directory name is specified, the current
working directory on the local machine will be changed to
the directory specified. This operation will fail if for any
reason the specified directory is inaccessible.
If no directory name is specified, the name of the
current working directory on the local machine will be reported.
link target linkname
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client requests that the server
create a hard link between the linkname and target files. The linkname file
must not exist.
listconnect
Show the current connections held for DFS purposes.
lock <filenum> <r|w> <hex-start> <hex-len>
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Tries to set a POSIX
fcntl lock of the given type on the given range. Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
logon <username> <password>
Establishes a new vuid for this session by logging on again.
Replaces the current vuid. Prints out the new vuid. Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
logoff
Loggs the user off the server, closing the session.
Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
lowercase
Toggle lowercasing of filenames for the get and
mget commands.
When lowercasing is toggled ON, local filenames are converted
to lowercase when using the get and mget commands. This is
often useful when copying (say) MSDOS files from a server, because
lowercase filenames are the norm on UNIX systems.
ls <mask>
See the dir command above.
mask <mask>
This command allows the user to set up a mask
which will be used during recursive operation of the mget and
mput commands.
The masks specified to the mget and mput commands act as
filters for directories rather than files when recursion is
toggled ON.
The mask specified with the mask command is necessary
to filter files within those directories. For example, if the
mask specified in an mget command is "source*" and the mask
specified with the mask command is "*.c" and recursion is
toggled ON, the mget command will retrieve all files matching
"*.c" in all directories below and including all directories
matching "source*" in the current working directory.
Note that the value for mask defaults to blank (equivalent
to "*") and remains so until the mask command is used to change it.
It retains the most recently specified value indefinitely. To
avoid unexpected results it would be wise to change the value of
mask back to "*" after using the mget or mput commands.
md <directory name>
See the mkdir command.
mget <mask>
Copy all files matching mask from the server to
the machine running the client.
Note that mask is interpreted differently during recursive
operation and non-recursive operation - refer to the recurse and
mask commands for more information. Note that all transfers in
smbclient are binary. See also the lowercase command.
mkdir <directory name>
Create a new directory on the server (user access
privileges permitting) with the specified name.
more <file name>
Fetch a remote file and view it with the contents
of your PAGER environment variable.
mput <mask>
Copy all files matching mask in the current working
directory on the local machine to the current working directory on
the server.
Note that mask is interpreted differently during recursive
operation and non-recursive operation - refer to the recurse and mask
commands for more information. Note that all transfers in smbclient
are binary.
posix
Query the remote server to see if it supports the CIFS UNIX
extensions and prints out the list of capabilities supported. If so, turn
on POSIX pathname processing and large file read/writes (if available),.
posix_encrypt <domain> <username> <password>
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Attempt to negotiate
SMB encryption on this connection. If smbclient connected with kerberos
credentials (-k) the arguments to this command are ignored and the kerberos
credentials are used to negotiate GSSAPI signing and sealing instead. See
also the -e option to smbclient to force encryption on initial connection.
This command is new with Samba 3.2.
posix_open <filename> <octal mode>
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Opens a remote file
using the CIFS UNIX extensions and prints a fileid. Used for internal Samba
testing purposes.
posix_mkdir <directoryname> <octal mode>
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Creates a remote directory
using the CIFS UNIX extensions with the given mode.
posix_rmdir <directoryname>
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Deletes a remote directory
using the CIFS UNIX extensions.
posix_unlink <filename>
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Deletes a remote file
using the CIFS UNIX extensions.
print <file name>
Print the specified file from the local machine
through a printable service on the server.
prompt
Toggle prompting for filenames during operation
of the mget and mput commands.
When toggled ON, the user will be prompted to confirm
the transfer of each file during these commands. When toggled
OFF, all specified files will be transferred without prompting.
put <local file name> [remote file name]
Copy the file called local file name from the
machine running the client to the server. If specified,
name the remote copy remote file name. Note that all transfers
in smbclient are binary. See also the lowercase command.
queue
Displays the print queue, showing the job id,
name, size and current status.
quit
See the exit command.
readlink symlinkname
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Print
the value of the symlink "symlinkname".
rd <directory name>
See the rmdir command.
recurse
Toggle directory recursion for the commands mget
and mput.
When toggled ON, these commands will process all directories
in the source directory (i.e., the directory they are copying
from ) and will recurse into any that match the mask specified
to the command. Only files that match the mask specified using
the mask command will be retrieved. See also the mask command.
When recursion is toggled OFF, only files from the current
working directory on the source machine that match the mask specified
to the mget or mput commands will be copied, and any mask specified
using the mask command will be ignored.
rename <old filename> <new filename>
Rename files in the current working directory on the
server from old filename to
new filename.
rm <mask>
Remove all files matching mask from the current
working directory on the server.
rmdir <directory name>
Remove the specified directory (user access
privileges permitting) from the server.
setmode <filename> <perm=[+|\-]rsha>
A version of the DOS attrib command to set
file permissions. For example:
setmode myfile +r
would make myfile read only.
showconnect
Show the currently active connection held for DFS purposes.
stat file
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client requests the
UNIX basic info level and prints out the same info that the Linux stat command
would about the file. This includes the size, blocks used on disk, file type,
permissions, inode number, number of links and finally the three timestamps
(access, modify and change). If the file is a special file (symlink, character or
block device, fifo or socket) then extra information may also be printed.
symlink target linkname
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. The client requests that the server
create a symbolic hard link between the target and linkname files. The linkname file
must not exist. Note that the server will not create a link to any path that lies
outside the currently connected share. This is enforced by the Samba server.
tar <c|x>[IXbgNa]
Performs a tar operation - see the -T
command line option above. Behavior may be affected
by the tarmode command (see below). Using g (incremental) and N
(newer) will affect tarmode settings. Note that using the "-" option
with tar x may not work - use the command line option instead.
blocksize <blocksize>
Blocksize. Must be followed by a valid (greater
than zero) blocksize. Causes tar file to be written out in
blocksize*TBLOCK (usually 512 byte) blocks.
tarmode <full|inc|reset|noreset>
Changes tar's behavior with regard to archive
bits. In full mode, tar will back up everything regardless of the
archive bit setting (this is the default mode). In incremental mode,
tar will only back up files with the archive bit set. In reset mode,
tar will reset the archive bit on all files it backs up (implies
read/write share).
unlock <filenum> <hex-start> <hex-len>
This command depends on the server supporting the CIFS
UNIX extensions and will fail if the server does not. Tries to unlock a POSIX
fcntl lock on the given range. Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
volume
Prints the current volume name of the share.
vuid <number>
Changes the currently used vuid in the protocol to
the given arbitrary number. Without an argument prints out the current
vuid being used. Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
tcon <sharename>
Establishes a new tree connect (connection to a share).
Replaces the current tree connect. Prints the new tid (tree id).
Used for internal Samba testing purposes.
NOTES
Some servers are fussy about the case of supplied usernames,
passwords, share names (AKA service names) and machine names.
If you fail to connect try giving all parameters in uppercase.
It is often necessary to use the -n option when connecting
to some types of servers. For example OS/2 LanManager insists
on a valid NetBIOS name being used, so you need to supply a valid
name that would be known to the server.
smbclient supports long file names where the server
supports the LANMAN2 protocol or above.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The variable USER may contain the
username of the person using the client. This information is
used only if the protocol level is high enough to support
session-level passwords.
The variable PASSWD may contain
the password of the person using the client. This information is
used only if the protocol level is high enough to support
session-level passwords.
The variable LIBSMB_PROG may contain
the path, executed with system(), which the client should connect
to instead of connecting to a server. This functionality is primarily
intended as a development aid, and works best when using a LMHOSTS
file
INSTALLATION
The location of the client program is a matter for
individual system administrators. The following are thus
suggestions only.
It is recommended that the smbclient software be installed
in the /usr/local/samba/bin/ or
/usr/samba/bin/ directory, this directory readable
by all, writeable only by root. The client program itself should
be executable by all. The client should NOT be
setuid or setgid!
The client log files should be put in a directory readable
and writeable only by the user.
To test the client, you will need to know the name of a
running SMB/CIFS server. It is possible to run smbd
8 as an ordinary user - running that server as a daemon
on a user-accessible port (typically any port number over 1024)
would provide a suitable test server.
DIAGNOSTICS
Most diagnostics issued by the client are logged in a
specified log file. The log file name is specified at compile time,
but may be overridden on the command line.
The number and nature of diagnostics available depends
on the debug level used by the client. If you have problems,
set the debug level to 3 and peruse the log files.
VERSION
This man page is correct for version 3.2 of the Samba suite.
AUTHOR
The original Samba software and related utilities
were created by Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed
by the Samba Team as an Open Source project similar
to the way the Linux kernel is developed.
The original Samba man pages were written by Karl Auer.
The man page sources were converted to YODL format (another
excellent piece of Open Source software, available at
ftp://ftp.icce.rug.nl/pub/unix/) and updated for the Samba 2.0
release by Jeremy Allison. The conversion to DocBook for
Samba 2.2 was done by Gerald Carter. The conversion to DocBook XML 4.2 for Samba 3.0
was done by Alexander Bokovoy.