Where is SMB.conf?

If you regularly work with digital files of any type, chances are your network is employing SMB or Samba, an open-source implementation of the SMB protocol for Unix systems and Linux distributions. The Samba software suite allows for interoperability between Linux/Unix servers and Windows clients, enabling file and printer sharing, among other network services.

Depending on the type of user or organization you are, your Samba software suite will require specific configurations to help you accomplish exactly what you need. You can control these configurations in smb.conf, but this file is often a struggle to find, so…

Where is smb.conf?

The smb.conf file is a configuration file for the Samba suite. smb.conf contains runtime configuration information for the Samba programs. The location of the smb.conf file can vary depending on your Linux distribution and the Samba version you are using, but typically it is found in one of the following locations:

1. /etc/samba/smb.conf: This is the common location for the smb.conf file on many Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS.
2. /etc/smb/smb.conf: On some older distributions, you might find the smb.conf file in this location.
3. /usr/local/samba/etc/smb.conf: If you have compiled and installed Samba from source, the configuration file may be in the etc directory within the Samba installation directory. This path is common when you install Samba manually.
4. /etc/samba4/smb.conf: In some newer versions of Samba (Samba 4 and later), the configuration file may be located in a subdirectory named after the Samba version, such as /etc/samba4/.

To locate the smb.conf file on your system, you can use the find command in the terminal. Open a terminal and type:

sudo find / -name smb.conf

This command will search for the smb.conf file starting from the root directory (“/”) and display the paths to any smb.conf files it finds.

Once you locate the smb.conf file, you can edit it using a text editor with administrative privileges (e.g., sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf) to configure Samba to your specific needs.