SMBClient Cheat Sheet

smbclient is a command-line utility for interacting with Samba (SMB/CIFS) servers. This cheat sheet provides a quick reference for common tasks.

Basic Usage

The fundamental smbclient command follows this structure:

smbclient //<server_ip_or_hostname>/<share_name> [options]

• <server_ip_or_hostname>: The IP address or hostname of the Samba server.

• <share_name>: The name of the shared folder on the server.

• [options]: Various options to customize the connection and actions.

Common Commands and Options

Option/Command	Description	Example
-U <username>	Specifies the username for authentication.	smbclient //server/share -U john.doe
-P <password>	Specifies the password for authentication (Avoid using this for security reasons; use a keytab or keyring instead).	smbclient //server/share -U john.doe -P mypassword
-N	Disables password prompting. Useful with -U and secure password management methods.	smbclient //server/share -N -U john.doe
-I <ip_address>	Specifies the IP address to use when connecting. Useful if resolving hostnames is problematic.	smbclient //192.168.1.100/share -U john.doe
get <file>	Downloads a file from the share.	get important_document.txt
put <file>	Uploads a file to the share.	put my_report.pdf
lcd <directory>	Changes the local directory.	lcd /home/user/documents
cd <directory>	Changes the remote directory (on the share).	cd project_files
ls	Lists files and directories on the share.	ls
mkdir <directory>	Creates a directory on the share.	mkdir new_folder
rmdir <directory>	Removes an empty directory on the share.	rmdir empty_folder
pwd	Prints the current remote working directory.	pwd
lpwd	Prints the current local working directory.	lpwd
bye	Closes the connection to the server.	bye
quit	Closes the connection to the server (same as bye).	quit