1 .\" This manpage has been automatically generated by docbook2man-spec
2 .\" from a DocBook document. docbook2man-spec can be found at:
3 .\" <http://shell.ipoline.com/~elmert/hacks/docbook2X/>
4 .\" Please send any bug reports, improvements, comments, patches,
5 .\" etc. to Steve Cheng <steve@ggi-project.org>.
6 .TH "SMBCLIENT" "1" "15 September 2001" "" ""
8 smbclient \- ftp-like client to access SMB/CIFS resources on servers
11 \fBsmbclient\fR \fBservicename\fR [ \fBpassword\fR ] [ \fB-b <buffer size>\fR ] [ \fB-d debuglevel\fR ] [ \fB-D Directory\fR ] [ \fB-U username\fR ] [ \fB-W workgroup\fR ] [ \fB-M <netbios name>\fR ] [ \fB-m maxprotocol\fR ] [ \fB-A authfile\fR ] [ \fB-N\fR ] [ \fB-l logfile\fR ] [ \fB-L <netbios name>\fR ] [ \fB-I destinationIP\fR ] [ \fB-E <terminal code>\fR ] [ \fB-c <command string>\fR ] [ \fB-i scope\fR ] [ \fB-O <socket options>\fR ] [ \fB-p port\fR ] [ \fB-R <name resolve order>\fR ] [ \fB-s <smb config file>\fR ] [ \fB-T<c|x>IXFqgbNan\fR ]
14 This tool is part of the Sambasuite.
16 \fBsmbclient\fR is a client that can
17 \&'talk' to an SMB/CIFS server. It offers an interface
18 similar to that of the ftp program (see \fBftp(1)\fR).
19 Operations include things like getting files from the server
20 to the local machine, putting files from the local machine to
21 the server, retrieving directory information from the server
26 servicename is the name of the service
27 you want to use on the server. A service name takes the form
28 \fI//server/service\fR where \fIserver
29 \fRis the NetBIOS name of the SMB/CIFS server
30 offering the desired service and \fIservice\fR
31 is the name of the service offered. Thus to connect to
32 the service "printer" on the SMB/CIFS server "smbserver",
33 you would use the servicename \fI//smbserver/printer
35 Note that the server name required is NOT necessarily
36 the IP (DNS) host name of the server ! The name required is
37 a NetBIOS server name, which may or may not be the
38 same as the IP hostname of the machine running the server.
40 The server name is looked up according to either
41 the \fI-R\fR parameter to \fBsmbclient\fR or
42 using the name resolve order parameter in the \fIsmb.conf\fR file,
43 allowing an administrator to change the order and methods
44 by which server names are looked up.
47 The password required to access the specified
48 service on the specified server. If this parameter is
49 supplied, the \fI-N\fR option (suppress
50 password prompt) is assumed.
52 There is no default password. If no password is supplied
53 on the command line (either by using this parameter or adding
54 a password to the \fI-U\fR option (see
55 below)) and the \fI-N\fR option is not
56 specified, the client will prompt for a password, even if
57 the desired service does not require one. (If no password is
58 required, simply press ENTER to provide a null password.)
60 Note: Some servers (including OS/2 and Windows for
61 Workgroups) insist on an uppercase password. Lowercase
62 or mixed case passwords may be rejected by these servers.
64 Be cautious about including passwords in scripts.
67 Specifies the location of the all important
70 \fB-O socket options\fR
71 TCP socket options to set on the client
72 socket. See the socket options parameter in the \fI smb.conf (5)\fR manpage for the list of valid
75 \fB-R <name resolve order>\fR
76 This option is used by the programs in the Samba
77 suite to determine what naming services and in what order to resolve
78 host names to IP addresses. The option takes a space-separated
79 string of different name resolution options.
81 The options are :"lmhosts", "host", "wins" and "bcast". They
82 cause names to be resolved as follows :
86 lmhosts : Lookup an IP
87 address in the Samba lmhosts file. If the line in lmhosts has
88 no name type attached to the NetBIOS name (see the lmhosts(5)for details) then
89 any name type matches for lookup.
92 host : Do a standard host
93 name to IP address resolution, using the system \fI/etc/hosts
94 \fR, NIS, or DNS lookups. This method of name resolution
95 is operating system dependent, for instance on IRIX or Solaris this
96 may be controlled by the \fI/etc/nsswitch.conf\fR
97 file). Note that this method is only used if the NetBIOS name
98 type being queried is the 0x20 (server) name type, otherwise
102 wins : Query a name with
103 the IP address listed in the \fIwins server\fR
104 parameter. If no WINS server has
105 been specified this method will be ignored.
108 bcast : Do a broadcast on
109 each of the known local interfaces listed in the
111 parameter. This is the least reliable of the name resolution
112 methods as it depends on the target host being on a locally
116 If this parameter is not set then the name resolve order
117 defined in the \fIsmb.conf\fR file parameter
118 (name resolve order) will be used.
121 The default order is lmhosts, host, wins, bcast and without
122 this parameter or any entry in the \fIname resolve order
123 \fRparameter of the \fIsmb.conf\fR file the name resolution
124 methods will be attempted in this order.
127 \fB-M NetBIOS name\fR
128 This options allows you to send messages, using
129 the "WinPopup" protocol, to another computer. Once a connection is
130 established you then type your message, pressing ^D (control-D) to
133 If the receiving computer is running WinPopup the user will
134 receive the message and probably a beep. If they are not running
135 WinPopup the message will be lost, and no error message will
138 The message is also automatically truncated if the message
139 is over 1600 bytes, as this is the limit of the protocol.
141 One useful trick is to cat the message through
142 \fBsmbclient\fR. For example: \fB cat mymessage.txt | smbclient -M FRED \fR will
143 send the message in the file \fImymessage.txt\fR
146 You may also find the \fI-U\fR and
147 \fI-I\fR options useful, as they allow you to
148 control the FROM and TO parts of the message.
150 See the message command parameter in the \fI smb.conf(5)\fR for a description of how to handle incoming
151 WinPopup messages in Samba.
153 \fBNote\fR: Copy WinPopup into the startup group
154 on your WfWg PCs if you want them to always be able to receive
158 This specifies a NetBIOS scope that smbclient will
159 use to communicate with when generating NetBIOS names. For details
160 on the use of NetBIOS scopes, see \fIrfc1001.txt\fR
161 and \fIrfc1002.txt\fR.
162 NetBIOS scopes are \fBvery\fR rarely used, only set
163 this parameter if you are the system administrator in charge of all
164 the NetBIOS systems you communicate with.
167 If specified, this parameter suppresses the normal
168 password prompt from the client to the user. This is useful when
169 accessing a service that does not require a password.
171 Unless a password is specified on the command line or
172 this parameter is specified, the client will request a
175 \fB-n NetBIOS name\fR
176 By default, the client will use the local
177 machine's hostname (in uppercase) as its NetBIOS name. This parameter
178 allows you to override the host name and use whatever NetBIOS
182 \fIdebuglevel\fR is an integer from 0 to 10, or
185 The default value if this parameter is not specified
188 The higher this value, the more detail will be logged to
189 the log files about the activities of the
190 client. At level 0, only critical errors and serious warnings will
191 be logged. Level 1 is a reasonable level for day to day running -
192 it generates a small amount of information about operations
195 Levels above 1 will generate considerable amounts of log
196 data, and should only be used when investigating a problem.
197 Levels above 3 are designed for use only by developers and
198 generate HUGE amounts of log data, most of which is extremely
199 cryptic. If \fIdebuglevel\fR is set to the letter 'A', then \fBall
200 \fRdebug messages will be printed. This setting
201 is for developers only (and people who \fBreally\fR want
202 to know how the code works internally).
204 Note that specifying this parameter here will override
205 the log level parameter in the \fIsmb.conf (5)\fR
209 This number is the TCP port number that will be used
210 when making connections to the server. The standard (well-known)
211 TCP port number for an SMB/CIFS server is 139, which is the
215 If specified, \fIlogfilename\fR specifies a base filename
216 into which operational data from the running client will be
219 The default base name is specified at compile time.
221 The base name is used to generate actual log file names.
222 For example, if the name specified was "log", the debug file
223 would be \fIlog.client\fR.
225 The log file generated is never removed by the client.
228 Print the usage message for the client.
231 \fIIP address\fR is the address of the server to connect to.
232 It should be specified in standard "a.b.c.d" notation.
234 Normally the client would attempt to locate a named
235 SMB/CIFS server by looking it up via the NetBIOS name resolution
236 mechanism described above in the \fIname resolve order\fR
237 parameter above. Using this parameter will force the client
238 to assume that the server is on the machine with the specified IP
239 address and the NetBIOS name component of the resource being
240 connected to will be ignored.
242 There is no default for this parameter. If not supplied,
243 it will be determined automatically by the client as described
247 This parameter causes the client to write messages
248 to the standard error stream (stderr) rather than to the standard
251 By default, the client writes messages to standard output
252 - typically the user's tty.
254 \fB-U username[%pass]\fR
255 Sets the SMB username or username and password.
256 If %pass is not specified, The user will be prompted. The client
257 will first check the \fBUSER\fR environment variable, then the
258 \fBLOGNAME\fR variable and if either exists, the
259 string is uppercased. Anything in these variables following a '%'
260 sign will be treated as the password. If these environment
261 variables are not found, the username GUEST
264 If the password is not included in these environment
265 variables (using the %pass syntax), \fBsmbclient\fR will look for
266 a \fBPASSWD\fR environment variable from which
267 to read the password.
269 A third option is to use a credentials file which
270 contains the plaintext of the username and password. This
271 option is mainly provided for scripts where the admin doesn't
272 wish to pass the credentials on the command line or via environment
273 variables. If this method is used, make certain that the permissions
274 on the file restrict access from unwanted users. See the
275 \fI-A\fR for more details.
277 Be cautious about including passwords in scripts or in
278 the \fBPASSWD\fR environment variable. Also, on
279 many systems the command line of a running process may be seen
280 via the \fBps\fR command to be safe always allow
281 \fBsmbclient\fR to prompt for a password and type
286 you to specify a file from which to read the username and
287 password used in the connection. The format of the file is
297 Make certain that the permissions on the file restrict
298 access from unwanted users.
301 This option allows you to look at what services
302 are available on a server. You use it as \fBsmbclient -L
303 host\fR and a list should appear. The \fI-I
304 \fRoption may be useful if your NetBIOS names don't
305 match your TCP/IP DNS host names or if you are trying to reach a
306 host on another network.
308 \fB-t terminal code\fR
309 This option tells \fBsmbclient\fR how to interpret
310 filenames coming from the remote server. Usually Asian language
311 multibyte UNIX implementations use different character sets than
312 SMB/CIFS servers (\fBEUC\fR instead of \fB SJIS\fR for example). Setting this parameter will let
313 \fBsmbclient\fR convert between the UNIX filenames and
314 the SMB filenames correctly. This option has not been seriously tested
315 and may have some problems.
317 The terminal codes include CWsjis, CWeuc, CWjis7, CWjis8,
318 CWjunet, CWhex, CWcap. This is not a complete list, check the Samba
319 source code for the complete list.
322 This option changes the transmit/send buffer
323 size when getting or putting a file from/to the server. The default
324 is 65520 bytes. Setting this value smaller (to 1200 bytes) has been
325 observed to speed up file transfers to and from a Win9x server.
328 Override the default workgroup specified in the
329 workgroup parameter of the \fIsmb.conf\fR file
330 for this connection. This may be needed to connect to some
334 smbclient may be used to create \fBtar(1)
335 \fRcompatible backups of all the files on an SMB/CIFS
336 share. The secondary tar flags that can be given to this option
341 \fIc\fR - Create a tar file on UNIX.
342 Must be followed by the name of a tar file, tape device
343 or "-" for standard output. If using standard output you must
344 turn the log level to its lowest value -d0 to avoid corrupting
345 your tar file. This flag is mutually exclusive with the
349 \fIx\fR - Extract (restore) a local
350 tar file back to a share. Unless the -D option is given, the tar
351 files will be restored from the top level of the share. Must be
352 followed by the name of the tar file, device or "-" for standard
353 input. Mutually exclusive with the \fIc\fR flag.
354 Restored files have their creation times (mtime) set to the
355 date saved in the tar file. Directories currently do not get
356 their creation dates restored properly.
359 \fII\fR - Include files and directories.
360 Is the default behavior when filenames are specified above. Causes
361 tar files to be included in an extract or create (and therefore
362 everything else to be excluded). See example below. Filename globbing
363 works in one of two ways. See r below.
366 \fIX\fR - Exclude files and directories.
367 Causes tar files to be excluded from an extract or create. See
368 example below. Filename globbing works in one of two ways now.
372 \fIb\fR - Blocksize. Must be followed
373 by a valid (greater than zero) blocksize. Causes tar file to be
374 written out in blocksize*TBLOCK (usually 512 byte) blocks.
377 \fIg\fR - Incremental. Only back up
378 files that have the archive bit set. Useful only with the
382 \fIq\fR - Quiet. Keeps tar from printing
383 diagnostics as it works. This is the same as tarmode quiet.
386 \fIr\fR - Regular expression include
387 or exclude. Uses regular expression matching for
388 excluding or excluding files if compiled with HAVE_REGEX_H.
389 However this mode can be very slow. If not compiled with
390 HAVE_REGEX_H, does a limited wildcard match on '*' and '?'.
393 \fIN\fR - Newer than. Must be followed
394 by the name of a file whose date is compared against files found
395 on the share during a create. Only files newer than the file
396 specified are backed up to the tar file. Useful only with the
400 \fIa\fR - Set archive bit. Causes the
401 archive bit to be reset when a file is backed up. Useful with the
402 \fIg\fR and \fIc\fR flags.
405 \fBTar Long File Names\fR
408 \fBsmbclient\fR's tar option now supports long
409 file names both on backup and restore. However, the full path
410 name of the file must be less than 1024 bytes. Also, when
411 a tar archive is created, \fBsmbclient\fR's tar option places all
412 files in the archive with relative names, not absolute names.
418 All file names can be given as DOS path names (with '\\'
419 as the component separator) or as UNIX path names (with '/' as
420 the component separator).
426 Restore from tar file \fIbackup.tar\fR into myshare on mypc
427 (no password on share).
430 \fBsmbclient //mypc/yshare "" -N -Tx backup.tar
433 Restore everything except \fIusers/docs\fR
436 \fBsmbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -TXx backup.tar
440 Create a tar file of the files beneath \fI users/docs\fR.
443 \fBsmbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tc
444 backup.tar users/docs \fR
447 Create the same tar file as above, but now use
451 \fBsmbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -tc backup.tar
455 Create a tar file of all the files and directories in
459 \fBsmbclient //mypc/myshare "" -N -Tc backup.tar *
462 \fB-D initial directory\fR
463 Change to initial directory before starting. Probably
464 only of any use with the tar -T option.
466 \fB-c command string\fR
467 command string is a semicolon-separated list of
468 commands to be executed instead of prompting from stdin. \fI -N\fR is implied by \fI-c\fR.
470 This is particularly useful in scripts and for printing stdin
471 to the server, e.g. \fB-c 'print -'\fR.
474 Once the client is running, the user is presented with
479 The backslash ("\\") indicates the current working directory
480 on the server, and will change if the current working directory
483 The prompt indicates that the client is ready and waiting to
484 carry out a user command. Each command is a single word, optionally
485 followed by parameters specific to that command. Command and parameters
486 are space-delimited unless these notes specifically
487 state otherwise. All commands are case-insensitive. Parameters to
488 commands may or may not be case sensitive, depending on the command.
490 You can specify file names which have spaces in them by quoting
491 the name with double quotes, for example "a long file name".
493 Parameters shown in square brackets (e.g., "[parameter]") are
494 optional. If not given, the command will use suitable defaults. Parameters
495 shown in angle brackets (e.g., "<parameter>") are required.
497 Note that all commands operating on the server are actually
498 performed by issuing a request to the server. Thus the behavior may
499 vary from server to server, depending on how the server was implemented.
501 The commands available are given here in alphabetical order.
504 If \fIcommand\fR is specified, the ? command will display
505 a brief informative message about the specified command. If no
506 command is specified, a list of available commands will
509 \fB! [shell command]\fR
510 If \fIshell command\fR is specified, the !
511 command will execute a shell locally and run the specified shell
512 command. If no command is specified, a local shell will be run.
514 \fBcd [directory name]\fR
515 If "directory name" is specified, the current
516 working directory on the server will be changed to the directory
517 specified. This operation will fail if for any reason the specified
518 directory is inaccessible.
520 If no directory name is specified, the current working
521 directory on the server will be reported.
524 The client will request that the server attempt
525 to delete all files matching \fImask\fR from the current working
526 directory on the server.
529 A list of the files matching \fImask\fR in the current
530 working directory on the server will be retrieved from the server
534 Terminate the connection with the server and exit
537 \fBget <remote file name> [local file name]\fR
538 Copy the file called \fIremote file name\fR from
539 the server to the machine running the client. If specified, name
540 the local copy \fIlocal file name\fR. Note that all transfers in
541 \fBsmbclient\fR are binary. See also the
545 See the ? command above.
547 \fBlcd [directory name]\fR
548 If \fIdirectory name\fR is specified, the current
549 working directory on the local machine will be changed to
550 the directory specified. This operation will fail if for any
551 reason the specified directory is inaccessible.
553 If no directory name is specified, the name of the
554 current working directory on the local machine will be reported.
557 Toggle lowercasing of filenames for the get and
560 When lowercasing is toggled ON, local filenames are converted
561 to lowercase when using the get and mget commands. This is
562 often useful when copying (say) MSDOS files from a server, because
563 lowercase filenames are the norm on UNIX systems.
566 See the dir command above.
569 This command allows the user to set up a mask
570 which will be used during recursive operation of the mget and
573 The masks specified to the mget and mput commands act as
574 filters for directories rather than files when recursion is
577 The mask specified with the mask command is necessary
578 to filter files within those directories. For example, if the
579 mask specified in an mget command is "source*" and the mask
580 specified with the mask command is "*.c" and recursion is
581 toggled ON, the mget command will retrieve all files matching
582 "*.c" in all directories below and including all directories
583 matching "source*" in the current working directory.
585 Note that the value for mask defaults to blank (equivalent
586 to "*") and remains so until the mask command is used to change it.
587 It retains the most recently specified value indefinitely. To
588 avoid unexpected results it would be wise to change the value of
589 mask back to "*" after using the mget or mput commands.
591 \fBmd <directory name>\fR
592 See the mkdir command.
595 Copy all files matching \fImask\fR from the server to
596 the machine running the client.
598 Note that \fImask\fR is interpreted differently during recursive
599 operation and non-recursive operation - refer to the recurse and
600 mask commands for more information. Note that all transfers in
601 \fBsmbclient\fR are binary. See also the lowercase command.
603 \fBmkdir <directory name>\fR
604 Create a new directory on the server (user access
605 privileges permitting) with the specified name.
608 Copy all files matching \fImask\fR in the current working
609 directory on the local machine to the current working directory on
612 Note that \fImask\fR is interpreted differently during recursive
613 operation and non-recursive operation - refer to the recurse and mask
614 commands for more information. Note that all transfers in \fBsmbclient\fR
617 \fBprint <file name>\fR
618 Print the specified file from the local machine
619 through a printable service on the server.
621 See also the printmode command.
623 \fBprintmode <graphics or text>\fR
624 Set the print mode to suit either binary data
625 (such as graphical information) or text. Subsequent print
626 commands will use the currently set print mode.
629 Toggle prompting for filenames during operation
630 of the mget and mput commands.
632 When toggled ON, the user will be prompted to confirm
633 the transfer of each file during these commands. When toggled
634 OFF, all specified files will be transferred without prompting.
636 \fBput <local file name> [remote file name]\fR
637 Copy the file called \fIlocal file name\fR from the
638 machine running the client to the server. If specified,
639 name the remote copy \fIremote file name\fR. Note that all transfers
640 in \fBsmbclient\fR are binary. See also the lowercase command.
643 Displays the print queue, showing the job id,
644 name, size and current status.
647 See the exit command.
649 \fBrd <directory name>\fR
650 See the rmdir command.
653 Toggle directory recursion for the commands mget
656 When toggled ON, these commands will process all directories
657 in the source directory (i.e., the directory they are copying
658 from ) and will recurse into any that match the mask specified
659 to the command. Only files that match the mask specified using
660 the mask command will be retrieved. See also the mask command.
662 When recursion is toggled OFF, only files from the current
663 working directory on the source machine that match the mask specified
664 to the mget or mput commands will be copied, and any mask specified
665 using the mask command will be ignored.
668 Remove all files matching \fImask\fR from the current
669 working directory on the server.
671 \fBrmdir <directory name>\fR
672 Remove the specified directory (user access
673 privileges permitting) from the server.
675 \fBtar <c|x>[IXbgNa]\fR
676 Performs a tar operation - see the \fI-T
677 \fRcommand line option above. Behavior may be affected
678 by the tarmode command (see below). Using g (incremental) and N
679 (newer) will affect tarmode settings. Note that using the "-" option
680 with tar x may not work - use the command line option instead.
682 \fBblocksize <blocksize>\fR
683 Blocksize. Must be followed by a valid (greater
684 than zero) blocksize. Causes tar file to be written out in
685 \fIblocksize\fR*TBLOCK (usually 512 byte) blocks.
687 \fBtarmode <full|inc|reset|noreset>\fR
688 Changes tar's behavior with regard to archive
689 bits. In full mode, tar will back up everything regardless of the
690 archive bit setting (this is the default mode). In incremental mode,
691 tar will only back up files with the archive bit set. In reset mode,
692 tar will reset the archive bit on all files it backs up (implies
695 \fBsetmode <filename> <perm=[+|\\-]rsha>\fR
696 A version of the DOS attrib command to set
697 file permissions. For example:
699 \fBsetmode myfile +r \fR
701 would make myfile read only.
704 Some servers are fussy about the case of supplied usernames,
705 passwords, share names (AKA service names) and machine names.
706 If you fail to connect try giving all parameters in uppercase.
708 It is often necessary to use the -n option when connecting
709 to some types of servers. For example OS/2 LanManager insists
710 on a valid NetBIOS name being used, so you need to supply a valid
711 name that would be known to the server.
713 smbclient supports long file names where the server
714 supports the LANMAN2 protocol or above.
715 .SH "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
717 The variable \fBUSER\fR may contain the
718 username of the person using the client. This information is
719 used only if the protocol level is high enough to support
720 session-level passwords.
722 The variable \fBPASSWD\fR may contain
723 the password of the person using the client. This information is
724 used only if the protocol level is high enough to support
725 session-level passwords.
727 The variable \fBLIBSMB_PROG\fR may contain
728 the path, executed with system(), which the client should connect
729 to instead of connecting to a server. This functionality is primarily
730 intended as a development aid, and works best when using a LMHOSTS
734 The location of the client program is a matter for
735 individual system administrators. The following are thus
738 It is recommended that the smbclient software be installed
739 in the \fI/usr/local/samba/bin/\fR or \fI /usr/samba/bin/\fR directory, this directory readable
740 by all, writeable only by root. The client program itself should
741 be executable by all. The client should \fBNOT\fR be
744 The client log files should be put in a directory readable
745 and writeable only by the user.
747 To test the client, you will need to know the name of a
748 running SMB/CIFS server. It is possible to run \fBsmbd(8)
749 \fRas an ordinary user - running that server as a daemon
750 on a user-accessible port (typically any port number over 1024)
751 would provide a suitable test server.
754 Most diagnostics issued by the client are logged in a
755 specified log file. The log file name is specified at compile time,
756 but may be overridden on the command line.
758 The number and nature of diagnostics available depends
759 on the debug level used by the client. If you have problems,
760 set the debug level to 3 and peruse the log files.
763 This man page is correct for version 2.2 of
767 The original Samba software and related utilities
768 were created by Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed
769 by the Samba Team as an Open Source project similar
770 to the way the Linux kernel is developed.
772 The original Samba man pages were written by Karl Auer.
773 The man page sources were converted to YODL format (another
774 excellent piece of Open Source software, available at
775 ftp://ftp.icce.rug.nl/pub/unix/ <URL:ftp://ftp.icce.rug.nl/pub/unix/>) and updated for the Samba 2.0
776 release by Jeremy Allison. The conversion to DocBook for
777 Samba 2.2 was done by Gerald Carter