mount.cifs

mounts CIFS or SMB network shares on Linux

TLDR

Mount SMB share with username (prompts for password)

$ sudo mount.cifs -o user=[username] //[server]/[share] [mountpoint]

Mount as guest user (no password)

$ sudo mount.cifs -o guest //[server]/[share] [mountpoint]

Set ownership for mounted files

$ sudo mount.cifs -o uid=[user],gid=[group] //[server]/[share] [mountpoint]

Mount with credentials file

$ sudo mount.cifs -o credentials=[path/to/credentials] //[server]/[share] [mountpoint]

Specify SMB protocol version

$ sudo mount.cifs -o vers=3.0 //[server]/[share] [mountpoint]

Mount read-only

$ sudo mount.cifs -o ro //[server]/[share] [mountpoint]

SYNOPSIS

mount.cifs //server/share mount-point [-o options]

mount.cifs mounts CIFS (Common Internet File System) or SMB (Server Message Block) network shares on Linux. It connects to Windows file shares, Samba servers, and NAS devices using the //server/share UNC syntax.The utility is typically invoked through the mount command with -t cifs option. It requires Linux kernel CIFS filesystem support. Authentication can use username/password, Kerberos, or guest access.

PARAMETERS

user=_username_

Login username; defaults to USER environment variable

password=_pass_

Login password; uses PASSWD variable if unset

credentials=_file_

File containing username, password, and domain

guest

Connect without password prompt

domain=_name_

Windows domain or workgroup name

uid=_id_

Set owner UID for files when server provides none

gid=_id_

Set owner GID for files when server provides none

file_mode=_mode_

Override default file permissions (e.g., 0644)

dir_mode=_mode_

Override default directory permissions (e.g., 0755)

vers=_version_

SMB protocol version: 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 3.02, 3.1.1

sec=_mode_

Security mode: none, krb5, ntlm, ntlmv2, ntlmssp

seal

Request SMB-layer encryption (requires SMB3+)

cache=_mode_

Caching mode: none, strict, loose

Mount read-only

Mount read-write (default)

noperm

Disable client-side permission checks

cifsacl

Map CIFS/NTFS ACLs to Linux permissions

CREDENTIALS FILE FORMAT

$ username=myuser
password=mypassword
domain=WORKGROUP

CAVEATS

Passwords containing commas fail to parse on command line; use credentials files or environment variables instead. The cache=loose option can cause data corruption with multiple clients; use cache=strict for shared access. Requires root privileges unless configured in /etc/fstab with user option.

HISTORY

The Linux CIFS filesystem was developed as a replacement for the older smbfs. It provides native kernel support for Microsoft's SMB/CIFS protocol, enabling seamless integration with Windows networks and Samba servers.