How do I share a folder on SAMBA?

Question

I want to share my home folder with my Windows machine, but I have no idea how to share the folder.

I can't find any up-to-date guides on Google, so how can I share my home directory?

Solution

I've always found the default installation of Samba already exports home directories. If it doesn't you need to edit /etc/samba/smb.conf to include a section like:

[homes]
    comment = Homes Directories
    valid users = %S
    read only = No
    create mask = 0700
    directory mask = 0700

You then need to add your username to Samba's user database by executing

smbpasswd -a orcris

(assuming your linux username is orcris - replace as needed)

The windows share is then \\yourlinux\orcris. It will likely prompt for your linux username and smbpasswd (which doesn't have to be synchronized with your linux login password).

Documentation I've found tends to forget to tell you to add the username using smbpasswd.