samba

Samba is an open-source implementation of SMB/CIFS for sharing files, printers, and authentication services between systems (commonly Linux/Unix and Windows).

Evaluated Apr 04, 2026 (27d ago)

Homepage ↗ Repo ↗ Infrastructure infrastructure file-sharing smb cifs networking linux windows-interoperability

⚙ Agent Friendliness

/ 100

Can an agent use this?

🔒 Security

/ 100

Is it safe for agents?

⚡ Reliability

/ 100

Does it work consistently?

Score Breakdown

⚙ Agent Friendliness

MCP Quality

Documentation

Error Messages

Auth Simplicity

Rate Limits

🔒 Security

TLS Enforcement

Auth Strength

Scope Granularity

Dep. Hygiene

Secret Handling

Security depends on Samba configuration: enabling SMB signing, restricting protocol versions, using strong auth backends (e.g., Kerberos), least-privilege share/ACLs, and securing admin interfaces. TLS may not be uniformly applicable to SMB; transport security is configuration- and protocol-dependent.

⚡ Reliability

Uptime/SLA

Version Stability

Breaking Changes

Error Recovery

Best When

You need Windows-compatible SMB/CIFS interoperability in a local network or controlled environment, including optional domain authentication.

Avoid When

You cannot provide appropriate network-level and host-level security hardening; or you require cloud-native, stateless API access patterns.

Use Cases

• File and printer sharing across Windows and Unix/Linux clients
• Domain controller/Active Directory-style authentication via Samba (depending on configuration)
• Integration with heterogeneous networks for shared storage
• Interoperability for legacy SMB workflows

Not For

• Public internet file sharing without additional security controls
• Low-overhead stateless APIs (SMB is stateful and connection-oriented)
• Use cases requiring modern object storage semantics (S3-like)

Interface

REST API

GraphQL

gRPC

MCP Server

SDK

Webhooks

Authentication

Methods: Kerberos (when configured) NTLM (depending on configuration) SMB session authentication (username/password, domain/user mappings)

OAuth: No Scopes: No

Authentication is typically configured via Samba server settings and (optionally) Kerberos/LDAP/domain integration; it is not an API-style auth mechanism.

Pricing

Free tier: No

Requires CC: No

Open-source software; costs are operational (hosting, administration, maintenance).

Agent Metadata

Pagination

none

Idempotent

False

Retry Guidance

Not documented

Known Gotchas

⚠ SMB is stateful and operations may not be idempotent (e.g., repeated writes/copies can overwrite or duplicate data).
⚠ Correct operation depends heavily on server configuration, permissions, and network reachability rather than API contracts.
⚠ Security posture varies widely based on configuration (protocol versions, signing, auth backend, firewall rules).

Alternatives

NFS (for Unix/Linux-centric environments) FTP/SFTP (for simpler file transfer) Winbind/other identity integrations where SMB is not desired Commercial SMB gateways/solutions (where applicable)

Full Evaluation Report

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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-04-04.