smbget

smbget is a command-line utility that is part of the Samba suite. It is used for non-interactively downloading files from SMB/CIFS shares, functioning similarly to the well-known wget command but specifically designed for the SMB protocol.

Purpose

  • File Retrieval: Download files from SMB shares hosted on Windows or Samba servers.

  • Automated Downloads: Useful for scripting and automation tasks, such as regularly retrieving files from a remote share.

  • Recursive Downloading: Supports recursive downloads, allowing you to download entire directories from an SMB share.

Basic Syntax

smbget [options] URL...

  • URL: Specifies the SMB URL of the file or directory to download. SMB URLs typically follow the format:

    smb://server/share/path/to/file

Common Options

  • -u, --user=USER: Specify the username for authentication.

    smbget -u username smb://server/share/file.txt

  • -p, --password=PASS: Specify the password for authentication. If omitted, smbget will prompt for it.

    smbget -u username -p secret smb://server/share/file.txt

  • -R, --recursive: Enable recursive downloading of directories.

    smbget -R smb://server/share/directory/

  • -c, --continue: Continue/resume a previously interrupted download.

    smbget -c smb://server/share/largefile.iso

  • -d, --debug: Increase the debug level to get more verbose output, useful for troubleshooting.

    smbget -d 3 smb://server/share/file.txt

  • -h, --help: Display help and usage information.

    smbget --help

Examples

  1. Download a Single File

    Download a file from an SMB share:

    smbget smb://fileserver/shared/document.pdf

  2. Download with Authentication

    Specify a username (and optionally a password):

    smbget -u alice smb://fileserver/shared/report.docx

    You will be prompted for the password if it is not provided via -p.

  3. Recursive Download

    Download an entire directory recursively from an SMB share:

    smbget -R smb://fileserver/shared/photos/

  4. Resume a Download

    Continue downloading a file that was previously interrupted:

    smbget -c smb://fileserver/shared/largefile.zip

Conclusion

smbget is a valuable tool for retrieving files from SMB shares in a non-interactive manner. Its support for authentication, recursive downloads, and download resumption makes it ideal for both manual file retrieval and automated backup or synchronization scripts in environments that utilize SMB/CIFS file sharing.

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