How do I install the Macos Smb Server skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add soulmachine/macos-smb-server in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

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This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Macos Smb Server free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Macos Smb Server?

soulmachine (@soulmachine) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Macos Smb Server by soulmachine — Agent Skill

Name: Macos Smb Server
Author: soulmachine

Macos Smb Server

Configure macOS's built-in SMB server (com.apple.smb.server) — settings apply only when committed via SCPreferences, never via defaults write. Use when a Mac's "Macintosh HD" or a home folder is visible to other machines on the LAN (virtual shares), when disabling guest access on file shares, when a com.apple.smb.server change doesn't take effect, or when proving server-side which shares a Mac offers.

soulmachine c1a7b86 2 files · 4.6 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

macOS SMB server (com.apple.smb.server)

Validated on macOS 26 (Darwin 25.6), Mac mini M2, 2026-08. Two facts drive everything here:

Virtual shares: beyond the explicit sharepoints, smbd automatically offers every mounted volume to admin users ("Macintosh HD", external drives) and each authenticating user's own home folder. They never appear in System Settings or sharing -l, so they can't be removed there.
Commit, don't write: smbd never reads /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.smb.server.plist off disk. A defaults write there is invisible until reboot. Changes apply only when committed through the SCPreferences API, whose commit fires the com.apple.smb.preferences launchd event that runs /usr/libexec/smb-sync-preferences.

1 — Classify what clients see

sharing -l lists the explicit sharepoints and their per-share guest flags. Anything a client sees beyond that list is a virtual share. Done when every share visible from a client is classified as sharepoint or virtual — the two are fixed by different mechanisms.

2 — Change settings

Sharepoints use the sharing tool directly, effective immediately: sudo sharing -r <name> removes one, sudo sharing -e <name> -g 000 turns off its guest access, -a <path> adds one.

Server-level keys go through an SCPreferences commit, then a restart:

sudo swift scripts/smb-prefs.swift VirtualAdminShares=false VirtualHomeShares=false AllowGuestAccess=false
sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.apple.smbd

Key	Effect
`VirtualAdminShares`	every mounted volume offered to admin users
`VirtualHomeShares`	each user's home folder offered to that user
`AllowGuestAccess`	global guest switch (per-share guest flags still apply)
`NetBIOSName`, `ServerDescription`	identity shown to the network

Values: Key=true|false|delete|<string>. Revert is the same commit with true. Without Swift (no CLT), sudo defaults write on the plist plus a reboot also applies — the sync helper is RunAtLoad. For keys beyond this table, ground truth is strings /usr/sbin/smbd and strings /usr/libexec/smb-sync-preferences.

3 — Verify server-side, then client-side

The kickstart drops live sessions; clients auto-reconnect within seconds and re-request the trees they had mounted, so the server's own log is the proof:

log show --last 2m --predicate 'process == "smbd"' --info

connect_to_named_tree status: 0xc00000cc (STATUS_BAD_NETWORK_NAME) means the requested share is no longer offered. Done server-side when each removed share is refused or absent from the log.

Clients lie: Finder resumes stale sessions and cached listings across smbd restarts. Have the client eject its mounts (or Disconnect), reconnect, and confirm the fresh listing shows only the intended sharepoints — that confirmation completes the task.

---name: macos-smb-serverdescription: Configure macOS's built-in SMB server (com.apple.smb.server) — settings apply only when committed via SCPreferences, never via defaults write. Use when a Mac's "Macintosh HD" or a home folder is visible to other machines on the LAN (virtual shares), when disabling guest access on file shares, when a com.apple.smb.server change doesn't take effect, or when proving server-side which shares a Mac offers.---# macOS SMB server (com.apple.smb.server)Validated on macOS 26 (Darwin 25.6), Mac mini M2, 2026-08. Two facts drive everything here:- **Virtual shares**: beyond the explicit sharepoints, smbd automatically offers every mounted volume to admin users ("Macintosh HD", external drives) and each authenticating user's own home folder. They never appear in System Settings or `sharing -l`, so they can't be removed there.- **Commit, don't write**: smbd never reads `/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.smb.server.plist` off disk. A `defaults write` there is invisible until reboot. Changes apply only when committed through the SCPreferences API, whose commit fires the `com.apple.smb.preferences` launchd event that runs `/usr/libexec/smb-sync-preferences`.## 1 — Classify what clients see`sharing -l` lists the explicit sharepoints and their per-share guest flags. Anything a clientsees beyond that list is a virtual share. Done when every share visible from a client isclassified as sharepoint or virtual — the two are fixed by different mechanisms.## 2 — Change settingsSharepoints use the `sharing` tool directly, effective immediately: `sudo sharing -r <name>`removes one, `sudo sharing -e <name> -g 000` turns off its guest access, `-a <path>` adds one.Server-level keys go through an SCPreferences commit, then a restart: sudo swift scripts/smb-prefs.swift VirtualAdminShares=false VirtualHomeShares=false AllowGuestAccess=false sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.apple.smbd| Key | Effect ||---|---|| `VirtualAdminShares` | every mounted volume offered to admin users || `VirtualHomeShares` | each user's home folder offered to that user || `AllowGuestAccess` | global guest switch (per-share guest flags still apply) || `NetBIOSName`, `ServerDescription` | identity shown to the network |Values: `Key=true|false|delete|<string>`. Revert is the same commit with `true`. Without Swift(no CLT), `sudo defaults write` on the plist plus a reboot also applies — the sync helper isRunAtLoad. For keys beyond this table, ground truth is `strings /usr/sbin/smbd` and`strings /usr/libexec/smb-sync-preferences`.## 3 — Verify server-side, then client-sideThe kickstart drops live sessions; clients auto-reconnect within seconds and re-request the treesthey had mounted, so the server's own log is the proof: log show --last 2m --predicate 'process == "smbd"' --info`connect_to_named_tree status: 0xc00000cc` (STATUS_BAD_NETWORK_NAME) means the requested share isno longer offered. Done server-side when each removed share is refused or absent from the log.Clients lie: Finder resumes stale sessions and cached listings across smbd restarts. Have theclient eject its mounts (or Disconnect), reconnect, and confirm the fresh listing shows only theintended sharepoints — that confirmation completes the task.

Frequently asked questions