nemo-share (samba) net usershare error 255 (not able to create share)

[Adam Green]

budgie-desktop 10.6.1
Ubuntu-Budgie 22.04 LTS
nemo 5.2.4

Steps to reproduce:
Ubuntu-Budgie 22.04 LTS fresh install.
Install nemo-share plugin via Ubuntu-Budgie-Welcome app, section Recommendations.
Standard samba is installed as dependecy to nemo-share.
Standard /etc/samba/smb.conf is installed.
Reboot system.
Right click on folder ~/Public.
Select Sharing.
In the window that shows up:
Move the sharing lever to blue color.
Click Apply.
Error: net usershare returns error 255.

Difficulty to find workarounds: high

[fossfreedom (fossfreedom)]

255 errors are due to permission issues with the folders you are trying to share.

You will need to investigate configuring your sub.conf file as appropriate. Nemo -share will not help here ... it is just a quick wrapper over samba.

E.g. https://blog.desdelinux.net/en/solucionar-error-255-de-samba-compartir-carpetas/

Or

https://askubuntu.com/questions/483116/error-255-when-sharing-folder-on-ubuntu-12-04

This is a support issue ... Best tackled via askubuntu.com and ubuntuforums.org

[Adam Green (gastonia)]

Thank you. One can always hack 'smb.conf' and add a share (illustrated below), but that is a quite difficult work-around for a majority of the Ubuntu-Budgie target group of users who prefer to use the 'sharing lever' on demand when they need to share a folder, for instance when there is a need to upload photos from a mobile device over Wi-Fi when the USB cable has disintegrated.

Below a sample that works not only on Ubuntu Budgie but on other linux systems as well:

#-----Start add this to [global] section of /etc/samba/smb.conf----
   #server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu)
   server string = Linuxbox
   netbios name = Linuxbox
   #disable netbios = yes
   wins support = yes
   name resolve order = bcast wins lmhosts
   #client min protocol = NT1
   client min protocol = SMB2
   server min protocol = SMB2
   encrypt passwords = true
   smb encrypt = auto
#-----End add this to [global] section of /etc/samba/smb.conf----

#-----Start add this to the bottom of /etc/samba/smb.conf----
[Public]
   comment = Public share
   path = /home/user/Public
   #public = yes
   public = no
   browseable = yes
   #read only = yes
   read only = no
   #writable = no
   writable = yes
   #guest ok = yes
   guest ok = no
   #create mask = 0600
   create mask = 0644
   #directory mask = 0700
   directory mask = 0755
#-----End add this to the bottom of /etc/samba/smb.conf----

# Restart the servers to make the share visible:
sudo systemctl restart smbd nmbd avahi-daemon
# or
# sudo systemctl restart smb nmb avahi-daemon

For comparison:

Manjaro Cinnamon uses 'nemo' and 'nemo-share' and this sharing function works in Manjaro Cinnamon out of the box and does exactly what it is supposed to do with one click. Thunar (used in Xfce) has a similar sharing function, which also works as expected.

Linux Mint also uses 'nemo' and 'nemo-share' and it works as in Manjaro.

Ubuntu 22.04 uses 'nautilus' (not 'nemo') and there used to be a 'nautilus-share' plugin to do the same kind of sharing. 'nemo' is not prioritized over 'nautilus' in Ubuntu development. 'nemo-share' is not in the standard Ubuntu repositories. Not sure if 'nautilus-share' still exists, there used to be issues with it.

The sharing function is of course supposed to work also in Ubuntu Budgie 22.04 LTS, otherwise it should not be there if it can't do what it is supposed to do. Hoping that Ubuntu will fix nemo-share is maybe a long wait.