How to Share Ubuntu Files with Windows – Easy Network & GUI Guide

Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run the following command to install the required sharing modules:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install samba nautilus-share -y

For security, add your user profile to the local sharing group and create a separate sharing password:

sudo usermod -aG sambashare $USER
sudo smbpasswd -a $USER

Type in a network password when prompted. You can use your normal login password or a different one.

Restart the file manager session so the context menu options load:

nautilus -q

Open the Files app, right-click the folder you want to share, and select Local Network Share. Adjust these settings in the options dialog:

Click Create Share (or Modify Share) to finalize. The folder icon will change to display a network sharing symbol.

Open the central Samba configuration file in your terminal text editor:

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Scroll to the bottom of the file and paste the following configuration block. Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual Ubuntu account name:

[UbuntuShare]
   comment = Network Shared Directory
   path = /home/YOUR_USERNAME/shared
   browsable = yes
   writable = yes
   read only = no
   guest ok = no
   valid users = YOUR_USERNAME
   create mask = 0644
   directory mask = 0755

Press Ctrl+O, then Enter to save your edits. Press Ctrl+X to exit the nano editor.

Ensure the shared directory exists and register your user password in the Samba database:

mkdir -p ~/shared
sudo smbpasswd -a YOUR_USERNAME

Restart the sharing service to load the changes, and adjust the local firewall rules to allow client connections:

sudo systemctl restart smbd
sudo ufw allow samba

In your terminal, navigate (cd) to the directory containing the files you want to copy, and run this command:

python3 -m http.server 8000

This starts a local read-only web server listing files in the terminal folder. It listens on port 8000.

Open another terminal window or tab and find your local network IP address:

ip route get 1

Look for the IP address listed after src (for example, 192.168.1.50).

On your Windows machine, open any web browser (such as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome) and navigate to your Ubuntu IP address followed by port 8000:

http://YOUR_UBUNTU_IP:8000

You will see a directory listing of the Ubuntu folder. Simply click any file link to download it directly onto your Windows PC. Once you are finished, go back to your Ubuntu terminal and press Ctrl+C to terminate the Python server.

If you haven’t enabled SSH access on your Ubuntu machine, run these commands to install and start the service:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openssh-server -y
sudo systemctl enable --now ssh
sudo ufw allow ssh

To share files graphically, download and install a trusted client on your Windows system, such as WinSCP or FileZilla. Open the client and fill out the connection manager profile:

Click Connect. You will see a dual-pane window showing your Windows files on the left and Ubuntu files on the right. Simply drag and drop files to copy them.

You can also copy files straight from Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt using the built-in scp utility:

# Copy a file from Ubuntu to your Windows Downloads folder
scp YOUR_UBUNTU_USERNAME@YOUR_UBUNTU_IP:/path/to/ubuntu/file.txt C:\Users\YOUR_WINDOWS_USERNAME\Downloads\

# Copy a file from Windows to your Ubuntu home folder
scp C:\Users\YOUR_WINDOWS_USERNAME\Documents\data.zip YOUR_UBUNTU_USERNAME@YOUR_UBUNTU_IP:~/

On your Windows keyboard, press the Win+R keys to open the Run box.

Type double backslashes followed by your Ubuntu local IP address and the shared name. For example:

\\192.168.1.50\UbuntuShare

Press Enter or click OK.

A network login box will appear. Enter your Ubuntu username and the Samba sharing password you set up earlier.

Check the box Remember my credentials if you want Windows to connect automatically in the future, then click OK.

If you plan to use this folder frequently, you can pin it to File Explorer or map it as a persistent drive letter (like Z:):

Right-click the shared folder in the Explorer network window, and select Map network drive. Select a drive letter, check Reconnect at sign-in, and click Finish.

sudo systemctl status smbd

If it is stopped, start it by running `sudo systemctl start smbd`.

sudo ufw status verbose

Ensure `Samba` or port `445` (TCP/UDP) is allowed. If not, open it: `sudo ufw allow samba`.

sudo tail -n 20 /var/log/samba/log.smbd

This prints the end of the system log, detailing rejected connections, credential errors, or local write blocks.