Migrating file services from a macOS Server to a macOS Client can be a bit traumatic at first. Mostly because the thought itself can be a bit daunting. But once you get started, it’s pretty simple. Mostly because there’s less to do. And that can be a challenge. While there are ways to hack together solutions for network homes and other more advanced features, if you’re doing that, then you’re missing a key point here.
Let’s start by documenting our existing share points. We’ll do this with the serveradmin command and using the settings verb for the sharing service as follows:
sudo serveradmin settings sharing
Each share is an item in the sharePointList array, with the following:
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:nfsExportRecord = _empty_array
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:smbName = “Charles Edge’s Public Folder”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:name = “Charles Edge’s Public Folder”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:afpIsGuestAccessEnabled = yes
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:isIndexingEnabled = no
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:dsAttrTypeNative\:sharepoint_group_id = “6C37A421-C506-4523-8769-1AF6EA245B68”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:mountedOnPath = “/”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:dsAttrTypeNative\:sharepoint_account_uuid = “C0405AE4-6CBE-40C7-9584-174687C80C07”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:path = “/Users/charles.edge/Public”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:smbIsShared = yes
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:smbIsGuestAccessEnabled = yes
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:afpName = “Charles Edge’s Public Folder”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:dsAttrTypeStandard\:GeneratedUID = “5C13E2AA-A86D-45D0-80B4-00CA86DE2253”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:smbDirectoryMask = “755”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:afpIsShared = yes
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:smbCreateMask = “644”
sharing:sharePointList:_array_id:/Users/charles.edge/Public:ftpName = “Charles Edge’s Public Folder”
Once you’ve removed the Server app, you’ll be left with using the sharing command. Using that command, you can list shares using the -l option:
sharing -l
That same share then appears as follows:
List of Share Points
name: Charles Edge’s Public Folder
path: /Users/charles.edge/Public
afp: {
name: Charles Edge’s Public Folder
shared: 1
guest access: 1
inherit perms: 0
}
smb: {
name: Charles Edge’s Public Folder
shared: 1
guest access: 1
read-only: 0
sealed: 0
}
Or from the Sharing System Preference Pane.
Now you just have to loop through and create each share (although they should co-exist between tools). To create a share, click on the plus sign under Shared Folders.
You can then browse to the folder you’d like to share. Next, we’ll give access to the directory. Use the plus sign on the right side of the screen and then select the user or group you’d like to add to the list that has access to the directory (while the directory is highlighted in the list on the left).
Once the user is in the list, use the permissions on the right side of the user list to select what level each user or group gets.
You have additional controls for file and folder security that can be set at either the directory that is shared or those below it hierarchically. To do so, highlight the directory and use the Get Info option under the File menu in the Finder.
Note: You can also check the Shared Folder box on these folders to share them, meaning you have one less step once you get used to the workflow!
