Not Able to Delete Files

[ChrisJBurns]

I am getting quite a lot of issues trying to delete files / directories on a Samba share.

I am able to create them without issue, but deleting them is where I just cannot get it to work.

docker-compose.yaml

---
version: "3.9"

services:
  samba:
    image: docker.io/servercontainers/samba:latest
    container_name: samba
    restart: unless-stopped
    # user: samba
    # network_mode: host
    # hostname: smb-server
    environment:

      GROUP_sambausers: 1500

      ACCOUNT_samba: test
      UID_samba: 1000
      GROUPS_samba: sambausers
         
         ## Groups definition ##

      SAMBA_GLOBAL_CONFIG_server_SPACE_min_SPACE_protocol: NT1
      SAMBA_GLOBAL_CONFIG_ntlm_SPACE_auth: ntlmv1-permitted
      SAMBA_VOLUME_CONFIG_shared_home: |
        vfs objects = catia fruit streams_xattr
        [home];
        path=/shares/home
        valid users = samba
        browsable = yes
        writeable = yes
        read only = no
        inherit owner = yes
        create mask = 777
        directory mask = 777
        force create mode = 777
        force directory mode = 777
        force user = samba
        force group = sambausers
    volumes:
      - ./shares/home:/shares/home
    ports:
      - 445:445
    cap_add:
      - CAP_NET_ADMIN

  myubuntu:
    image: ubuntu
    container_name: ubuntu
    stdin_open: true # docker run -i
    tty: true        # docker run -t
    build:
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
      context: .
    cap_add:
      - SYS_ADMIN
      - DAC_READ_SEARCH

When I docker exec onto the samba container, I can see that the /shares/home is owned by root, I change this using
chown -R 1000:1500 shares/

I use a separate Ubuntu container in order to mount the Samba share so I can test it. I originally did this with my Macbook but I had problems there so I wanted to remove the possibility that my Macbook was the problem. This is what is in my Dockerfile for the Ubuntu image:

FROM ubuntu

RUN apt update && apt install -y samba smbclient vim iputils-ping cifs-utils

COPY --chmod=0600 smbcreds /home/.smbcredentials

RUN echo "//samba/home /mnt/home cifs credentials=/home/.smbcredentials,uid=1000,gid=1500 0 0" > /etc/fstab

RUN mkdir -p /mnt/home

# RUN mount -a

Once I do a docker-compose up --force-recreate --build, both samba and ubuntu containers are up. I exec onto my Ubuntu container and run mount -a, i then go to /mnt/home and I can see all of the files/folders there that exist on my Macbook. I can even create files.

root@ee4447359d43:/mnt/home# ls -al
total 32
drwxr-xr-x 2 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 15:07 .
drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Mar 14 14:08 ..
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 14:59 .DS_Store
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 14:53 .hi.file.swp
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 14:53 .hi.file.swx
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 15:07 .new.file.swp
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 15:07 .new.file.swx
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 14:18 .new.text.swp
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 14:18 .new.text.swx
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500 4096 Mar 14 15:07 .newnew.swo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 15:07 .newnew.swp
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    0 Mar 14 15:07 .newnew.swpx
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    4 Mar 14 14:53 hi.file
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500 4096 Mar 14 14:53 hi_file.swp
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    4 Mar 14 15:07 new.file
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500    5 Mar 14 14:18 new.text
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500 4096 Mar 14 15:07 new_file.swp
-rwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1500 4096 Mar 14 14:18 new_text.swp

They even show that they are owned by 1000:1500 - which is the samba uid (1000) and sambausers gid (1500). However, I just cannot delete any files/directories. The error I get is

root@375f455c0b84:/mnt/home# rm new.text
rm: cannot remove 'new.text': Operation not supported

The fact that I can write new ones shows that write access is fine, but I have been racking my brains for the last couple of days trying to figure out why deletes don't work. I have tried all sorts of combinations in the smb.conf file. From forcing users, to forcing groups, to using root, to creating 777 masks, nothing I do get's deletes to work.

[MarvAmBass]

Hi there,

long text, super strange issue - I never encountered a similiar issue to be honest.

can you check the filesystem on the host, the permissions should be the same (at least if you look at the ids)
also can you remove the files on the host?

it honestly doesn't make sense that you're not able to delete

can you reproduce this with a different client? like a mac, pc or desktop linux?

I suspect that maybe the ubuntu container has some issues - containers have a mutable filesystem which is stacked on top of each other - maybe this is some sort of security mechanism, although you should be able to delete files manually

can you check/list all your options? (i suspected read only mounts, but you said you can create files)

anything strange int the logs? have you tried an older version of this container?

[MarvAmBass]

also maybe you can rety this using this minimal configuration:

I also noted a issue with your configuration please use the vfs like that SAMBA_GLOBAL_STANZA: vfs objects = catia fruit streams_xattr

    environment:
      ACCOUNT_samba: test
      UID_samba: 1000
      SAMBA_GLOBAL_STANZA: vfs objects = catia fruit streams_xattr
      SAMBA_VOLUME_CONFIG_shared_home: |
        [home];
        path=/shares/home
        valid users = samba
        browsable = yes
        writeable = yes

and make sure on the host, that the folder which is created has permissions like chown -R 1000:1000 ./shares/home; chmod -R 700 ./shares/home

[ChrisJBurns]

Hi @MarvAmBass loving the rapid reply ❤️

can you check the filesystem on the host, the permissions should be the same (at least if you look at the ids)
also can you remove the files on the host?
On my Macbook, this is the result from ls -al

drwxrwxrwx    3 chburns  staff    96 14 Mar 14:02 shares

can you reproduce this with a different client? like a mac, pc or desktop linux?
Yep, so I've done it a couple of ways:

1) smbclient on my Mac

Within my Terminal and I connect to the share, it's a similar issue as the above, I can see files and can create directories, just not delete.

> smbclient //chburns-mbp-76/home -U samba
Can't load /usr/local/etc/smb.conf - run testparm to debug it
Password for [WORKGROUP\samba]:
Try "help" to get a list of possible commands.
smb: \> ls
  .                                   D        0  Thu Mar 14 15:07:49 2024
  ..                                  D        0  Thu Mar 14 15:18:50 2024
  .DS_Store                           H     6148  Thu Mar 14 15:13:41 2024
  .hi.file.swp                        H        0  Thu Mar 14 14:53:07 2024
  .hi.file.swx                        H        0  Thu Mar 14 14:53:07 2024
  .new.file.swp                       H        0  Thu Mar 14 15:07:47 2024
  .new.file.swx                       H        0  Thu Mar 14 15:07:47 2024
  .new.text.swp                       H        0  Thu Mar 14 14:18:56 2024
  .new.text.swx                       H        0  Thu Mar 14 14:18:56 2024
  .newnew.swo                         H     4096  Thu Mar 14 15:07:41 2024
  .newnew.swp                         H        0  Thu Mar 14 15:07:37 2024
  .newnew.swpx                        H        0  Thu Mar 14 15:07:37 2024
  hi.file                             N        4  Thu Mar 14 14:53:09 2024
  hi_file.swp                         N     4096  Thu Mar 14 14:53:09 2024
  new.file                            N        4  Thu Mar 14 15:07:49 2024
  new.text                            N        5  Thu Mar 14 14:18:58 2024
  new_file.swp                        N     4096  Thu Mar 14 15:07:49 2024
  new_text.swp                        N     4096  Thu Mar 14 14:18:58 2024

		488245288 blocks of size 1024. 154643048 blocks available
smb: \> rm new.text
NT_STATUS_NOT_SUPPORTED deleting remote file \new.text
smb: \>

2) Using Finder to connect to the server

Finder >> Connect to Server >> smb://127.0.0.2
Once connected, I can see files, just can't delete

3) Where I use a Linux / Ubuntu Container

This is what I've mentioned in the issue description where I've stood up a Ubuntu container in the same compose file, and mounted the Samba share via fstab. Can create files, view files, just not delete them or move them.

root@375f455c0b84:/mnt/home# rm new.text
rm: cannot remove 'new.text': Operation not supported
root@375f455c0b84:/mnt/home# mv new.text new.txt
mv: cannot move 'new.text' to '

I can't even edit existing files as I get the following error.

E325: ATTENTION
Found a swap file by the name "new_text.swp"
             dated: Thu Mar 14 14:18:58 2024
         file name: /mnt/home/new.text
          modified: no
         user name: root   host name: a6031722724b
        process ID: 23 (STILL RUNNING)
While opening file "new.text"
             dated: Thu Mar 14 14:18:58 2024

(1) Another program may be editing the same file.  If this is the case,
    be careful not to end up with two different instances of the same
    file when making changes.  Quit, or continue with caution.
(2) An edit session for this file crashed.
    If this is the case, use ":recover" or "vim -r new.text"
    to recover the changes (see ":help recovery").
    If you did this already, delete the swap file "new_text.swp"
    to avoid this message.

Swap file "new_text.swp" already exists!
[O]pen Read-Only, (E)dit anyway, (R)ecover, (Q)uit, (A)bort:

Which options did you want specifically? I think I've outputted all of the ones I'm setting. Or did you want the smb.conf thats on the samba container?

[MarvAmBass]

What kind of hardware device is mounted on the docker host? It just doesn't make sense

You can remove the file on the host directly, am I right? The share is also not mounted in a special unusual way - am I right?

[MarvAmBass]

Maybe you have some special attributes active 'lsattr -a your/path'?

Also maybe some apparmor / selinux policies stand in your way and only allow creating / appending to files.

[ChrisJBurns]

You can remove the file on the host directly, am I right? The share is also not mounted in a special unusual way - am I right?

Yes, I can remove the file on my host, and nope, I mount the folder on the host to the samba share via the docker compose:

    volumes:
      - ./shares/home:/shares/home

Maybe you have some special attributes active 'lsattr -a your/path'?

This is on the samba` docker container:

> docker exec -it samba sh
/ # lsattr -a  /shares/
lsattr: reading /shares/home: Function not implemented
--------------e----- /shares/.
--------------e----- /shares/..

Also maybe some apparmor / selinux policies stand in your way and only allow creating / appending to files.

I don't think that is the case on my Macbook at least

[ChrisJBurns]

In addition to the above, this is the results from running lsattr -a on the Ubuntu container where I am mounting the samba share via fstab.

root@1d00d8e4399a:/mnt/home# lsattr -a
lsattr: Operation not supported While reading flags on ./.
--------------e------- ./..
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./.hihi.text.swp
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./.hihi.text.swx
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./.text.txt.swp
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./.text.txt.swx
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./hi.text
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./hihi.text
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./hihi_tex.swp
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./text.txt
-uS-ia--c-jI---------m ./text_txt.swp

[MarvAmBass]

ahh so your system is a docker for mac system, right?

[MarvAmBass]

I'm going to test your setup on my mac, we will see what's wrong, or if I run into the same issue

[ChrisJBurns]

ahh so your system is a docker for mac system, right?

That's correct.

I'm running Docker Desktop on my Macbook. I have a docker-compose file that sets up 1 samba container and another Ubuntu container that I'm using to access the samba share. However, I'm finding that just using smbclient on my Mac and pointing it at the samba share using my machine name (/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Print :NetBIOSName" /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.smb.server.plist), also returns the same resuls, so you may not even need to do the Ubuntu container.

My smbclient command: smbclient //my-machine-name/home -U samba.

[ChrisJBurns]

Hi @MarvAmBass

Update from me, I have managed to get this to work, but I have removed the volume mounts in the docker-compose file and instead created that directory on the samba container myself manually after it starts up. I then exec into my Ubuntu container and I can now create and remove files.

So instead of:

• macbook: shares/home/ -> samba: /shares/home -> ubuntu: /mnt/home (via fstab)

I have changed to:

• samba: /shares/home -> ubuntu: /mnt/home (via fstab)

And I can create and delete files within the Ubuntu /mnt/home.

So it seems that Macbook realllyy doesn't like something, and I'm not enough of a macbook expert to see what is going on. All of the permissions across the board looked fine to me. All I did was remove the volumes: section in the docker compose file and created the folder within the container myself and it all worked.

I might try a third container to somewhat "replicate" my macbook, but make it another Ubuntu container, just so I can put that volumes: line back into the docker-compose file (as it maybe something relating to the way docker mounts the volumes) to verify it definitely is the Macbook that is causing the problem.

Let me know what your investigations find, this is one of those mysteries that have really stumped me over the last couple of days and I'd really like to find out what it is about MacOS (or maybe even the way mine is configured) that doesn't allow this to work.

[MarvAmBass]

yeah I also needed some time to get the docker compose to work, and my ubuntu to mount the share of the samba container.

at the end I was able to mount it, but the permissions were different from the permissions my mac system. changing owner was successful but the chmod didn't fully map into the container.

But I wasn't even able to create a file on the samba share. Samba connections to a linux system running my container had no issues.

---
version: "3.3"

services:
  samba:
    image: docker.io/servercontainers/samba:latest
    container_name: samba
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      ACCOUNT_myuser: test
      UID_myuser: 1000
      SAMBA_VOLUME_CONFIG_shared_home: |
        [home];
        path=/shares/home
        valid users = myuser
        browsable = yes
        writeable = yes
    volumes:
      - ./home:/shares/home

  myubuntu:
    image: ubuntu
    privileged: true
    container_name: ubuntu
    stdin_open: true # docker run -i
    tty: true        # docker run -t
    build:
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
      context: .

I entered the ubuntu container and mounted the share using: mount.cifs //samba/home /mnt/home -o user=myuser,uid=1000,gid=1000

You have to keep in mind that Docker Desktop ist a very hacky solution for macOS and Windows - it runs some kind of virtual machine under the hood and mounts different ports, filesystem mounts etc. from and to the vm and inside the containers.

I'll stop the investigation at this point. I don't see a reason to use macos as a host system - they alread ship samba.

[ChrisJBurns]

Yep no problems, thanks @MarvAmBass

I have also been able to connect to the single Samba container that is sharing the local /shares/home directory via running smbclient locally in a terminal on my mac. I was always able to ls files before and create new directories, but now I can do both. So it really does seem like the volume mounting of a directory that lives on a MacOS, into the samba container really doesn't go down well. A colleague of mine thinks it's something to do with the docker volume shim for MacOS. Perhaps a note in the docs for folks who may want to try a similar setup as me?

My setup by the way wasn't to host a long-term share, but instead write a Java / Spring application that reads/writes files to an SMB share, and we needed to be able to stand up a local samba share to do some local testing of the code. In our case, we will just roll a custom image that creates that /shares/home directory in order to save us from having do it manually all of the time.

Thanks again 👍