sharing

TrueNAS Sharing Management

Use the truenas-manager MCP server tools to manage SMB, NFS, and iSCSI shares.

SMB (Windows) Shares

Listing shares

Call truenas_smb_list to see all SMB shares.

Creating an SMB share

1. Ensure the target dataset exists (create with truenas_dataset_create if needed, with share_type: "SMB").
2. Confirm the path, share name, and access settings.
3. Call truenas_smb_create.
4. Ensure the SMB service is running: truenas_service_start(service="smb").
5. If the user needs Windows access, remind them to create a TrueNAS user with SMB enabled.

Updating an SMB share

Call truenas_smb_update to change comment, read-only, browsable, guest access, or recycle bin settings.

Deleting an SMB share

1. Confirm with the user — this removes the share (not the data).
2. Call truenas_smb_delete.

NFS (Unix/Linux) Shares

Creating an NFS share

1. Ensure the target dataset exists (create with share_type: "NFS" if needed).
2. Confirm the path, allowed networks/hosts, and access settings.
3. Call truenas_nfs_create.
4. Ensure the NFS service is running: truenas_service_start(service="nfs").

Managing NFS shares

• truenas_nfs_list — list all shares
• truenas_nfs_update — change allowed networks, hosts, or read-only setting
• truenas_nfs_delete — remove a share

iSCSI (Block Storage)

Setting up iSCSI

1. Create a zvol dataset for the block device.
2. Create an extent: truenas_iscsi_extent_create (type: "DISK", disk: zvol path).
3. Create a target: truenas_iscsi_target_create.
4. Associate the extent with the target via the TrueNAS UI (target-extent mapping).
5. Ensure the iSCSI service is running: truenas_service_start(service="iscsitarget").

Listing iSCSI resources

• truenas_iscsi_target_list — list targets
• truenas_iscsi_extent_list — list extents

Best Practices

• Create a dedicated dataset for each share with appropriate permissions.
• Use SMB for Windows clients, NFS for Linux/macOS clients.
• Restrict NFS access by network CIDR rather than allowing all.
• Enable guest access only for read-only public shares.
• Enable the recycle bin on SMB shares to prevent accidental data loss.

Reference

See references/share-protocols.md for protocol comparison.