View source for Build Samba from Source

= Introduction =

Most users are running [[Distribution-specific_Package_Installation|packages shipped with their distribution]] or from 3rd parties, like SerNet ([http://www.samba.plus Samba+]/[http://www.samba.plus/older-packages/ Enterprise]). However, in some situations you decide to compile Samba yourself, like
* outdated packages are shipped with your distribution
* no packages are available for your distribution or OS
* you want to apply a patch from a developer to fix a problem before a new version is released

Compiling Samba requires only a few steps:
* Install all [[Samba_Dependencies|dependencies, like libraries]] using the package manager of your distribution
* Download the sources from [https://www.samba.org samba.org]
* Extract the source package
* Run
:<code>./configure</code>
:<code>make</code>
:<code>sudo make install</code>

You can run most of the required steps in this documentation without root privileges. If root permissions are required, the command is prefixed with <code>sudo</code>. Please see the <code>sudo (8)</code> manual page and your distribution documentation how to set up <code>sudo</code>.

The following documentation is valid for every type of Samba installation, like an Active Directory (AD) domain controller (DC), a domain member (AD and NT4 domain), an NT4 PDC, and standalone server.





= Samba Operating System Requirements =

To build Samba, install all required libraries and tools first. See [[Operating_System_Requirements|Operating System Requirements]].





= Obtaining Samba =

== Stable Version (Recommended) ==

Always download the latest version of Samba from https://www.samba.org/. 

Samba maintains three series of minor versions. For a maximum of security and stability, the Samba team recommends that you only install the latest available version of a series. Older versions do not contain the latest bug and security fixes. For further information, see [[Samba_Release_Planning|Samba Release Planning]].

{{Imbox
| type = note
| text = In case if you are asking for help on the [https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/samba Samba Mailing List] and not running the latest version, the list members usually advice you to update your installation first to verify that the bug has not been fixed in the meantime.
}}

To download, use a tool like <code>wget</code>. For example:

 $ wget <nowiki>https://download.samba.org/pub/samba/stable/samba-x.y.z.tar.gz</nowiki>



== Development Version ==

'''Do not use a development version in production!'''

See [[Obtaining_a_Samba_development_version|Obtaining a Samba Development Version]].





= Extracting the Source Package =

To extract the downloaded source package, run:

 $ tar -zxf samba-x.y.z.tar.gz





= configure =

Change into the directory with the extracted sources:

 $ cd samba-x.y.z/

The <code>configure</code> script is located in the root of the sources directory. The main purpose of the script is to create a <code>Makefile</code> which is used by the command <code>make</code>. The <code>configure</code> script enables you to set various options, like installation paths. If you do not want to [[#Customizing_the_Configure_Options|customize]] any paths, and enable or disable parts of Samba, run the following command without any option:

 $ ./configure

If the command fails, read the error message and fix the problem. One common problem are missing [[Operating system requirements|dependencies]]. The following example shows the output, if the <code>configure</code> script cannot find the GnuTLS headers:

 Checking for gnutls >= 1.4.0 and broken versions : not found
 /usr/src/samba-x.y.z/source4/lib/tls/wscript:37: error: Building the AD DC requires
 GnuTLS (eg libgnutls-dev, gnutls-devel) for ldaps:// support and for the BackupKey protocol

If the <code>configure</code> script exits without an error, you see the following output:

 'configure' finished successfully (1m2.432s)

Continue with the <code>[[#make|make]]</code> step, if no error has occurred.



== Customizing the Configure Options ==

While running the <code>configure</code> script without any options is sufficient to build Samba, you can customize installation paths and enable or disable features. To display the list of options, run:

 $ ./configure --help

The output shows two major kind of options:
* [[#enable.2Fdisable.2Fwith.2Fwithout_options|--enable/--disable and --with/--without options]]
* [[#Installation_directories|installation directories]]



=== enable/disable/with/without Options ===

The <code>configure</code> script provides several <code>--enable-*</code> / <code>-disable-*</code> and <code>--with-*</code> / <code>--without-*</code> options. They allow you to enable and disable features. Each option you can turn to its opposite if you use <code>--enable</code> instead of <code>--disable</code>, <code>--with</code> instead of <code>--without</code>, and the other way around.

* <u>Example 1:</u> Disable CUPS support (enabled by default):

 --enable-cups
           Build with cups support (default=yes)

:If you do not require CUPS support, disable the feature passing the <code>--disable-cups</code> option to the <code>configure</code> command:

 $ ./configure ... --disable-cups

* <u>Example 2:</u> Compile Samba without AD DC capabilities:

 --without-ad-dc
           disable AD DC functionality (enables Samba 4 client and Samba 3 code base).

: If you build Samba for a host that should not act as an AD DC, you can disable this feature passing the <code>--without-ad-dc</code> option to the <code>configure</code> command:

 $ ./configure ... --without-ad-dc

* <u>Example 3:</u> Build Samba with debug information:

 $ ./configure ... --enable-debug 


'''Warning: Do not enable or disable features if you have not fully understood the cause of the option! Changing options can prevent your Samba installation from working as expected!'''



=== Installation Directories ===

If you use the default settings, the binaries, configuration files, libraries, and other files are installed in the <code>/usr/local/samba/</code> directory. This enables you to keep the complete Samba installation in one location. However, you can specify individual paths. For example:

* To install the daemon binaries like <code>smbd</code> and <code>samba</code> in the <code>/sbin/</code> directory instead of </code>/usr/local/samba/sbin/</code>, run:
 $ ./configure ... --sbindir=/sbin/

* To set the default path to the </code>smb.conf</code> file to <code>/etc/samba/</code> instead of </code>/usr/local/samba/etc/</code>, run:
 $ ./configure ... --sysconfdir=/etc/samba/

* To store the Samba man pages in the <code>/usr/share/man/</code> directory, run:
 $ ./configure ... --mandir=/usr/share/man/





= make =

To start the compilation, run

 $ make

The <code>make</code> command is able to run multiple jobs in parallel. For example, to run 2 <code>make</code> sub-tasks at the same time, run:

 $ make -j 2

If the compilation exits without an error, you see the following output:

 Waf: Leaving directory `/usr/src/samba-x.y.z/bin'
 'build' finished successfully (9m3.667s)





= make test (Optional) =

This optional step runs the Samba self test suite.

 $ make test

{{Imbox
| type = note
| text = You can only run the self test suite, if you built Samba using the <code>--enable-selftest</code> option.
}}






= make install =

To install the compiled software, you require <code>root</code> permissions to write to the destination directories and set the correct permissions.

To install Samba, run:
 
 $ sudo make install 

If the installation exits without an error, you see the following output:

 Waf: Leaving directory `/usr/src/samba-x.y.z/bin'
 'install' finished successfully (18.243s)





= Upgrading a Self-compiled Samba Installation =

To update a self-compiled Samba installation, run the same steps like for a new installation while using the same <code>configure</code> options.





= Applying a Patch =

Some situations require that you apply a patch to Samba. For example, a bug has been fixed and you you cannot wait until the new Samba version is released. To apply the patch to the Samba sources, run:

* Change into the Samba sources directory.
 $ cd samba-x.y.z/

* Download the patch. For example:
 $ wget -O /tmp/patch.txt <nowiki>https://bugzilla.samba.org/attachment.cgi?id=...</nowiki>

* Apply the patch to the sources:
 $ patch -p 1 < /tmp/patch.txt

* Recompile and install Samba. See [[Updating_Samba|Updating Samba]].





= Additional information =

== Viewing Built Options of an Existing Installation ==

To display the options used to built Samba, run

 $ smbd -b