Setting up Samba on a Ubuntu VM for use With Sublime Text on a Windows Host

Windows is my desktop OS of choice and until now I have used either WinSCP or FlashFXP (amazing FTP client by the way) to edit files remotely on any Ubuntu VMs I connect to.

I recently decided to start using a Samba share instead. In case you’re unaware, Samba allows Linux distros to create Windows shares which allow one to directly access the Unix filesystem in Windows.

Installing & Configuring Samba or Your Ubuntu VM

To begin, install Samba on your VM:

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sudo apt-get install samba

Now you’ll just have to add a few lines to the Samba configuration file /etc/samba/smb.conf to make everything work:

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[global]
   ...
# The following property ensures that existing files do not have their
# permissions reset to the "create mask" (defined below) if they are changed
   map archive = no

# Notify upon file changes so that Windows can detect such changes
   change notify = yes

[fots]
   comment = Fotsies Files
   path = /home/fots
   guest ok = no
   browseable = yes
   writable = yes
   create mask = 0664
   directory mask = 0775

The last step to get everything working is to add a Samba user and password identical to your Linux user account:

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sudo smbpasswd fots

On some operating systems, you may need to explicitly create the account as follows:

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sudo smbpasswd -a fots

And then restart Samba so that the config can be re-read:

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sudo service smbd restart

Your Windows host should now have access to the share via the following UNC path \\\<ip-address>\fots (e.g. \\\192.168.172.101\fots).

I suggest mounting the share to a drive letter so that Sublime Text can add it as part of a project.

The following instructions are for Windows 8. Windows 7 users should find the equivalent option under the Organise menu.

Open Computer (Start + E)
Select Computer / Map network drive / Map network drive
Select any drive letter you wish and place the UNC path in the Folder field
Enter your credentials and click Finish

Now to add the directory to your workspace in Sublime Text, simply follow the steps below:

Choose Project / Add Folder to Project
Browse to the project directory on the drive you just mounted via UNC

And the result? …

YAY! Now we can get some work done with ease :)

Installing & Configuring Samba or Your Ubuntu VM

Setting up the Share on your Windows host