VFS_READONLY(8)

💖 VFS_READONLY 💖

okay so bestie, this one is a manual page for the vfs_readonly module — it's filed under System Administration tools, and no cap, it's about to be your new fave for locking a Samba share down on a schedule ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

vfs_readonly — make a Samba share read only for a specified time period 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

vfs objects = readonly

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

This VFS module is literally part of the samba(7) suite, iykyk 💅

So what does vfs_readonly actually do? It marks a share as read only for every client that connects inside the time period you configured. That's it, that's the whole vibe. Any client connecting during that window gets denied write access to all the files in the share — doesn't matter what their actual access privileges say. Your permissions could be giving main character energy and it still don't matter, the share said no 🚫

This module is stackable. Stack away, queen 👑

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💜 OPTIONS 💜

• readonly:period = BEGIN, END — Only mark the share as read only if the client connection was made between the times marked by the BEGIN and END date specifiers. The syntax of these date specifiers is the same as the one accepted by the -d option of GNU date(1). fr fr, go peep that if you need the details 🌈

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🌟 EXAMPLES 🌟

Mark all shares read only

            [global]
         vfs objects = readonly

periodt 💅

Mark the [backup] share as read only during business hours

            [backup]
         path = /readonly
         vfs objects = readonly
         readonly:period = readonly:period = "today 9:00","today 17:00"

yes bestie, we're copying it exactly as it is written here — the doubled-up readonly:period = is exactly what the page says, so do not come for me 🙈 (eyeball it when you write your own config, okay? 👀)

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👑 VERSION 👑

This man page is part of version 4.24.7-Ubuntu-4.24.7+dfsg-1ubuntu1 of the Samba suite. slay 💖

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💀 AUTHOR 💀

The original Samba software and related utilities were created by Andrew Tridgell. Samba is now developed by the Samba Team as an Open Source project similar to the way the Linux kernel is developed. iconic behavior, honestly 🫶

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🧚 cute lil sign-off: this whole thing comes from Samba 4.24.7-Ubuntu-4.24.7+dfs, dated 09/13/2026, and it lives its life as VFS_READONLY(8). mwah 💋 go make that share read only bestie, you got this ✨🌸💜