I needed to access some configuration files for a Docker plugin.

I saw that the container put local files in /mnt/user/appdata, which is shared as appdata.

I had not enabled sharing for that directory yet, so I enabled it for read/write for my user.

I can browse to the directory and view it with Windows File Explorer, but when I attempt to write or modify files I get permission denied.

Other shares are working properly, as configured with R/W access, from this same Windows machine.

Settings for the appdata share are:

Export: Yes

Case-sensitive names: Auto

Security: Private.

Under "SMB User Access Guests have no access."

One user (me) is set to Read/Write. All others are No Access.

I logged in to Unraid with SSH and was able to access the directory from the terminal, but I would like to understand the root issue for future reference.

What am I missing?

Unraid doesn't have "users" what you're experiencing is how it works.

SSH root login will have full access to all files/directories.

SMB security/permissions only apply when accessing over SMB

In the Web GUI, there are tabs for "Shares" and "Users".

The share appdata is one of the possible Shares.

I am trying to access the appdata share over SMB. The permissions on the Shares page are set to Read/Write for the SMB user (me). The effective permission is Read Only.

What could prevent the SMB security/permissions from being applied as configured?

8 minutes ago, timg11 said:

am trying to access the appdata share over SMB. The permissions on the Shares page are set to Read/Write for the SMB user (me). The effective permission is Read Only.

What could prevent the SMB security/permissions from being applied as configured?

You also need read/write access at the Linux level. Across the network you only get the subset of permissions that are set at both the share and Linux levels. Docker containers set their own permissions independently of Unraid do it is not unusual for you to not have full permissions via the share across the network.

You should be able to edit configuration files using Dynamix File Manager which is built-in to Unraid v7.

23 hours ago, timg11 said:

I am trying to access the appdata share over SMB

Yeah unfortunately the appdata folders for each docker container will likely prevent an unraid "user" (except root) from altering the contents. Obviously you cannot use "root" as an SMB user so you'll have to use the unraid webGUI and built in dyanmix file manager to configure files.

You can add additional file extensions by editing the /boot/config/editor.cfg file on the flash drive

On 8/9/2025 at 11:36 AM, timg11 said:

What could prevent the SMB security/permissions from being applied as configured?

Start by reading this post:

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/191221-some-musings-on-smb-and-samba-and-unraid-and-windows/#findComment-1561580

Notice the snippet of the permissions in the example. They area read-write for 'owner', 'group' and 'other'. Notice the group for all of the files is 'users'. Now run this command in a WebDUI terminal:

ls -al /mnt/user/appdata

Now drill down to the file(s) where you had the problem and look at the Linux permissions for 'group' and 'other' as well at the name of the 'group'. This will show why you don't have access via SMB which itself is restricted by the permissions/owner/group setting of Linux. (Samba is an application program in Linux and not a part of the operating system. It uses Linux file system calls to files to access them just like a word processor would. As such, The Linux file permissions are enforced!)

As an example, have a look at this snippet of the mysql Docker: