Here is a list of terminal instructions that could be useful to interact with Samba Active Directory
1. Check your domain basics first
Make sure you’re on the AD DC itself and Samba is running in AD mode:
samba-tool domain info localhost
You should see domain name, SID,
forest level, etc.
2. Managing users
List users
sudo samba-tool user list
Create a user
sudo samba-tool user create alice
With more control:
sudo samba-tool user create alice
'Str0ngP@ss!' \
--given-name=Alice \
--surname=Smith \
--mail-address=alice@example.com
Enable / disable a user
sudo samba-tool user disable alice
sudo samba-tool user enable alice
Delete a user
samba-tool user delete alice
Reset a password
sudo samba-tool user setpassword alice
Or non-interactive:
sudo samba-tool user setpassword alice
--newpassword='N3wP@ss!'
Show user details
samba-tool user show alice
3. Managing groups
List groups
samba-tool group list
Create a group
samba-tool group add it-admins
Delete a group
samba-tool group delete it-admins
Show group details
samba-tool group show "Domain
Admins"
4. Managing group membership
Add a user to a group
samba-tool group addmembers
it-admins alice
Multiple users:
samba-tool group addmembers
it-admins alice bob charlie
Remove a user from a group
samba-tool group removemembers
it-admins alice
List group members
samba-tool group listmembers
it-admins
5. Organizational Units (OUs)
List OUs
samba-tool ou list
Create an OU
samba-tool ou create
"OU=Servers,DC=example,DC=com"
Move a user into an OU
samba-tool user move alice
"OU=Staff,DC=example,DC=com"
6. User account policies
(password rules)
Show current policy:
samba-tool domain passwordsettings
show
Example: enforce stronger passwords
samba-tool domain passwordsettings
set \
--min-pwd-length=12 \
--complexity=on \
--history-length=24 \
--max-pwd-age=90
7. Admin & privileged groups
(important ⚠️)
Common built-in groups:
Domain Admins – full
control
Enterprise Admins –
forest-wide
Account Operators –
manage users/groups
Server Operators –
manage DCs
Add a user to Domain Admins:
samba-tool group addmembers "Domain Admins" alice
samba-tool group addmembers "Domain
Admins" alice