Written 4 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

Add another person to the house share

Give a partner or roommate their own login for the house folder on the old PC. Same share path. Separate Samba password. You don't need a NAS.

Haven't made the share yet? Start with a file share. Only one person can open it today, and you want a second login that is not the same password. This note adds that person. Same folder. Their own Samba password.

Skip until you have a share

If the house folder does not exist yet, stop. That is a file share, not a second login. Don't buy a NAS so two people can open one folder. Don't hand the whole house one shared password if you can give each person their own. Don't open SMB to the internet.

What this is

A second Linux login on the old PC, then a Samba password for that login, then write access on the same folder the first person already uses. Finder and File Explorer still open \\lab-address\photos (or whatever share name you picked). They type their username and Samba password. You are not building Active Directory. You are not installing Nextcloud.

Step 1: awake, then SSH

Power light. Fan. If it looks asleep, start with is the computer still on?. You need SSH from the couch: SSH from the couch. Connect fails? when SSH won't connect.

Step 2: confirm the share and who is already on Samba

Haven't made the share yet? Go back to a file share. List the Samba users you already have:

sudo pdbedit -L

You should see the first person's login. Empty list usually means Samba was never set up, or you never ran smbpasswd -a for anyone. Fix that on the file-share note before you add a second person.

Step 3: create a Linux login for them

Samba attaches to a real system account. Swap alex for their short name:

sudo adduser alex

Answer the prompts. A normal login is enough for share access. They do not need sudo on the computer. You can leave the full-name fields blank if you want.

Step 4: add them to Samba and set THEIR share password

Add them and pick a Samba password they will type on a laptop or phone:

sudo smbpasswd -a alex

It asks twice. Nothing shows as you type. That is normal. This password is for the share. It can match their Linux login, or it can be different. Samba keeps its own copy.

Then let Samba allow both people on the share. Open /etc/samba/smb.conf and find the valid users line under your share block (often [photos]). Put both names on it, separated by a space:

valid users = youruser alex

Swap youruser for the first login. Restart Samba so it reads the file:

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Step 5: let them write the house folder

If the share is /srv/share and the first user owns it (the usual setup from a file share), put the second person in that owner's group and open group write. Swap youruser for the first login:

sudo usermod -aG youruser alex

sudo chmod -R g+rwX /srv/share

Optional, so new files stay in that group:

sudo chmod g+s /srv/share

They may need to log out and back in (or reboot the computer) before the new group sticks for that Linux login. For Samba opens from a laptop, a fresh mount with their username is enough after the chmod.

Step 6: open it from their laptop or phone

Same share path the first person uses. On Windows: \\lab-address\photos. On a Mac: smb://lab-address/photos. Longer walks: open the house share from a laptop, or open the house share from a phone. They type their username (alex) and the Samba password from step 4 — not the first person's password, and not the SSH login unless they chose the same one on purpose.

Step 7: forgot password, or login failed

Forgot their Samba password later: set or change the house-share password (run smbpasswd for their username). Login failed, path not found, or can't write: when the house share won't open.

What this is not

This is not a full directory server. It is not Active Directory. It is not Nextcloud. It is not a reason to buy a NAS tonight. It is not giving them SSH if you don't want — the Linux account can exist mainly so Samba has someone to attach to. It is not opening SMB to the internet.

What next

Leave it. Each person opens the same folder with their own login. Someone should leave later: remove someone from the house share. Password stuck later: set or change the house-share password. Open fails: when the house share won't open. Still building the first share: a file share. When you want a second copy of the house folder, that is a backup of the house folder.

Skip

• Skip until the share exists. That is a file share.
• Skip buying a NAS for a second login.
• Skip one shared password for the whole house if you can give each person their own.
• Skip opening SMB to the internet.
• Skip Active Directory, Nextcloud, or a "homelab identity stack" for two people and a photo folder.
• Skip giving them sudo unless you mean to.