Dedicated to my wife Eva, who inspired this project with her need to organize her files.
SambaLite is a lightweight, modern, and open-source Android client for SMB/CIFS shares (Samba). It provides a minimalistic, reliable, and secure tool for accessing SMB shares on local networks without unnecessary features, ads, or bloat.
Note: SambaLite is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with the official Samba Project or SerNet.
The name refers solely to the supported SMB/CIFS network protocols.
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Or download the latest APK from the Releases Section.
All official releases of SambaLite are signed with one of the following certificates:
-
Upload key (used for GitHub releases, F-Droid, and sideload APKs)
SHA-256: AE:32:2D:3F:B7:1A:FE:21:DF:47:27:E3:7A:5C:68:03:51:1D:5A:2F:E1:FC:31:35:43:0C:EE:06:99:FA:1B:34 -
Google Play App Signing key (used for Play Store releases)
SHA-256: 51:97:00:8E:6A:6E:9E:03:31:FD:0D:B2:0E:A7:3F:DB:4C:5A:C1:AC:95:E8:C0:8E:0D:7C:F2:66:1D:46:BE:78
apksigner verify --print-certs SambaLite-vX.Y.Z.apk| Feature | Status | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SMB/Share Connection | ✅ | Connect with username/password and domain |
| File Browsing | ✅ | Navigate through folders and files |
| Download/Upload | ✅ | Transfer files between device and share |
| Open Files | ✅ | Open files directly from the share |
| Share Files/Text | ✅ | Share files and text to SMB shares |
| Delete/Rename | ✅ | Basic file operations with confirmation |
| Search with Wildcards | ✅ | Find files using * and ? wildcards |
| Modern UI | ✅ | Material Design with Dark Mode support |
| Multiple Connections | ✅ | Manage multiple shares with custom names |
| Security/Privacy | ✅ | Encrypted credential storage, no telemetry |
| Folder Sync | ✅ | Automatic background sync between device and share (User Guide) |
| Transfer Queue | ✅ | Background queuing for uploads and downloads (User Guide) |
SambaLite can be combined with MakeACopy to create a fully automated document workflow:
Paper document
↓
Scan with MakeACopy
↓
Inbox folder
↓
SambaLite folder sync
↓
NAS / archive (e.g. paperless-ngx)
This effectively turns your smartphone into a privacy-friendly mobile network scanner.
- Minimalism: Only essential features, no unnecessary configurations
- User-Friendly: Clean, intuitive interface with minimal UI
- Modern: Using current Android libraries and best practices
- Privacy-Focused: No telemetry, tracking, or unnecessary permissions
- Maintainable: Clean, documented code that's easy to extend
- Language: Java 11+
- Architecture: MVVM with Repository pattern
- Dependencies:
- AndroidX and Material Design components
- Dagger 2 for dependency injection
- SMBJ for SMB client functionality
- EncryptedSharedPreferences for secure credential storage
- Clone the repository
- Open the project in Android Studio
- Build and run the app on your device or emulator
- Credentials are stored securely using Android's Keystore system
- No unencrypted storage of sensitive data
- Minimal permissions required (only network and user-selected storage access)
- Be cautious when using SMB in public or untrusted networks
Privacy notice: SambaLite processes all data locally on your device.
No personal data is transmitted to the developer or any third parties.
SambaLite is free and open source. If you find it useful, please consider supporting development:
This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.
This project uses the SMBJ library (com.hierynomus:smbj), version 0.14.0, for SMB/CIFS client functionality.
SMBJ is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. For more information, see: https://github.com/hierynomus/smbj
Copyright (c) 2016-2024 Michael N. Heronimus
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
This software is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement. In no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages, or other liability, whether in an action of contract, tort, or otherwise, arising from, out of, or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software.
Where not permitted by applicable law (e.g. in cases of gross negligence or intent), this limitation of liability may not apply. Users utilize this software at their own risk.
Our privacy policy is available on our GitHub Pages site.
MakeACopy is a privacy-friendly open-source document scanner for Android with offline OCR.
Together with SambaLite it enables a fully automated document workflow:
Paper
↓
Scan with MakeACopy
↓
Inbox folder
↓
SambaLite sync
↓
NAS / archive
This setup effectively turns your smartphone into a mobile network scanner for self-hosted document archives such as paperless-ngx.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
- Fork the repository
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request