netatalk.io

Welcome to the Netatalk Homepage!

Netatalk is a Free and Open Source implementation of the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP). A macOS, Linux, BSD, or Solaris system running Netatalk can act as an AppleShare file server, sharing files to multiple macOS, Classic Mac OS, and Apple II clients simultaneously.

Since 1990, Netatalk has been providing highly performant and versatile file sharing for Macs from UNIX-like hosts, providing seamless support for the unique requirements of Macintosh networking, file systems, and operating system services.

Getting Started

So you want to get started with running your own Netatalk file server for your local network of Macs and Apple IIs? Well, you have come to the right place!

For starters, the official (or an unofficial) package manager for your operating system may be distributing a ready-made binary netatalk package. Use the package manager's search functionality to find out.

If you prefer a containerized installation, the Netatalk team distributes official Docker images on Docker Hub. These require Docker Engine to be installed.

Finally, if you need to build Netatalk from the source code, a C compiler (gcc or clang) and dependent libraries are required. Read more in the Netatalk manual or the OS specific guides in the wiki.

Once Netatalk is up and running, test that the AFP server responds on port 548 by running asip-status [server address]. If you get an "AFP reply" response, the Netatalk server is functioning properly!

You will likely need to adjust the configurations to suit your setup. Netatalk has a dizzying amount of options which can be daunting initially. The Configuration chapter in the Netatalk manual is a good place to start.

Features

This table breaks down the major differences between Netatalk v3 and v2. Refer to this for deciding which version works best for your use case.

Feature Netatalk v3 Netatalk v2
Client Support Mac OS 7.5 ~ Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, macOS Apple II, Macintosh System 6 ~ Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, macOS
AFP Protocol Versions 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 1.1, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3
AFP over TCP Yes Yes
AFP over AppleTalk No Yes
Macintosh Resource Forks Extended Attributes, AppleDouble v2 AppleDouble v2, AppleDouble v1
Service Discovery Mac OS X 10.2 and later (Zeroconf) Any AppleShare client (AppleTalk), Mac OS X 10.1 (SLP), Mac OS X 10.2 and later (Zeroconf)
Time Machine Backups Yes Yes
Indexed Search Mac OS X 10.4 or later (Spotlight) Mac OS 8 to Mac OS X 10.3 (CatSearch)
Samba Interoperability Yes Partial
AppleTalk Printing No Yes: LocalTalk, lpd and CUPS
AppleTalk Time Server No Yes: Timelord compatible
Apple II Netbooting No Yes: //e and IIGS
Built-in AppleTalk Router No Yes
Administrative GUI Webmin Module Webmin Module

Latest News


3rd of February 2024

Netatalk 2.3.1 is available

The Netatalk development team is proud to announce version 2.3.1 of the Netatalk File Sharing suite. This release comes with a range of compatibility and stability improvements. All users of previous Netatalk v2 releases are encouraged to upgrade their installations to 2.3.1.

A companion release of the Webmin module is also available which adds functionality and fixes bugs.

For a summary of news and a detailed list of changes see the Release Notes.


8th of January 2024

Netatalk 3 Webmin Module 0.3 Released

Version 0.3 of the Netatalk 3 Webmin Module is now available. It introduces a range of minor improvements which makes usage of the module more convenient.

For more information, see the Release Notes.


28th of December 2023

Netatalk 2.3.0 is available

The Netatalk development team is proud to announce version 2.3.0 of the Netatalk File Sharing suite. This is the first stable release of the new 2.3 series. Early adopters are encouraged to upgrade their systems to 2.3.0.

The theme for this release is security and code quality. Long-obsoleted features have been removed, bugs have been fixed, and documentation improved.

For a summary of news and a detailed list of changes see the Release Notes.


5th of October 2023

Netatalk 3.1.18 is available

The Netatalk development team is proud to announce the latest release of the Netatalk 3.1 release series. It includes a patch for security issue CVE-2022-22995. All users of Netatalk 3.1 are encouraged to upgrade their systems to 3.1.18.

For a summary of news and a detailed list of changes see the Release Notes.


For a list of older announcements, go to the News Archive.

Netatalk is licensed under the GNU General Public License 2.0.

If you are interested in contributing to the development process or just want to give Netatalk a try, please visit our GitHub project page.