drop SMB support

[bagder]

For 8.23.0

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This pull request removes SMB/SMBS protocol support across curl/libcurl for the 8.23.0 cycle, including the SMB protocol implementation, scheme registration, test infrastructure, build options, and related documentation references.

Changes:

• Remove SMB/SMBS from libcurl’s supported protocol list and scheme dispatch (including deleting lib/smb.c / lib/smb.h and associated build plumbing).
• Remove SMB test server and SMB-specific test cases/variables from the test suite and CI configurations.
• Update documentation to no longer advertise SMB/SMBS support and to record the removal in protocol/history docs.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 52 out of 52 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
tests/unit/unit1627.c	Removes SMB/SMBS from the unit test list of recognized schemes.
tests/smbserver.py	Deletes the SMB test server implementation (impacket-based).
tests/servers.pm	Removes SMB server start/verify logic and SMB-related variables.
tests/serverhelp.pm	Removes SMB/SMBS from the supported-protocol validation regex.
tests/requirements.txt	Removes the impacket dependency previously used for SMB testing.
tests/Makefile.am	Stops distributing SMB server script and SMB test requirements.
tests/data/test1850	Deletes an SMB test case.
tests/data/test1451	Deletes an SMB test case.
tests/data/Makefile.am	Removes the deleted SMB tests from the test data list.
scripts/schemetable.c	Removes smb/smbs from the scheme table generator inputs.
scripts/cd2nroff	Removes SMB/SMBS from the known protocol list for docs tooling.
RELEASE-NOTES	Removes SMB from “planned upcoming removals” (now completed).
README.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from the protocol list in the project overview.
projects/OS400/README.OS400	Removes SMB from the OS/400 protocol list.
lib/version.c	Removes SMB/SMBS from the runtime-supported protocol string list.
lib/urldata.h	Drops the SMB header include.
lib/smb.h	Deletes the SMB protocol header.
lib/smb.c	Deletes the SMB protocol implementation.
lib/protocol.h	Removes SMB ports/family macros and scheme extern declarations.
lib/protocol.c	Removes SMB/SMBS scheme entries and reworks scheme hash table.
lib/Makefile.inc	Removes SMB sources from the autotools build file lists.
lib/curl_config-cmake.h.in	Removes the CMake config define for CURL_ENABLE_SMB.
docs/URL-SYNTAX.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from supported schemes and SMB URL syntax section.
docs/TODO.md	Removes SMB test-server TODO entry.
docs/tests/TEST-SUITE.md	Updates test suite requirements to drop SMB/impacket prerequisites.
docs/tests/FILEFORMAT.md	Removes SMB server and SMB port substitution variables from docs.
docs/MANUAL.md	Removes SMB usage examples and SMB upload section.
docs/libcurl/symbols-in-versions	Marks SMB/SMBS protocol bits as ending in 8.23.0 in this listing.
docs/libcurl/opts/CURLOPT_REDIR_PROTOCOLS.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from documented protocol bit lists.
docs/libcurl/opts/CURLOPT_REDIR_PROTOCOLS_STR.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from protocol string lists; adds removal history note.
docs/libcurl/opts/CURLOPT_PROTOCOLS.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from documented protocol bit lists.
docs/libcurl/opts/CURLOPT_PROTOCOLS_STR.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from protocol string lists; adds removal history note.
docs/libcurl/opts/CURLOPT_FILETIME.md	Removes SMB from the list of protocols supporting filetime.
docs/libcurl/opts/CURLOPT_DEFAULT_PROTOCOL.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from the allowable default protocol list.
docs/libcurl/opts/CURLINFO_PROTOCOL.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from the documented possible return values list.
docs/INSTALL-CMAKE.md	Removes CURL_ENABLE_SMB from documented CMake options.
docs/HISTORY.md	Records SMB support removal in the 2026 history section.
docs/FEATURES.md	Removes SMB feature section.
docs/FAQ.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from the protocol list in the FAQ introduction.
docs/CURL-DISABLE.md	Removes CURL_ENABLE_SMB documentation entry.
docs/cmdline-opts/_PROTOCOLS.md	Removes SMB(S) protocol description.
docs/cmdline-opts/_DESCRIPTION.md	Removes SMB/SMBS from the overall supported-protocol description.
configure.ac	Removes the --enable-smb/--disable-smb configure option and protocol enable logic.
CMakeLists.txt	Removes the CURL_ENABLE_SMB option and SMB/SMBS feature toggles.
.github/workflows/windows.yml	Removes SMB-related test prereq installation in Windows CI.
.github/workflows/macos.yml	Removes SMB-related test prereq installation in macOS CI.
.github/workflows/linux.yml	Removes --enable-smb/--disable-smb usage in Linux CI configure matrices and SMB prereqs.
.github/workflows/http3-linux.yml	Removes SMB prereq installation step.
.github/workflows/checksrc.yml	Stops installing the removed tests/requirements.txt.
.github/scripts/pyspelling.words	Removes lowercase smb/smbs from spelling allowlist.
.github/labeler.yml	Removes SMB label auto-assignment rules.
.circleci/config.yml	Updates Python dependency install command after removing SMB test requirements.

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[hasselmm]

Just came around because I saw your announcement on Mastodon and wondered about the rationale for this change. Could not find anything in this pull request or its commits. Isn't this a bit short for a project claiming high coding standards?

[bagder]

This removal has been discussed and mentioned for 6 months on the mailing list(s), in release announcements and in release videos. The deprecated status and planned removal has been documented in the DEPRECATE.md file for just as long.

This PR is just the last step in a long walk.