Don’t Starve Together Server Setup Guide 2026: Host Your Own Dedicated Server

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You finally have a group ready to play Don’t Starve Together — five friends, a shared world, and plans for surviving past day 100. Then the host goes offline at 9 pm and everyone gets disconnected. That’s the public server and peer-to-peer hosting problem in one sentence.

A dedicated Don’t Starve Together server fixes this. Your world runs 24/7, survives host disconnections, keeps your mods consistent across all players, and puts you in full control of game settings, player access, and world regeneration. This guide shows you how to set one up — whether you run it on your own PC for free or use a paid host for always-on uptime.

New to DST entirely? Start with our Don’t Starve Together beginner’s guide first — it covers the core survival loop before you invest in a permanent server.

Why Run Your Own Server?

Public servers have three problems that make long-term play frustrating:

• Griefers. Public worlds are open to any Steam account. One player with a torch and a bad mood can destroy weeks of progress in minutes.
• Random resets. Server admins reset worlds without notice, wiping your base, farms, and resource infrastructure alongside everyone else’s.
• No control. You can’t adjust world settings, add custom mods, or restrict access to your friends only.

Your own dedicated server solves all three. Your group connects with a password. The world persists until you choose to reset it. Mods are consistent across every connected client. And the server stays online 24/7 — friends can log in anytime without waiting for you to start your PC.

Two Hosting Options

There are two ways to run a Don’t Starve Together dedicated server: self-hosting on your own hardware for free, or paying a managed hosting provider for always-on uptime without the setup complexity.

Self-hosting is the best starting point if you want zero cost and full flexibility. Paid hosting is worth the monthly fee for groups that play together multiple times per week and need the server running at all hours. We’ll cover both — step-by-step self-hosting below, and paid options in the final section.

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Self-Hosting: Step-by-Step Setup

The following steps assume a Windows PC. Linux paths differ but the process is identical.

Step 1: Install the Dedicated Server Tool via Steam

Open Steam and go to Library → Tools. Search for Don’t Starve Together Dedicated Server and click Install. This is a separate free tool from the main DST game — it contains only the server executable and configuration files, not the game client. Install it to your default Steam directory.

Step 2: Locate the Configuration Folder

After installation, navigate to:

C:\Users\[YourName]\Documents\Klei\DoNotStarveTogether\

Create a subfolder here called MyDediServer (or any name you choose). Inside that folder you will create your configuration files and subfolders for each world shard. The Klei directory is where DST reads all cluster data at server startup.

Step 3: Generate a Server Token

Your server token authenticates your server with Klei’s infrastructure. To generate one:

1. Go to accounts.klei.com and sign in with your Klei account
2. Select Games from the navigation menu
3. Find Don’t Starve Together and click Game Servers
4. Click Add New Server, name it, and copy the generated token string

Paste the token into a plain text file called cluster_token.txt saved inside your MyDediServer folder. No extra spaces or line breaks — the token must be the only content in the file. Without a valid token, your server will not authenticate and players cannot connect.

Step 4: Edit cluster.ini for Server Settings

Create a file called cluster.ini inside MyDediServer. This file controls server name, password, game mode, and max players. A working starting configuration:

[GAMEPLAY]
game_mode = survival
max_players = 6
pvp = false
pause_when_empty = true

[NETWORK]
cluster_name = My DST Server
cluster_description = Friends only
cluster_password = yourpassword
cluster_intention = cooperative

[MISC]
console_enabled = true

[SHARD]
shard_enabled = true
bind_ip = 127.0.0.1
master_ip = 127.0.0.1
master_port = 10888
cluster_key = mysecretkey

Set game_mode to survival, endless, or wilderness. Leave cluster_password blank for a public server. Keep cluster_key the same across all shards in the cluster.

Step 5: Edit cluster_token.txt

Paste your Klei-generated server token into cluster_token.txt with no formatting — just the raw token string on a single line. Save the file. If you need to rotate your token (for security or after a suspected compromise), generate a new one from accounts.klei.com and replace the contents of this file, then restart the server.

Step 6: Edit worldgenoverride.lua for World Settings

Inside your Overworld shard folder, create worldgenoverride.lua. This file controls biome size, season length, resource abundance, and starting conditions. A beginner-friendly configuration that extends the first autumn and boosts resources:

return {
override_enabled = true,
overrides = {
autumn = "longseason",
berries = "lots",
grass = "lots",
trees = "lots",
rock = "lots",
flint = "lots",
world_regrowth = "veryhigh",
}
}

Step 7: Configure Caves (Optional but Recommended)

Caves add DST’s second biome layer — including the Ancient Guardian boss, Thulecite crafting, and the Ruins. To enable caves, create a second shard folder called Caves alongside your Overworld folder. Inside Caves, add a server.ini marking it as a slave shard, and a worldgenoverride.lua with preset = "DST_CAVE". Both shards run simultaneously: you launch two server executables, one for Overworld and one for Caves.

Step 8: Port Forward Ports 10999 and 27018

For players outside your local network to connect, open two UDP ports on your router:

• UDP 10999 — Main Overworld shard
• UDP 27018 — Caves shard (if enabled)

Access your router admin panel (usually at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1), find the Port Forwarding section, and add rules pointing both ports to your PC’s local IP address. Find your local IP by running ipconfig in Command Prompt and noting the IPv4 address. If your PC is set to DHCP, consider assigning it a static local IP to prevent the port forward breaking after a router restart.

Step 9: Launch the Server and Verify

Navigate to the DST Dedicated Server installation folder:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Don't Starve Together Dedicated Server\bin64\

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Launch dontstarve_dedicated_server_nullrenderer_x64.exe with the argument -cluster MyDediServer -shard Overworld. For caves, open a second Command Prompt and launch again with -cluster MyDediServer -shard Caves. First launch takes 1–3 minutes to generate the world. Once the console shows Sim paused the server is ready. Open DST on your client, go to Browse Games, search your server name, and verify it appears in the list.

Mods on Your Server

Server-side mods require two files in your DST installation’s mods folder:

• dedicated_server_mods_setup.lua — lists which mods to download at startup. Format: ServerModSetup("123456789") for each mod ID.
• modoverrides.lua (inside each shard folder) — enables mods and stores configuration options. Format: ["workshop-123456789"] = { enabled = true, configuration_options = {} }

Mod IDs come from the Steam Workshop URL for each mod. All connecting players must have the same Workshop mods subscribed on their Steam accounts — the server does not push mod files to clients automatically. If a player is missing a required mod they will see an error when attempting to join.

Performance Requirements

DST server resource usage scales with player count, caves status, and active mods:

Running both Overworld and Caves shards roughly doubles RAM usage. If you also run DST as a client on the same machine, budget at least 8 GB total system RAM. Heavy mods (custom map generation, pathfinding mods) add further overhead — monitor RAM usage during the first session and scale up hosting or trim mod list if you see stuttering.

World Settings Worth Changing

Default DST world generation is designed for challenge, not comfort. For a casual friend group building a persistent world, these worldgenoverride.lua adjustments make the experience significantly more enjoyable:

• Set Autumn to longseason — extends the first season from 20 days to 30, giving your group more time to build before winter hits
• Set resources to lots or plenty — more berries, grass, trees, and rocks without changing enemy or boss difficulty
• Set world_regrowth to veryhigh — resources regenerate faster, keeping the world sustainable across many play sessions
• Set world regeneration to never — prevents the server from auto-resetting, so your base and progress persist until you choose to start fresh
• Enable caves — required for the Ancient Guardian, Thulecite crafting, and Ruins endgame content

Avoid setting any resource to none — this creates permanent voids once initial deposits are exhausted, making long-term worlds progressively unplayable.

Paid Hosting Alternative

If self-hosting feels too involved or your group needs 24/7 uptime without keeping a PC running, a managed DST host is the cleaner solution. Paid providers offer a web control panel, one-click mod installation, automatic world backups, and guaranteed uptime — no port forwarding, config file editing, or router access required.

Prices start at around $5/month for a 6-player server slot. Our best Don’t Starve Together server hosting guide compares the top providers on performance, mod support, and price so you can pick the right fit for your group.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Don’t Starve Together have official dedicated server support?

Yes. Klei provides a free dedicated server tool through Steam (Library → Tools → Don’t Starve Together Dedicated Server). Server tokens are generated free through your Klei account at accounts.klei.com.

How many players can a DST dedicated server support?

The server supports up to 64 slots, but performance degrades above 8–10 players on typical home hardware. Most friend groups run 4–6 player servers comfortably on a mid-range PC with 8 GB RAM.

Do all players need the same mods as the server?

Yes. Every player must have all server-required mods subscribed and installed via the Steam Workshop. The server lists required mods in the browser — players missing a mod receive an error when attempting to connect.

Can I run a DST server and play on the same PC?

Yes, but it requires adequate RAM. The dedicated server uses approximately 2 GB without caves and 4 GB with caves enabled. DST client uses an additional 2–4 GB. A system with 16 GB RAM handles both comfortably; 8 GB is the practical minimum.

What ports does the DST dedicated server use?

The Overworld shard uses UDP port 10999. The Caves shard uses UDP port 27018. Both must be port-forwarded on your router for players outside your local network to connect.

Sources

1. Don’t Starve Wiki. Guides: Don’t Starve Together Dedicated Servers. Fandom
2. Klei Entertainment. Don’t Starve Together. Steam Store
3. Klei Entertainment. Game Server Tokens. accounts.klei.com

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.