How to Set Up a Don't Starve Together Server

Don't Starve Together is one of the easiest and cheapest games to host. A dedicated server lets your group maintain a persistent world where everyone's progress is saved — even across seasons. This guide covers setup, caves configuration, mod installation, and world customization.

What You'll Need

• Don't Starve Together on Steam — Every player needs the game.
• A hosting plan or spare PC — Managed hosting starts at just $3-5/month. Self-hosting is also viable since DST is very lightweight.
• Your world preferences planned — Season lengths, resource settings, and whether you want caves enabled.

Step 1: Choose Your Hosting Approach

Managed Hosting (Recommended)

DST is the ideal game for budget managed hosting. Providers like Shockbyte, BisectHosting, and Sparked Host offer DST servers at extremely low prices:

• 1-2GB RAM handles most servers comfortably
• Caves toggle — One-click caves enable/disable
• Steam Workshop integration — Auto-download mods
• Simple control panel — DST configuration is beginner-friendly

Self-Hosted

Klei provides a free dedicated server tool. Install via Steam (search "Don't Starve Together Dedicated Server") or SteamCMD (app_update 343050). DST servers run on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Step 2: Set Up on a Managed Host

1. Purchase a plan — 1GB for overworld only, 2GB for overworld + caves.
2. Select Don't Starve Together as your game.
3. Enable caves if desired (recommended for the full experience).
4. Set a server name and password in the configuration.
5. Note the server name — Players find your server by searching for it in the DST server browser.

Step 3: Configure cluster.ini

The main server config controls server identity:

[GAMEPLAY]
game_mode = survival             # survival, endless, or wilderness
max_players = 6
pvp = false
pause_when_empty = true          # Pause world when no one is online

[NETWORK]
cluster_name = My DST Server
cluster_description = Friendly co-op server
cluster_password = optional_pass
cluster_intention = cooperative   # cooperative, competitive, social, madness

[MISC]
console_enabled = true

[SHARD]
shard_enabled = true             # Required for caves
bind_ip = 127.0.0.1
master_ip = 127.0.0.1
master_port = 10889
cluster_key = supersecretkey

Game Modes

• Survival — Standard mode. Players become ghosts on death and need resurrection.
• Endless — Players respawn at the portal with a max-health penalty. World never resets.
• Wilderness — Players respawn as new characters at random locations. No ghosts.

Step 4: Enable and Configure Caves

Caves add an entire underground world with unique resources, bosses, and biomes. Running caves requires two linked server instances:

1. Master Shard — The overworld (always required)
2. Caves Shard — The underground (optional, requires extra resources)

Most managed hosts handle this automatically. Toggle "Enable Caves" in your control panel and restart.

For self-hosting, create two server directories with separate server.ini files. The master shard's server.ini:

[SHARD]
is_master = true
name = Master
id = 1

The caves shard's server.ini:

[SHARD]
is_master = false
name = Caves
id = 2

[STEAM]
master_server_port = 27019
authentication_port = 8769

Step 5: Customize World Generation

World settings go in worldgenoverride.lua for each shard. Example overworld customization:

return {
  override_enabled = true,
  preset = "SURVIVAL_DEFAULT",
  overrides = {
    season_start = "autumn",        -- Starting season
    autumn = "longseason",          -- Longer autumn
    winter = "shortseason",         -- Shorter winter
    berrybush = "often",           -- More berry bushes
    carrot = "often",              -- More carrots
    flint = "often",               -- More flint
    hound_mound = "never",         -- Remove hound mounds
    task_set = "default",
  },
}

Step 6: Install Mods

Add mods to dedicated_server_mods_setup.lua:

ServerModSetup("378160587")   -- Global Positions
ServerModSetup("462434129")   -- Wormhole Marks
ServerModSetup("375850593")   -- Combined Status
ServerModSetup("375859599")   -- Geometric Placement

Then enable them in modoverrides.lua for each shard:

return {
  ["workshop-378160587"] = { enabled = true },
  ["workshop-462434129"] = { enabled = true },
  ["workshop-375850593"] = { enabled = true },
  ["workshop-375859599"] = { enabled = true },
}

Players automatically download server mods when connecting.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Caves not connecting to overworld:

• Verify shard_enabled = true in cluster.ini.
• Check that both shards use the same cluster_key.
• Ensure both shards are running.

"Server is not responding" error:

• The server may still be starting. DST can take 1-2 minutes to fully load.
• Check that the server name in cluster.ini matches what you're searching for.

Mods causing crashes:

• Remove all mods from modoverrides.lua and re-add one at a time.
• Ensure mod IDs are correct in dedicated_server_mods_setup.lua.
• Some mods are client-only and shouldn't be in the server config.

Next Steps

• Set up admin privileges by adding your Klei User ID to adminlist.txt.
• Configure auto-save intervals for extra safety.
• Plan seasonal strategies with your group — winters and summers are when unprepared players die most.
• Create a world backup before fighting seasonal bosses.

DST hosting is incredibly affordable. Providers like Shockbyte and BisectHosting offer full-featured servers for the price of a coffee, making it one of the best values in game server hosting.