DST Shard Setup Guide & Port Calculator

Running Master + Caves shards is the #1 most-confused DST server topic. Enter your base game port below — all derived ports calculate automatically — then follow the step-by-step guide to get both shards online.

Port Calculator

Base Game Port (Master server_port)

Master server_port

10999

UDP — open on firewall

Caves server_port

10998

UDP — open on firewall

master_port (shard comm)

11002

Internal only — do NOT expose

Master Steam ports

Auth: 8766 / Master: 27016

UDP — distinct per shard

Caves Steam ports

Auth: 8767 / Master: 27017

UDP — distinct per shard

Shard Bind / Target

127.0.0.1

Loopback for same-host cluster

Firewall summary: For same-host clusters, forward UDP 10999, 10998, 8766, 8767, 27016, 27017. Shard communication (master_port = 11002) stays internal on loopback (127.0.0.1).

Folder Structure

~/.klei/DoNotStarveTogether/
  MyCluster/
    cluster.ini          <-- cluster settings (game mode, max players, etc.)
    cluster_token.txt    <-- Klei auth token (required)
    Master/
      server.ini         <-- is_master = true, name = Master, server_port = 10999
      modoverrides.lua   <-- mods (copy identical file to both shards)
    Caves/
      server.ini         <-- is_master = false, name = Caves, master_ip = 127.0.0.1, server_port = 10998
      modoverrides.lua   <-- same mods file as Master

The cluster_token.txt file must sit at the cluster root — not inside Master/ or Caves/.

Step-by-Step Setup

Generate your Klei cluster token

Go to accounts.klei.com, sign in, and generate a token. Copy the full token string.

# Place it in cluster_token.txt (no quotes, no newlines)
echo "pds-g^KU_XXXX^XXXXXXXXXX..." > MyCluster/cluster_token.txt

Without this file the server silently refuses to start. Token guide & validator

Create the folder structure

Create the directory tree shown above. Both Master/ and Caves/ must exist before you start either process.

mkdir -p ~/.klei/DoNotStarveTogether/MyCluster/Master
mkdir -p ~/.klei/DoNotStarveTogether/MyCluster/Caves

Write cluster.ini (cluster root)

Key shard settings — these must be correct or shards won't communicate.

[SHARD]
shard_enabled = true
bind_ip = 127.0.0.1
master_port = 11002
cluster_key = MySharedSecret

Use Server Config Generator to build the full file.

Write Master/server.ini

[NETWORK]
server_port = 10999

[SHARD]
is_master = true
name = Master

[STEAM]
master_server_port = 27016
authentication_port = 8766

Write Caves/server.ini

[NETWORK]
server_port = 10998

[SHARD]
is_master = false
name = Caves
master_ip = 127.0.0.1

[STEAM]
master_server_port = 27017
authentication_port = 8767

[TERRAIN]
world_file = levels/cave

Copy modoverrides.lua to BOTH shards

If you use mods, the modoverrides.lua file must be identical in Master/ and Caves/. Placing it only in one shard causes the other to run without mods.

cp MyCluster/Master/modoverrides.lua MyCluster/Caves/modoverrides.lua

Use the modoverrides.lua Generator to build the file.

Launch both processes

Start Master first (it is the authority), then Caves. Run each in its own screen/tmux session or as a service.

# Master
./dontstarve_dedicated_server_nullrenderer_x64 \
-cluster MyCluster -shard Master

# Caves
./dontstarve_dedicated_server_nullrenderer_x64 \
-cluster MyCluster -shard Caves

Both processes share cluster.ini and the token file at the cluster root.

Key Rules to Remember

• bind_ip and master_ip should both be 127.0.0.1 when both shards run on the same machine.
• cluster_key in cluster.ini must match in both shards — any mismatch causes a silent connection failure.
• Always start Master before Caves. Caves will retry the connection, but starting in the right order avoids confusing log errors.
• modoverrides.lua must be present in both Master/ and Caves/.
• The master_port (shard comms, 11002) does not need to be open on your external firewall — it only binds on loopback.