Don’t Starve Together dedicated servers do not provide a built-in auto-update or scheduled-restart switch. To keep the game files current, run SteamCMD from an external script and schedule that script with cron on Linux or Task Scheduler on Windows. The script must stop the server, run SteamCMD, verify that SteamCMD succeeded, and start the server again. Workshop mods are refreshed when the server starts, so a restart is also required before a downloaded mod update is used.
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What “auto-update” means for a DST server
There are two separate update jobs:
- Game files: SteamCMD checks and installs the current dedicated-server build.
- Workshop mods: The dedicated server downloads or updates the Workshop IDs listed in
dedicated_server_mods_setup.luaduring startup.
Neither job is continuously applied to a running process. Updating files underneath an active server does not replace the binaries or Lua files already loaded in memory. The practical sequence is therefore stop, update, start. If the server is never restarted, a mod update downloaded to disk will not affect the current session.
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Community guidance found for this subject is mostly from Klei forum discussions and hosting guides, and several references are older. No current official Klei statement confirming every timing detail was verified, so treat the procedure below as a robust operational pattern rather than a promise that a particular script is supported by Klei.
Recommended design: one controlled update-and-restart job
Put all update logic in one script and let the scheduler invoke it. This is safer than placing a bare SteamCMD command in cron because the script can coordinate the server shutdown, prevent overlapping runs, record logs, and refuse to restart after a failed update.
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The job should do these things in order
- Acquire a lock so two scheduler invocations cannot update the same installation at once.
- Ask the server to stop cleanly, or call the service manager that owns it.
- Run SteamCMD against the same install directory used by the server.
- Check SteamCMD’s exit status and log output.
- Start the server only when the update command completed successfully.
- Leave a clear error and notification path when SteamCMD fails.
Older community scripts commonly restart even after an unsuccessful SteamCMD call. That can leave the installation on its previous build, or leave an operator believing that an update happened when it did not. Checking the result is the most important improvement to make.
Linux setup with SteamCMD and cron
1. Prepare a stable installation
- Install SteamCMD using your distribution’s package method or Valve’s documented Linux package.
- Choose one absolute directory for the DST server files, such as
/srv/dst, and use that directory for both SteamCMD and the launch service. - Run SteamCMD and the server under a dedicated, non-root account.
- Make sure the account can write the install directory, shard save directories, mod cache, and log directory.
- Back up shard data and configuration before enabling unattended restarts.
The Steam application ID for the dedicated server is 343050. A normal anonymous install or update command has this form:
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutesteamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /srv/dst +app_update 343050 +quitUse the same install path in your launch service. Updating one directory while starting a different copy is a common reason an apparently successful update changes nothing.
2. Separate start and stop operations
Create a tested start wrapper and a tested stop wrapper before automating anything. The wrappers may call systemd, a screen or tmux session, or your existing DST launch script. Keeping those details outside the updater makes the updater easier to audit.
For a systemd-managed server, the conceptual operations are:
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sudo systemctl stop dst.service
steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /srv/dst +app_update 343050 +quit
sudo systemctl start dst.serviceRun each command manually first. Confirm that the service is fully stopped before SteamCMD begins; otherwise files can remain locked or the running process can continue using old code.
3. Add error handling and a lock
The following pattern shows the important safeguards. Replace the service name and paths with the values used by your installation.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -u
DST_DIR=/srv/dst
LOCK_FILE=/run/lock/dst-update.lock
LOG_FILE=/var/log/dst-update.log
exec 9>"$LOCK_FILE"
flock -n 9 || exit 0
{
printf '%s stopping servern' "$(date -Is)"
systemctl stop dst.service || exit 10
printf '%s updating game filesn' "$(date -Is)"
if ! steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir "$DST_DIR" +app_update 343050 +quit; then
printf '%s SteamCMD failed; server remains stoppedn' "$(date -Is)"
exit 20
fi
printf '%s starting servern' "$(date -Is)"
systemctl start dst.service
} >>"$LOG_FILE" 2>&1This example deliberately leaves the server stopped when SteamCMD returns an error. That is safer than silently launching a partially updated installation. You can add an alerting command at the failure branch, but do not remove the failure check.
4. Schedule the script
Edit the cron table for the account that owns the server:
crontab -eA frequently cited community pattern runs an update check about every minute. That is technically possible, but it can create needless SteamCMD activity and repeated maintenance attempts. A five- or fifteen-minute interval is usually easier on the host while still making updates available promptly. For example:
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*/15 * * * * /usr/local/sbin/dst-update.shUse an absolute path to the script and to SteamCMD where possible. Cron has a minimal environment, so a command that works in an interactive shell may fail when scheduled. Redirect output to a persistent log, and rotate that log so a long-running server does not fill its disk.
5. Test the complete cycle
- Run the updater manually as the same account cron will use.
- Watch the service stop and confirm that no DST server process remains.
- Check SteamCMD’s output and the updater log for a successful completion.
- Confirm that the service starts and that both Master and Caves shards load.
- Run the script a second time. The lock and idempotent SteamCMD call should make this harmless.
- Simulate a SteamCMD failure, such as temporarily blocking its network access, and verify that the script records the error and does not claim a successful update.
How mod updates work
List mods in the setup file
Workshop IDs are listed in dedicated_server_mods_setup.lua. At server startup, DST reads that list and downloads or updates the corresponding mod files. This startup download is why a game update script that never restarts the server will not apply new mod versions.
Enable each mod on each shard
Downloading a Workshop item does not enable it. Each shard has its own modoverrides.lua, so a mod used by both Master and Caves needs an entry in both shard configuration directories. A server can therefore show a mod in its downloaded cache while the mod remains inactive in one or both shards.
Keep the configuration consistent when adding or removing a mod: update the Workshop ID list, add the appropriate modoverrides.lua entries, and restart the server so the download and load occur together.
Be cautious with ForceEnableMod
Community sources disagree about using ForceEnableMod in modsettings.lua as an alternative to shard-level overrides. Reports indicate that this approach may force a mod on but does not provide the normal way to change that mod’s settings. For configurable mods, explicit modoverrides.lua entries per shard are the less ambiguous approach.
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Validate Lua files before an unattended restart
A malformed dedicated_server_mods_setup.lua can prevent the server from starting; one commonly reported failure is a loader error followed by shutdown. Keep a known-good backup, make one change at a time, and inspect the startup log after every configuration edit. Automation cannot repair a syntax error; it will simply repeat the failed start at the next scheduled run.
Windows automation
Windows also has no built-in DST server auto-update control. Community scripts generally combine the game update and mod refresh by stopping the server, invoking SteamCMD, checking the result, and starting the server again.
Use Task Scheduler for the trigger
- Create a PowerShell or batch updater that calls your tested stop operation.
- Run SteamCMD with the DST install directory and application ID
343050. - Check the process exit code before starting the server.
- Write a timestamped log to a directory that the service account can modify.
- In Task Scheduler, create a task that runs whether the account is logged on or not, with “Run with highest privileges” only if your service actually requires it.
- Set a repeat trigger, such as every 15 minutes, and configure a timeout so a hung SteamCMD process cannot overlap the next run.
Do not rely on a window title or a manually opened console as the only way to determine whether the server stopped. A service wrapper, PID check, or explicit stop command is more reliable. As on Linux, a failed SteamCMD step should be visible in the log and should not be followed by an unconditional restart.
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Restart strategies and their trade-offs
| Approach | Updates game files | Refreshes mods | Restarts automatically | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux cron plus SteamCMD script | Yes | Yes, when the script restarts the server | Yes, if the script includes stop/start | A weak script can restart after a failed update |
| Windows Task Scheduler script | Yes | Yes, when the script restarts the server | Yes, if implemented | Task permissions, paths, or process detection can be wrong |
| SteamCMD update without restart | Files only | No active-session change | No | Running server continues using already loaded files |
| Crash watchdog | No | Only if startup performs the mod update | Relauch after a crash | It is recovery logic, not an update mechanism |
A watchdog is useful for recovering from crashes, but it should not be confused with scheduled maintenance. A watchdog that immediately relaunches a server after a bad configuration can create a restart loop. Keep update scheduling and crash recovery as separate decisions, and impose a retry limit or backoff on the watchdog.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Steam build numbers are not DST version numbers
Some community scripts query SteamCMD for the latest build and compare that value with a local version file. A reported limitation is that Steam’s build number is not the same thing as the version number shown in Klei’s version file. Do not compare the two as if they were interchangeable. For a reliable update decision, let SteamCMD perform its normal app update operation and use its exit status and output, rather than inventing a cross-format version comparison.
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Troubleshooting
The server never updates
- Confirm that the scheduler runs under the account that owns the installation.
- Check that the updater points to the same directory used by the launch service.
- Read the cron, Task Scheduler, and SteamCMD logs rather than relying on the server console.
- Verify network access, disk space, and write permissions.
- Check whether an earlier run still holds the lock or left a stale service state.
SteamCMD fails and the server stays offline
This is the expected safe outcome of the example script. Resolve the SteamCMD error, run the update manually, and start the service only after confirming that the installation is intact. If your policy requires the server to remain available, implement a clearly logged rollback or a start-with-previous-files procedure instead of blindly starting after failure.
Mods download but do not appear in game
- Verify the Workshop ID is present in
dedicated_server_mods_setup.lua. - Check the relevant shard’s
modoverrides.lua; Master and Caves are separate. - Restart the server after the mod changes.
- Inspect startup logs for dependency, version, or Lua syntax errors.
The server shuts down immediately after an automated restart
Inspect the first startup error, not only the final shutdown line. A malformed mods setup file is one documented cause. Other common operational causes include starting under a different account, using a different save-root path, or launching before the previous process has fully exited. Disable the scheduler temporarily, correct the configuration manually, and only then resume unattended runs.
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Players are interrupted too often
SteamCMD checks can be frequent, but applying an update requires a restart. Schedule the job during a maintenance window, announce the expected interruption, and choose an interval that balances update speed with session stability. The server cannot apply a binary or mod update without ending the current process.
Operational checklist
- SteamCMD and DST use one consistent install directory.
- The updater runs as a dedicated non-root or service account.
- A lock prevents overlapping executions.
- The server is fully stopped before SteamCMD writes files.
- SteamCMD’s exit status is checked.
- A failed update is logged and does not trigger an unconditional start.
- Both shards’ mod overrides are maintained where required.
- Configuration and save data are backed up.
- Logs are retained and rotated.
- The complete stop-update-start cycle has been tested manually.
- A watchdog, if used, has retry limits and is not mistaken for an updater.
What you can and cannot automate
You can automate SteamCMD checks, game-file installation, server restarts, startup mod downloads, logging, and failure notifications. You cannot make a running DST process adopt new binaries or mod code without restarting it. There is also no built-in DST setting identified in the available community guidance for a scheduled restart; that behavior belongs in cron, Task Scheduler, a service manager, or an external watchdog.
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