How to Upload a World to a Don’t Starve Together Dedicated Server

To move an existing Don’t Starve Together world, stop the destination server, back up its current cluster, then copy the source cluster’s cluster.ini and complete shard folders into the cluster directory selected by -cluster. Start the surface and caves processes with matching -shard names. If the server opens on Day 1, it is loading a different path, shard, or session than the one you copied.

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Understand what you are uploading

A dedicated DST server does not search every folder for a world. It loads one cluster chosen by the launch command. The cluster is a directory containing the cluster-level configuration and one directory for each shard.

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A normal dedicated-server migration is therefore a complete cluster copy, not a copy of an individual Master folder. The surface and caves folders must retain the names used by your launch commands. Klei describes the layout as a cluster folder containing a Master shard and a Caves shard; a cluster can also use other shard names if its configuration and commands consistently use them.

Choose the migration path

Keep the source untouched until you have joined the destination and confirmed the world. Make a separate backup before every conversion or rename.

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Prepare the destination server

• Stop every process for the destination cluster, including both the surface and caves shards. Do not overwrite files while the server is saving.
• Compress or copy the destination’s current cluster directory to a dated backup location. This gives you a clean rollback if the server generates a new world or a conversion goes wrong.
• Make sure you can access the source computer’s save files and the destination server’s persistent-storage directory.
• Record the source cluster name, shard folder names, enabled caves status, and any mods or world-generation overrides. These details must remain consistent after the move.

Find the cluster directory the server actually uses

Klei’s command-line guide defines the expected configuration path as:

<persistent_storage_root>/<conf_dir>/<cluster>/cluster.ini

On Windows, the default persistent storage root is the user’s DocumentsKlei directory. On Linux, it is ~/.klei. The default configuration directory is DoNotStarveTogether, so a typical cluster is under:

• Windows: %USERPROFILE%DocumentsKleiDoNotStarveTogetherMyClusterName
• Linux: ~/.klei/DoNotStarveTogether/MyClusterName/

The actual location can be different when the startup script supplies -persistent_storage_root or -conf_dir. Inspect the script, service definition, or control-panel command rather than assuming the default. The folder named by -cluster must be the same folder that contains cluster.ini.

Method A: copy a complete cluster

1. Stop and back up

Stop the destination server and back up its existing cluster directory. Leave the source world running nowhere during the copy, or stop the client host first so the files represent a completed save.

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2. Create or select the destination cluster name

Choose the directory name that will follow -cluster, such as MyDediServer. You may copy a source folder named Cluster_1 and rename the copy, but do not rename the shard directories unless you also change every corresponding launch argument and configuration reference.

3. Copy the cluster-level files

Copy the source cluster.ini into the root of the destination cluster. Keep the source cluster’s compatible server.ini, mod configuration, and world-generation override files with it. Do not combine these files with settings from a different world.

4. Copy every shard directory

Copy the entire Master directory. If the world uses caves, copy the entire Caves directory as well. Preserve all nested save, session, level, and metadata files; selecting only visible map files is not a complete migration.

5. Add authentication

Place server_token.txt in the cluster root, beside cluster.ini. Use the token intended for this dedicated server. A token placed inside Master or Caves will not satisfy the cluster-level requirement.

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6. Confirm the resulting layout

Before starting, the cluster should resemble this structure (additional files may be present):

MyDediServer/
├── cluster.ini
├── server_token.txt
├── server.ini
├── Master/
│   └── ...world and session files...
└── Caves/
    └── ...caves world and session files...

If the source is surface-only, omit Caves and use a surface-only launch arrangement. If the source uses a differently named cave shard, keep that name and use it consistently.

Start the surface and caves processes

Run the dedicated-server executable twice when the cluster has two shards. Klei’s documented command pattern for the surface is:

dontstarve_dedicated_server_nullrenderer -console -cluster MyClusterName -shard Master

Start the caves process with the same cluster value and the caves directory name:

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dontstarve_dedicated_server_nullrenderer -console -cluster MyClusterName -shard Caves

Replace MyClusterName with the exact destination folder name. If your cave directory is not named Caves, replace that argument with its actual name. The two processes must point to the same cluster while using different shard values. A surface-only world needs only the surface process.

When a script also sets -persistent_storage_root or -conf_dir, those options determine where the commands look; the cluster directory must be under that resolved path, not merely under the default Documents location.

Verify the migrated world before deleting anything

Join the server only after both required shard processes are running. Check facts that uniquely identify the old save:

• The day count matches the source world.
• Known structures, farms, chests and set pieces are present.
• Your expected character inventories and equipment appear.
• Existing player identities and permissions are recognized.
• Entering a cave (when enabled) leads to the existing cave world rather than a newly generated one.

Stop immediately if the server reports Day 1, displays a fresh map, or lacks the expected structures. Restore the destination backup, then recheck the cluster path, the value passed to -cluster, the shard names, and the copied session files. Do not continue playing on the new world and then overwrite the backup; that makes it harder to identify the original save.

Method B: convert an overworld-only client save

Some client-hosted saves do not present as a ready-to-run dedicated cluster. Klei forum guidance describes these as a client_save arrangement that requires the world’s save index and session directory to be placed into a generated dedicated-server structure. Treat this as a conversion, not a simple folder copy.

1. Stop the destination server and make a full backup of its current cluster.
2. Open the source client_save/saveindex and select the slot belonging to the world you intend to move.
3. Identify the world’s session_id from the selected save data and locate the matching session directory in the client files.
4. Place the resulting saveindex in the destination dedicated server’s Mastersave directory on Windows, or the corresponding Master/save directory on Linux.
5. Copy the session directory whose name matches that world’s session_id into the dedicated server’s Mastersavesession (or Master/save/session) directory.
6. Adjust the destination’s generated folder and file names to the names expected by its current server structure. Do not delete the backup while determining those names.
7. Place server_token.txt in the cluster root and launch the surface shard with the destination cluster name.

This route is intended for an overworld-only client save. It may not contain a ready-made caves shard, so do not assume that adding an empty Caves directory creates the original cave world. If the source later proves to have separate cave data, migrate that shard as a complete folder instead of fabricating one.

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Troubleshoot common migration failures

Final migration checklist

• Destination server stopped and original destination cluster backed up.
• Persistent-storage root and configuration directory confirmed, including any command-line overrides.
• cluster.ini located directly in the cluster root.
• Complete Master shard copied, plus the complete caves shard when the world uses caves.
• server_token.txt placed beside cluster.ini.
• Source configuration, mod files and world-generation overrides kept together.
• Surface and caves launched with the same -cluster value and matching -shard directory names.
• Day count, structures, inventories, player identities and caves verified before the backup is removed.

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