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Change a dedicated Don’t Starve Together server’s listing by editing the cluster-level cluster.ini file. In its [NETWORK] section, set cluster_name to the name players should see and cluster_description to the text shown in the server browser. These settings apply at the master-shard level, so edit the cluster.ini associated with the Master shard rather than a shard-specific server.ini.
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What you need to change
A DST dedicated server’s public listing uses two network settings:
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| Setting | What it controls | Where it belongs | Can it be blank? |
|---|---|---|---|
cluster_name |
The server name displayed in the in-game Browse Games screen. | cluster.ini, under [NETWORK], for the Master shard. |
Do not remove the key; use a name that identifies the server. |
cluster_description |
The description displayed with the server listing. | cluster.ini, under [NETWORK], for the Master shard. |
Yes. An empty value is allowed when you do not want a description. |
The keys are not game_description. That name appeared in a search query but was not supported by the configuration references reviewed. Likewise, default_server_name and default_server_description appeared in an older forum context but were not verified as current keys. Use the documented cluster_name and cluster_description names.
Find the correct cluster.ini
The cluster folder is the directory that contains cluster.ini alongside the shard folders, commonly named Master and Caves. The cluster file controls settings shared by the world, while server.ini is specific to an individual shard.
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Windows location
Community setup references commonly place a dedicated server’s files at:
DocumentsKleiDoNotStarveTogetherMyDediServerOpen the folder you actually use for the running installation. A host can have more than one cluster directory, so the right file is the one in the cluster loaded by your launch configuration. The path above is community-reported rather than a location confirmed by current Klei documentation; a custom installation may be elsewhere.
Linux location
Community references commonly use:
~/.klei/DoNotStarveTogether/MyDediServer/As on Windows, verify that this directory contains cluster.ini and the expected shard directories. If you maintain several worlds, identify the directory passed to your server-start script instead of editing the first matching file you find.
Which machine and shard matter?
The name and description are treated as master-only settings in the configuration guidance. Edit the cluster file associated with the Master shard on the machine that runs that shard. In a split deployment, changing a cluster.ini on a machine that only runs Caves will not change the listing generated by the Master.
Do not put these values in server.ini merely because it is easier to locate. That file is per shard and is not the documented home for the cluster’s browser name and description.
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Back up the file before editing
Make a copy of cluster.ini before changing it. Name the copy something recognisable, such as cluster.ini.backup-2026-10-14, and keep it outside the active configuration folder if your launch scripts automatically scan every file there. A backup gives you a quick way to restore the previous configuration if the server stops reading the file or another setting is accidentally changed.
- Copy the original rather than editing it in place first.
- Keep the existing bracketed section headers and unrelated settings intact.
- Use a plain-text editor. Avoid word processors that add rich-text formatting or curly quotation marks.
- Preserve the file name and the
.iniextension; do not let the editor save it ascluster.ini.txt.
Edit the name and description step by step
- Stop making changes while the file is in use. Close the dedicated server process or otherwise place the cluster in a maintenance state before saving. The reviewed references advise restarting after an edit, but the excerpts do not establish whether every current build reloads these values without a restart. A controlled stop and start is the safest way to ensure the process reads the saved file.
- Open the Master cluster file. Navigate to the cluster directory and open its
cluster.ini. If you see separate Master and Caves directories, do not open a shard’sserver.inifor this change. - Locate the network section. Find the line
[NETWORK]. Section names in an INI file must remain inside square brackets and should not be renamed. - Add or replace the two keys. Under
[NETWORK], create one line for each setting, using an equals sign with no extra section syntax:
[NETWORK]
cluster_name = My Woodland World
cluster_description = Cooperative survival, scheduled resets, and a friendly community- Save as plain text. Keep the spelling, underscores, brackets, and extension exactly as shown. INI parsers generally treat a misspelled key as an unknown setting, so
clustername,cluster-name, andgame_descriptionare not substitutes for the documented names. - Start the Master shard and the rest of the cluster. Use the same launch method you normally use. If your setup starts Master and Caves separately, start the Master process that owns the cluster listing.
- Check the browser listing. In DST’s Browse Games screen, search for the new name and open the listing to confirm the description. A running process may continue showing old values until it has been restarted and has loaded the edited file.
Use an empty description when you want no text
A description is optional. To leave the description area blank, keep the key but assign it an empty value:
[NETWORK]
cluster_name = My Woodland World
cluster_description =Deleting the key and setting an empty value are not the same maintenance choice. Keeping the key makes your intent clear and avoids accidentally retaining an old description in a second copy of the file. Do not put explanatory comments after the empty value unless you know your parser accepts them.
Important distinction: cluster.ini versus server.ini
A DST dedicated setup can contain several configuration files, which makes this change easy to apply in the wrong place.
| File | Scope | Use for the browser name and description? |
|---|---|---|
cluster.ini |
Cluster-level settings shared by the world. | Yes. Put cluster_name and cluster_description in its [NETWORK] section. |
server.ini |
Settings for one shard, such as Master or Caves. | No. It is not the documented location for these two cluster listing keys. |
cluster_token.txt |
A separate token file used by community setups. | No. Community guidance places the token outside cluster.ini; do not paste a token into the network section. |
The separation matters in a multi-shard installation: shard-specific files can exist in both Master and Caves, but the listing identity comes from the cluster configuration associated with Master.
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Why a changed name may not appear
You edited the wrong cluster
Multiple worlds often mean multiple MyDediServer-style directories. Compare the directory you edited with the path used by your start script, service definition, or hosting panel. Then confirm that its cluster.ini sits beside the active shard folders.
You changed Caves instead of Master
The documented guidance marks these values as master-only. If the Caves process is on another machine, editing its files will not change the public listing. Apply the values to the Master-side cluster file and restart the process that loads it.
The key is outside [NETWORK]
Move both assignments below the exact [NETWORK] header. A correctly spelled key in another section may be ignored because INI settings are section-scoped.
The key name or punctuation is wrong
Check every character:
cluster_nameuses an underscore between the words.cluster_descriptionalso uses an underscore.- The section is
[NETWORK], in capital letters in the documented examples. - Each setting has one equals sign separating the key and value.
- There are no quotation marks required around ordinary text.
The file was saved with the wrong extension or encoding
On Windows, enable file-name extensions in Explorer and verify that the file is really cluster.ini. If the editor offers an encoding choice, use a conventional plain-text encoding compatible with the rest of the file and avoid adding rich-text metadata. Restore the backup if the server begins reporting configuration parse errors.
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The available excerpts do not document live reloading for these fields. Treat the values as startup configuration: stop the relevant server process, save the file, and start the cluster again. After it is running, allow enough time for the server to appear in Browse Games before judging the result.
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You are looking at a cached or different listing
Search for the exact new name and verify the cluster’s other identifying details. If an old entry remains, make sure you did not start a second copy of the server from another directory. A duplicate process can make it appear that an edit failed when the browser is showing a different instance.
Writing a useful server description
The description is the short explanation players see before joining. Keep it factual and operational rather than using it as a second title. Useful details include the play style, whether the world is cooperative, and any rule a visitor needs to know before connecting.
- Identify the community: for example, “Cooperative survival for new and returning players.”
- State the operating policy: mention scheduled maintenance or resets only if you actually follow that schedule.
- Set expectations: describe whether the world is casual, competitive, role-play focused, or experimental.
- Keep changing information out of the file: if an event date or rule changes frequently, update the description deliberately rather than leaving stale promises visible.
Do not assume that a description can compensate for a missing or confusing server name. Players scan the name first, so make it distinctive and reserve the description for context.
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Use this checklist when Master and Caves do not run in one local folder:
- Identify which machine launches the Master shard.
- Find the cluster directory used by that Master process.
- Open that directory’s
cluster.ini, not a Caves-only copy. - Confirm
[NETWORK],cluster_name, andcluster_descriptionare present there. - Save the file on the machine that owns Master.
- Restart the cluster using the host’s normal procedure.
- Verify the new values from an external client in Browse Games.
Host control panels may expose a text editor or fields for these settings, but the underlying documented configuration remains the Master-side cluster.ini. If a panel regenerates files during deployment, make the change through the panel’s supported configuration mechanism or apply it after generation and then verify which file the service actually loads.
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Safe change and rollback procedure
If the server fails to start or the listing disappears after an edit, roll back methodically rather than deleting configuration files:
- Stop the server process.
- Restore the saved backup of
cluster.ini. - Start the server with the known-good file and confirm that the world loads.
- Make one change at a time, beginning with a simple ASCII name and an empty description.
- Restart and test the listing after each change.
- Add a longer description only after the basic keys work.
This isolates syntax problems from text-content problems. It also preserves unrelated cluster settings that may be needed for the world to load.
What is and is not established about current builds
The key names and file placement above come from community setup references and a Klei forum settings guide. The forum guide is roughly nine years old by community estimates, and the available material did not include a current official Klei documentation page. Game updates can alter configuration behavior, so confirm the keys against the current build or official documentation when maintaining a long-lived server.
The master-only designation is likewise based on that settings guidance. It is the correct placement described by the available references, but operators of unusual distributed setups should verify the behavior in their current build. The same caution applies to restart behavior: restarting is a prudent operational step, while the excerpts reviewed did not explicitly document a hot-reload rule.
Finally, keep the cluster token separate. Community guidance places it in cluster_token.txt, not in cluster.ini, but that location was not confirmed from a fetched official page. Editing the name and description should never require exposing, moving, or replacing the token.
Quick Recap
Quick reference
[NETWORK]
cluster_name = Your Server Name
cluster_description = Optional text shown in Browse Games- File: the cluster-level
cluster.ini. - Section:
[NETWORK]. - Scope: Master shard and the machine that runs it.
- Blank description: allowed with
cluster_description =. - After saving: restart the relevant server process, then verify in Browse Games.
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