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The quickest route to a Dedicated Server Failed To Start error is to open server_log.txt for the failed shard, then check whether Windows Security or another antivirus product blocked the game. Klei’s support guidance identifies security software as the usual reason the server cannot complete startup. If the log does not point to a blocked process, verify the cluster token, remove mods temporarily, check that Master and Caves use separate ports, and only then consider restoring an older save.
Use the log to identify the failing stage
Do not begin by deleting the world or changing several settings at once. A failed startup can come from the host computer, the cluster token, a mod, a shard configuration, or damaged save data. The log tells you which branch is worth trying.
Find the shard logs
Open server_log.txt in each shard folder. A normal two-shard cluster has separate folders for Master and Caves, so inspect both files rather than assuming that a Master log explains a Caves failure. Open the newest log after reproducing the problem and read the final entries first; they usually show the last operation attempted before the process stopped.
Record the time of the failed launch and compare it with the timestamps in both logs. If one shard writes a log and the other does not, the silent shard is itself a useful clue: the process may be blocked before it can initialize, or its folder may be inaccessible. Keep an untouched copy of the logs before making changes so you can compare a failed and successful launch.
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Check Windows crash records when the log ends abruptly
Windows crash information for the game is commonly reported under DocumentsKleiDoNotStarveTogether. These records can help when a shard closes without a useful final line in server_log.txt. They do not replace the shard log, but they can confirm that the process crashed rather than merely waiting for another dependency.
Allow the game through security software
Klei’s support article describes the error as something on the computer preventing the game from fully starting. The recommended remedy is to allow the Don’t Starve Together executables in your security products. Community reports also describe Windows Defender stopping server creation until the process was excluded; treat those reports as practical troubleshooting evidence, not a guarantee that every failure has the same cause.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsCheck Microsoft Defender and Controlled Folder Access
- Open Windows Security and review Virus & threat protection, including Protection history. Restore or allow a blocked Don’t Starve Together item only if you recognize it as the game installation.
- In the ransomware-protection area, open Controlled folder access and its option for allowing an app through controlled folder access. Add
dontstarve_steam.exewhen that feature is preventing the game from writing its files. Windows labels can vary slightly by release. - Check any third-party antivirus, endpoint-security, or ransomware product for a quarantine event or application block. Add the game only to that product’s trusted or allowed-app list, following its own interface.
- In the game installation, allow the four Don’t Starve Together server executables located under the
binandbin64folders, as specified in Klei’s support guidance. Do not add an unrelated executable simply because its filename looks similar. - Restart the server after changing an allowlist. A process that was already denied may not acquire the new permission until it is launched again.
If the server starts after this change, compare the successful log with the earlier failed log and keep the exact security exception that solved the problem. Broadly disabling antivirus protection is a poor permanent workaround: it removes protection while offering no evidence about which process needed access.
Repair or regenerate the cluster token
A missing, stale, or malformed token can stop authentication before the world loads. A third-party hosting knowledge base attributes many reported DST startup problems to a stale Klei token, a shard that never started, or a conflicting Workshop mod. That source is not Klei policy, so use the token check as a diagnostic rather than assuming it explains every failure.
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Confirm the token file and its contents
- Open the cluster directory and locate the
Cluster_1folder used by the server. - Confirm that
cluster_token.txtexists insideCluster_1, not only in a parent directory or a different cluster. - Open the file in a plain-text editor and verify that it contains one token string. Remove accidental explanatory text, multiple pasted tokens, or extra configuration lines; do not publish or share the token.
- Launch the cluster again and inspect the Master and Caves logs separately. A valid-looking file does not prove that both shards can start, so the logs remain the authority for the next failure.
Generate a new token in the game
When the file is missing or unusable, community guidance recommends generating a token from the game client. Log in, press the backtick key to open the console, and run:
TheNet:GenerateServerToken()Let the game complete the operation, then check the cluster directory again. This console method is community guidance and was not confirmed against a current 2026 game build; if your client does not recognize it, use the current in-game account or server-token workflow shown by the game rather than repeatedly editing the file by hand.
Test with every mod disabled
Mods are the least expensive variable to isolate after permissions and the token. Forum guidance commonly treats a no-mod launch as the standard diagnostic: if the server starts cleanly, the base installation and cluster are probably able to initialize, while one of the enabled mods needs investigation.
- Back up the current mod configuration so you can restore the intended setup.
- Disable all server mods, including recently updated, recently added, and translation or language-related mods.
- Start the cluster and wait long enough for both Master and Caves to attempt initialization. Check both shard logs, not just the first window that appears.
- If the unmodded cluster works, re-enable one mod at a time. Launch and test after each change, keeping a short record of which mod was added and what the log reported.
- When one addition reproduces the failure, remove it and check whether its Workshop page or configuration has a compatible update. Do not assume that a mod that worked last week is compatible after a game or dependency update.
A Workshop discussion describes a server failing with a translation mod until its language setting was changed. That is a low-confidence community anecdote, but it illustrates why a mod can fail because of a setting rather than because the entire mod is unusable. Treat language, shard, and world-specific options as suspects only after the one-at-a-time test identifies the relevant mod.
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Validate Master and Caves ports and shard files
Each shard running on one machine needs its own server port. A community guide uses the following values in server.ini; they are defaults reported by that guide, not universal requirements or values confirmed for every current game version.
| Setting | Community value | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
server_port for Master |
10999 |
Set in the Master shard’s server.ini if that port is free on the host. |
server_port for Caves |
11000 |
Use a different free port in the Caves shard’s server.ini. |
authentication_port |
8766 default |
Change it when another server on the same machine already uses it. |
master_server_port |
27016 default |
It must also differ between separate servers sharing one host. |
Check the files, not a copied template
Open the server.ini belonging to each shard and verify that the intended value is in the correct file. Do not assign the same server_port to Master and Caves, and do not reuse authentication or master-server ports for two independent clusters on the same computer. If you changed a port, restart both shards and read the new log entries to see whether the bind succeeded.
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One community document places a cluster_key label beside port 10999; that appears to be a documentation error. Do not copy that label into your configuration. Keep the port setting and the cluster-key setting distinct, and rely on the names actually present in your own server.ini.
Recognize a port problem
A port conflict is more likely when the log reports that an address is already in use, when another DST server is running on the same machine, or when one shard starts while the other cannot bind. If the log instead ends during authentication, token and security checks are higher-value tests. Port numbers alone do not prove that a firewall is correctly forwarding traffic; they only identify the local listeners the two shards need.
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Restore a damaged cluster save only after safer tests
Community reports describe a damaged cluster save that prevents startup and was fixed by restoring an older cluster backup, sometimes rolling the world back by about a day. This is anecdotal and can discard player progress, so treat it as the final recovery branch rather than the first fix.
- Stop every server process and make a complete copy of the current cluster directory. Store the copy outside the active save location.
- Keep the newest backup untouched. Name any working copy with its date so you can return to the current state if the rollback does not help.
- Restore an older cluster backup according to the backup method you already use, replacing only the active cluster data required by that method.
- Start with mods disabled and watch both shard logs. This separates save corruption from a mod that would fail even with a healthy world.
- If the restored cluster starts, reconnect mods one at a time and decide whether the lost progress is acceptable before making the rollback permanent.
Never delete the only copy of a failing save while troubleshooting. A rollback can confirm that the active save is damaged, but it cannot repair a missing backup or recover progress that was overwritten.
Follow a clean recovery order
When you need a repeatable runbook, use this sequence and make only one class of change at a time:
- Reproduce the failure and save the latest
server_log.txtfrom Master and Caves. - Check Windows Security, Controlled Folder Access, and third-party antivirus events; allow the required DST executables and restart.
- Verify
Cluster_1cluster_token.txtcontains one token string, generating one in-game if necessary. - Disable every mod, test both shards, then restore mods individually.
- Compare each shard’s
server.iniwith the port requirements and remove duplicate listeners. - Use the Windows crash records when the log is silent or the process exits abruptly.
- Restore an older cluster backup only after preserving the current data and exhausting the non-destructive checks.
This order starts with tests that are quick and reversible, then moves toward changes that can remove content. If a step produces a new error, stop there and capture the new logs instead of continuing down the list; the new failure may identify the actual cause.
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What the evidence does—and does not—establish
Klei’s available support guidance points first to software blocking the game, which is why the security check belongs at the top of the procedure. The token, mod, port, and save remedies come largely from community guides, forum discussions, Workshop threads, and hosting documentation. They are useful patterns, but they are not published frequencies, guarantees, or confirmation for a particular 2026 build.
No reliable statistic establishes how often any one cause occurs, and the current game version for which these community fixes were confirmed is not stated. Port values such as 10999, 11000, 8766, and 27016 should therefore be treated as starting points that you verify against your own files and other services on the host.
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When to stop changing files
Stop and preserve the evidence when the server starts after one change, when both shards produce new logs, or when a restored backup behaves differently. Keep the working configuration, the successful logs, and the last failing logs together. If none of the branches resolves the failure, provide those logs, the shard layout, the operating-system security events, and the exact configuration changes to the relevant Klei or hosting support channel. Redact the cluster token before sharing anything publicly.
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