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Change a dedicated Don’t Starve Together server’s listing by editing the cluster.ini file in the cluster folder. In its [NETWORK] section, set cluster_name for the name and cluster_description for the description. These are cluster-level settings, but the available documentation identifies them as Master-shard settings, so edit the Master cluster configuration on the machine that runs the Master shard.
The exact settings to change
Open the cluster’s cluster.ini and find, or add, these entries beneath the [NETWORK] heading:
[NETWORK]
cluster_name = My Survival Server
cluster_description = Cooperative wilderness survival for new and returning playerscluster_name controls the name shown in the in-game Browse Games screen. cluster_description controls the description shown for that listing. An empty description is allowed:
[NETWORK]
cluster_name = My Survival Server
cluster_description =Do not substitute game_description. That spelling appeared in a search query but was not supported by the sources reviewed. Likewise, default_server_name and default_server_description appeared in an older or alternate forum context and were not verified as current keys. Use the documented cluster_name and cluster_description names.
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Find the correct cluster.ini file
A dedicated server’s cluster folder contains cluster.ini alongside the shard folders, normally named Master and Caves. The cluster file applies to the whole cluster; server.ini is the per-shard file and is not the right place for these listing fields.
Community setup references give these default locations. They are community-reported paths rather than locations verified in current official Klei documentation, so a custom installation, hosting panel, service account, or launch script may use a different directory.
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| Operating system | Common cluster path | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | DocumentsKleiDoNotStarveTogetherMyDediServer |
cluster.ini next to the Master and Caves folders |
| Linux | ~/.klei/DoNotStarveTogether/MyDediServer/ |
cluster.ini in the cluster directory, not inside a shard directory |
If you have more than one cluster, do not assume the first file found is the live one. Match the directory to the cluster started by your service, launch script, or hosting control panel. A correct edit in an unused test cluster will have no effect on the public listing.
Change the name and description on Windows
- Stop the dedicated server through the method you normally use to administer it. Editing a file while the process is writing configuration can cause your change to be overwritten; the reviewed references do not document a universal restart command, so use your host’s normal stop and start controls.
- Open the cluster directory, commonly
DocumentsKleiDoNotStarveTogetherMyDediServer, and confirm that it containscluster.iniand the shard folders. - Make a backup copy of
cluster.inibefore editing. For example, copy it tocluster.ini.backupin the same folder. This gives you a rollback point if a syntax error prevents the cluster from loading. - Open
cluster.iniin a plain-text editor. Notepad is sufficient; avoid a word processor that can insert formatting or convert ordinary quotation marks. - Locate the
[NETWORK]section. Under that heading, change the value aftercluster_name =. Keep the key name exactly as shown. - Change
cluster_description =in the same section. You may leave everything after the equals sign blank if you do not want a description. - Save the file as plain text without changing its name or extension. Check that Windows has not silently saved it as
cluster.ini.txt; enabling file-name extensions in File Explorer makes this easy to verify. - Start the server again using your normal service, script, or panel controls. The excerpts reviewed did not state a guaranteed reload behavior, so a stop-and-start cycle is the safest way to make the process read the edited file.
After the cluster is available, open Browse Games in the game client and locate the listing. The new name should appear as the server name, with the description displayed as the listing description.
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Change the values on Linux
- Use the service manager, shell script, or hosting panel that runs your dedicated server to stop it before editing.
- Move to the cluster directory. A commonly reported default is:
cd ~/.klei/DoNotStarveTogether/MyDediServer- Confirm that the directory is the live cluster by listing its contents:
ls -laYou should be able to identify cluster.ini and the shard directories. If the path is custom, use the path supplied to your server process rather than creating a new cluster in the default location.
- Create a backup before changing anything:
cp cluster.ini cluster.ini.backup- Open the file in a terminal text editor, for example:
nano cluster.ini- Under
[NETWORK], set the two documented keys:
[NETWORK]
cluster_name = My Survival Server
cluster_description = Cooperative wilderness survival for new and returning players- Save the file, exit the editor, and verify the result:
grep -nE '^(cluster_name|cluster_description)[[:space:]]*=' cluster.ini- Start the server through the same service or script that normally launches it, then check the listing in Browse Games.
If the server account cannot write the file, fix the file ownership or edit it as the account that owns the dedicated-server files. Do not broadly loosen permissions just to make one edit; preserving the service account’s existing access is safer.
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Keep the section and key names exact
The section header is [NETWORK], including the square brackets. The keys are lowercase and use underscores: cluster_name and cluster_description. A spelling change can leave the old value active or cause the setting to be ignored.
Put the value after the equals sign
Use one assignment per line. Spaces around the equals sign are shown in the examples and are easy to read. Do not place the value on a separate line, and do not add a second copy elsewhere in the file while troubleshooting; duplicate entries make it unclear which value the parser will use.
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Leave a description empty when needed
An empty description is permitted. Keep the key itself and remove only the text after the equals sign:
cluster_description =Do not delete the entire [NETWORK] section merely because you do not want descriptive text. Other network settings may also live there.
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Use ordinary text characters
Save with a plain-text editor. Curly quotation marks, rich-text formatting, or an accidental second extension can prevent a configuration file from being parsed as intended. If a name contains punctuation or non-ASCII characters and the listing behaves unexpectedly, first test with simple letters and numbers to separate an encoding issue from a path or key-name issue.
Why the Master shard matters
The settings guide consulted for these keys marks cluster_name and cluster_description as Master-only settings. In a normal two-shard cluster, that means the relevant file is the Master shard’s cluster configuration on the machine running the Master shard, not a separate Caves-only configuration.
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Some deployments run shards on different machines. In that arrangement, identify which machine owns the Master shard and edit the cluster configuration used there. Settings that are ignored on another machine can be omitted from that machine’s cluster configuration, but copying edits randomly between shard directories will not make the listing change.
The Master-only marking comes from an older Klei forum settings guide, estimated by community references to be about nine years old. Game updates can change configuration behavior, so verify the result in the current game build. If the name and description remain unchanged after a correct edit and a fresh server start, treat the Master-only rule as the first deployment detail to re-check.
Apply the change and verify it
The reviewed excerpts did not document a definitive reload or restart requirement. In practice, a running process may keep configuration in memory, so the least ambiguous procedure is to stop the server, save the file, and start the server again using the same controls that launched it. Do not claim that a particular panel button, command, or delay is universal; those details depend on how the server is hosted.
Verify the result from the client side:
- Open the game’s Browse Games screen.
- Search for the server using its other identifying details if the new name is not immediately visible.
- Open the listing details and check both the displayed server name and description.
- If the old text remains, wait for the listing to refresh after the server has fully started, then work through the troubleshooting checks below rather than editing several files at once.
Troubleshoot an unchanged or missing listing
The old name is still displayed
- Confirm that you edited
cluster.ini, notserver.ini. - Confirm that the file is in the active cluster folder containing the
Masterand, where used,Cavesdirectories. - Confirm that the edited cluster is the one launched by your service or script.
- Check that the entry is spelled
cluster_nameand is under[NETWORK]. - Stop and start the server through its normal controls so the process reads the file again.
- Check for a second
cluster_nameline or an accidental file namedcluster.ini.txt.
The description is blank
A blank description is valid, so first check whether the value was intentionally left empty. If you entered text, verify the exact key cluster_description, the [NETWORK] section, and the file path. Do not replace it with game_description; that key was not supported by the reviewed sources.
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The server fails to start after the edit
- Restore the backup you made before editing to determine whether the change introduced a syntax problem.
- Test with a short, plain-text name and description.
- Check that the section header and equals signs are intact.
- Make one change at a time, then start the server again so you can identify which edit caused the failure.
You cannot find cluster.ini
Search from the directory configured for the dedicated server rather than only the operating system’s default documents folder. A hosting panel may store the cluster under an account-specific data directory. Look for a file named exactly cluster.ini next to shard folders; do not create a new file in an unrelated directory unless you are deliberately creating a new cluster.
You changed a Caves file
Per-shard server.ini files are separate from the cluster-level cluster.ini. Changing a Caves shard’s settings will not change the cluster name shown in the browser. Return to the cluster directory and edit the Master-side cluster configuration.
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Do not mix listing text with authentication or cluster identity files. Community guidance places the cluster token in cluster_token.txt, separate from cluster.ini, but that location was not confirmed against a fetched official page in the material available for this guide. Leave the token file unchanged when updating the public name or description.
Likewise, changing unrelated network, world, or shard options is unnecessary for a listing-text update. Keeping the edit limited to the two documented keys reduces the chance of changing gameplay or connectivity settings accidentally.
A safe editing checklist
- Identify the live cluster directory used by the server process.
- Confirm
cluster.inisits beside the shard folders. - Back up the file before editing.
- Open the file as plain text.
- Use
cluster_nameandcluster_descriptionunder[NETWORK]. - Leave
cluster_description =empty if no description is wanted. - Edit the Master-side cluster configuration, especially when shards run separately.
- Save without changing the file extension.
- Stop and start the server using its normal administration method.
- Verify both fields in Browse Games.
Current-documentation caveat
The key names above are the ones identified by the consulted Don’t Starve Wiki setup material and a Klei forum settings guide. The forum guide is old by community estimates, and no current official Klei documentation page was located in the material used for this article. Because configuration keys and shard behavior can change with a game update, check the current game build’s documentation or configuration examples if these entries stop working after an update. Until then, cluster.ini, [NETWORK], cluster_name, and cluster_description are the documented path for changing the browser listing text.
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