How to Set Up Caves on Your Don't Starve Together Server (Master + Caves Shards)

Enable the Caves shard on your Don't Starve Together dedicated server with the correct cluster.ini, server.ini, and worldgenoverride.lua configuration.

Don't Starve Together's signature feature is the Caves shard — a separate underground world connected to the surface via sinkholes. Most new server admins fail to set this up because it requires two shards (Master = surface, Caves = underground) and a precise mix of cluster.ini, per-shard server.ini, and worldgenoverride.lua files. This page walks through the entire workflow.

How DST Sharding Works

DST runs caves as a second server process (called a shard) that the master server proxies players into when they enter a sinkhole. Both processes:

Read the same cluster.ini (cluster-wide settings)
Have their own server.ini (shard-specific port + role)
Have their own worldgenoverride.lua (different presets — surface vs cave)
Communicate over a master_port set in cluster.ini

If any of those four pieces is wrong, players get stuck at "Connecting to shard..." or sinkholes do nothing.

File Structure

This is what a working two-shard cluster looks like:

cluster.ini

cluster_token.txt

adminlist.txt

server.ini

worldgenoverride.lua

modoverrides.lua

server.ini

worldgenoverride.lua

modoverrides.lua

Enable Caves

Stop the server

Stop your DST server from Console in the XGamingServer Panel.

Edit cluster.ini

Open DoNotStarveTogether/Cluster_1/cluster.ini in Files. Make sure the [SHARD] section is set up correctly:

[SHARD]
shard_enabled = true
bind_ip = 127.0.0.1
master_ip = 127.0.0.1
master_port = 11001
cluster_key = supersecretkey

Key	Value	Why
`shard_enabled`	`true`	Required — without this, caves never load
`bind_ip`	`127.0.0.1`	Both shards on the same machine
`master_ip`	`127.0.0.1`	Caves connects to Master at this IP
`master_port`	`11001`	Internal shard-to-shard channel (any free port)
`cluster_key`	(any string)	Both shards must use the same key

Configure the Master shard

Open Cluster_1/Master/server.ini. It should contain:

[SHARD]
is_master = true
name = Master

[NETWORK]
server_port = 10999

[STEAM]
authentication_port = 8766
master_server_port = 27018

The Master shard is the surface world. server_port is what players connect to from the in-game browser.

Create the Caves shard folder

If a Cluster_1/Caves/ folder doesn't exist, create it. Inside it, create server.ini:

[SHARD]
is_master = false
name = Caves

[NETWORK]
server_port = 11000

[STEAM]
authentication_port = 8768
master_server_port = 27019

Critical: every port in this file must be different from the Master shard's server.ini. Use the table below.

Add Caves world generation

Inside Cluster_1/Caves/, create worldgenoverride.lua:

return {
  override_enabled = true,
  preset = "DST_CAVE",
}

Available cave presets: DST_CAVE (standard), DST_CAVE_PLUS (more resources), COMPLETE_DARKNESS (extreme).

Save and start

Save all files and start the server from Console. Watch the console output for Caves shard ready — that confirms the second process started.

Port Reference

To prevent collisions, use this layout for any DST cluster:

Setting	Master	Caves
`[NETWORK] server_port`	`10999`	`11000`
`[STEAM] authentication_port`	`8766`	`8768`
`[STEAM] master_server_port`	`27018`	`27019`

master_port in cluster.ini (e.g. 11001) is separate — it's the internal channel between Master and Caves processes.

Verifying Caves Work

After the server starts:

Connect from the in-game browser
Find a sinkhole in the world (round dark hole, usually near rocky biomes)
Right-click the sinkhole — your character should rappel down with a transition screen
You spawn in the caves with the lighting system active

If you fall in and immediately come back out: the Caves shard isn't running. Check the server console for cave shard errors.

Common Issues

Problem	Cause	Fix
Sinkholes do nothing	`shard_enabled = false` in cluster.ini	Set `true`, restart
"Connecting to shard..." hangs forever	Port collision between Master and Caves `server.ini`	Use the port table above
Caves loads but Master doesn't	`cluster_key` mismatch between cluster.ini and server.ini files, or `is_master` set wrong	Both shards need matching `cluster_key`; only Master gets `is_master = true`
Caves regenerates every restart	The Caves shard has no save folder yet — first boot creates it. Don't delete `save/` after first generation	—
Mods only work on surface	Mods must be enabled in both `Master/modoverrides.lua` AND `Caves/modoverrides.lua`	Copy modoverrides to Caves folder

Disabling Caves

If you want a surface-only server:

In cluster.ini, set shard_enabled = false
Restart

The Caves shard process won't start, and sinkholes become decorative.

How to Set Up Caves on Your Don't Starve Together Server (Master + Caves Shards)

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