How to port forward a Don't Starve Together server
Don't Starve Together runs each shard as a separate server on its own port. A cluster with caves is therefore two servers and two ports, plus the Steam ports if you want a public listing.
Your setup
Pick the firmware family, not the exact model — the menus are identical across a range.
Default is 10999. If you changed it, it is the value of server_port in server.ini.
The private address of the machine running the server — ipconfig on Windows, ip addr on Linux. It starts with 192.168, 10. or 172.
Open these
This firmware accepts ranges, so each line below is a single rule.
- 10998-10999 UDP
10999UDPMaster shardThe overworld shard players connect to.10998UDPCaves shardEach shard runs as its own server on its own port. A cluster with caves needs both forwarded.
Only if you want them
The server works without these. Every port you open is a port someone can knock on, so skip anything you do not need.
- 8767-8768 UDP
8768UDPSteam querymaster_server_port, for the public listing.8767UDPSteam authenticationauthentication_port.
Do not open these
This game has no remote-administration port to get wrong. Forward only what is listed on the left and nothing else.
Step by step: your router
- 1
Give the server a fixed local IP
A forward points at one address. If the server picks up a different one after a reboot, the rule silently starts pointing at nothing — this is why forwards "stop working" on their own.
On this router:look for DHCP Reservation, Address Reservation, Static Lease or Manually Assigned IP
- 2
Open the router admin page
Try these addresses in a browser on the same network:
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.2.1
- 10.0.0.1
Almost always printed on a sticker on the router itself.
- 3
Find the port forwarding page
Port Forwarding, Virtual Server, NAT, Applications & Gaming, or Port Mapping
Vendors use at least six names for the same feature. Whatever it is called, the page you want is the one asking for a port, a protocol and a device on your network. If the external and internal port fields both exist, set them to the same number.
- 4
Create one rule per line
a description field, if there is one External / WAN / Public / Service port Internal / LAN / Private port Protocol Internal IP / Device / Server IP Don't Starve Together 10998-10999 10998-10999 UDP your server’s local IP External and internal port are the same number here. Changing the external port is possible, but then everyone connects on the new one, so keep them matched unless you have a reason.
- 5
Let the server through its own firewall
The router now sends traffic to the machine, and the machine can still refuse it. Windows Defender Firewall in particular blocks a freshly installed dedicated server by default, which looks exactly like a failed forward.
Take it with you
Don't Starve Together — port forwarding rules --------------------------------------------- 10998-10999 UDP -> <server local IP>
Check whether it worked
Test from outside your own network. Connecting from a machine in the house proves nothing — that traffic never leaves the LAN and never touches the rule you just wrote.
What usually goes wrong
Forwarding only the master shard gives you a world people can join and a cave entrance that disconnects them. The caves shard sits one port below the master by default, which is the opposite direction from every other game on this list, and is easy to get backwards when writing the rule.
Not forwarding at all
A dedicated cluster keeps the world's seasons progressing whether or not anyone is playing, which is much of the point of a long-running Don't Starve Together save.