Don't Starve Together Server Not Showing? Fixes
Nearly always one of four things: no cluster token, the server is still generating, a browser filter is hiding it, or a mod has stopped the boot.
3 min read · Updated Sep 24, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team
The checks below happen in your control panel. Sign in at customer.guavahost.com, open My servers and click Manage on your Don't Starve Together server.
Check the console first
Open your server and go to the Console tab. Almost every cause of this names itself there. In particular, a missing or invalid Klei cluster token stops the server with a banner reading !!!! Your Server Will Not Start !!!! and an error such as E_EXPIRED_TOKEN. The fix is to paste your token into Klei cluster token in Startup settings on the Settings tab, save it and restart. See Getting your Klei cluster token.
The Console tab shows the surface shard. If you need the caves shard's output, it is in DoNotStarveTogether/config/server/Caves/server_log.txt in the Files tab.
Give a new server time
A first start generates two worlds, the surface and the caves. That takes a couple of minutes, and the panel may show the server as online before it is finished. Wait for the console to settle before you go looking in the browser.
Turn the filters off
The in-game browser hides a lot by default. On the Browse Games screen, clear the search box, set the mods filter to show all, and make sure the region and game mode filters are not excluding your server. A modded server will not show under a vanilla only filter.
Search for the name in Server name in Startup settings, exactly as it is written there.
Try the direct connection
This tells you whether the problem is your server or the browser listing:
- Copy the IP and port from the top of your server page with the copy button.
- In game, press backtick for the console.
c_connect("IP", PORT), orc_connect("IP", PORT, "password")if you set one.
If that works, your server is fine and the browser listing is the issue. Give it a few minutes, or check your filters again.
A mod is stopping the boot
If the console stops partway through loading mods, one of them is broken, usually after a game update.
- Open the Mods page (under Game tools in the server menu), note down the full list so you can put them back, then remove the most recently added mods with the cross next to each and click Save mods.
- Press Restart at the top of the server page. The server takes the removed mods out of both shards'
modoverrides.luafiles on its own as it starts. - Once it boots, add the IDs back one at a time, restarting after each, until you find the one at fault.
Installing Steam Workshop mods explains how the mod list works.
Your server is on an older version
After a Don't Starve Together update, players whose game has updated cannot join a server still running the old version. Your server does not update itself on a restart; the game files are downloaded by the install step. To update, take a backup on the Backups page, then go to the Settings tab, find the Reinstall server card and click Reinstall… (you type REINSTALL to confirm). The reinstall downloads the current server files and leaves your cluster folder, DoNotStarveTogether/, with your worlds and settings in place. Reinstalling your server explains what a reinstall does in general.
Everyone can join except one person
That is usually their filters or their game version rather than your server. Have them restart the game fully and try a direct connect with your address.
The caves specifically
If the surface is fine and going down a sinkhole fails, that is a different problem. Read How the caves shard works.
Still stuck? Jump into our Discord at discord.gg/GuavaHost and the team will help you out.
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