Quick install

What you need

• Windows 10 / 11. Solo Mode needs no VM. Self-Hosted mode needs Hyper-V locally, or access to a separate Hyper-V host over LAN.
• PowerShell 7 (pwsh). The launcher prompts with a download link if missing.
• Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime — ships with Windows 11 and modern Windows 10. Falls back to your default browser if absent.
• Self-Hosted only: the Dune: Awakening Self-Hosted Server installed via Steam (provides battlegroup management and the VM image). A targeted live database contract check against Dune: Awakening 1.5.3.5 on September 30, 2026 confirmed that all 61 tables and 25 functions referenced by DST are present in the live schema.
• Self-Hosted only: the SSH private key for your VM — created automatically during Funcom's official self-hosted setup; usually at %LOCALAPPDATA%\DuneAwakeningServer\sshKey.
• (Optional)Remote portal— the responsive full Browser Portal on a phone, tablet, or PC, with optional Owner/Admin accounts. New setups use a free Tailscale Funnel with no domain. v15 retains existing Cloudflare custom-domain configuration, but its legacy portal is disabled by default and can be explicitly re-enabled in local Settings.

Choose your view

DST opens in Classic. Select Try Command Deck in the status bar for the optional World/dashboard and focused workspaces. Its bottom dock includes DD Atlas, the shipped static Deep Desert reference. Select Classic to return. These are views of the same tools, not separate installations.

Solo compatibility: the current adapter targets the supported Retail Solo save format. Check the in-app adapter guidance before connecting a save; do not assume an older or custom format is supported.

Hyper-V over LAN — optional, for a separate host

Don't want the VM on this PC? The Setup Wizard's third option manages (and can remotely install) the Dune VM on a separate Hyper-V host on your local network — e.g. a headless server in another room. It's also reachable later from Settings → Hyper-V over LAN.

• Remote-host prerequisites — the host's PowerShell Remoting (WinRM)must be reachable from this PC. In a workgroup (no Active Directory domain), add the host to this PC's TrustedHosts first. The host also needs an external virtual switch for the VM's network adapter (the wizard shows the exact New-VMSwitch command to run on the host if none exists).
• Existing VM or remote install — point DST at a host that already has a dune-awakening VM, or let DST provision one: it connects over PowerShell Remoting, downloads the server image on the host with SteamCMD (anonymous, no Steam login), and imports/starts the VM on a drive and switch you choose.
• Saved credential & security — the host administrator credential (which doesn't need to match the Windows account DST runs as on this PC) is saved in Windows Credential Manager, scoped to your signed-in Windows user. It's never written to dune-server.config, logs, diagnostics, or any API response, and is reused automatically for every LAN call.
• Local-mode fallback — turning the routing toggle off returns to managing a local VM on this PC and fully bypasses the LAN path; the saved credential is kept for next time until you explicitly remove it.

Optional: run at Windows startup

Off by default. Open Help → Run at Windows startup in the top toolbar to toggle it on. After that, DST launches automatically at every Windows sign-in — in the system tray with no app window — and closing the DuneShell window no longer stops the server. Toggle it back off the same way; takes effect at the next launch. The toggle is loopback-only — remote viewers can't enable it on your host. The uninstaller cleans up the scheduled task automatically.

Optional: keep serving while DST is closed

Off by default. Open Help → Keep serving while DST is closed to install a background service so the Browser Portal, scheduled restarts, and Discord notifications keep running while the DST window is closed — including while your PC is locked — and load at sign-in. You must stay signed in to Windows; a full sign-out stops remote access. Host-only (remote viewers can't enable it), and the uninstaller removes the service.

Where things live