remote-df — Dwarf Fortress in the Browser

Play Dwarf Fortress (Classic or Steam) in your browser. DF runs as a Docker container on a remote x86-64 Linux host and streams to you over noVNC, with audio. Nothing is exposed publicly — the container binds to 127.0.0.1 and you reach it through an SSH tunnel.

Classic	Steam (Premium)

Quickstart

You need an x86-64 Linux host with Docker that you can SSH into.

./scripts/deploy.sh <ssh-host>    # build + start on the remote
./scripts/connect.sh <ssh-host>   # open an SSH tunnel, then visit:
#   http://localhost:6080/

Steam edition

If you own DF on Steam (credentials are passed as build-time secrets, never stored in the image):

DF_EDITION=steam STEAM_USER=you STEAM_PASS=pw ./scripts/deploy.sh <ssh-host>
# add STEAM_GUARD=CODE if you use 2FA

Features

• Browser play over noVNC with audio (Ogg/Opus via Icecast at /audio).
• Saves on disk (./saves) + periodic backups (./backups); browse them at /saves, /backups, and view logs at /logs.
• Idle auto-pause: DF is paused when nobody's connected (DF_AUTOPAUSE=0 to keep it running).
• Healthcheck + CPU/memory limits.
• Classic edition includes DFHack.

Configuration

Set via the environment or a .env file on the host. Full list (ports, backup interval/retention, idle grace) is in docker-compose.yml.

Variable	Default	Description
GEOM	1280x800	Display resolution
WEB_PORT	6080	Browser port (tunneled)
DF_VERSION	53_14	DF version
DF_EDITION	classic	classic or steam
DF_SAVES_DIR	./saves	Where saves live on disk
DF_AUTOPAUSE	1	Pause DF when idle (0 = off)
DF_CPUS / DF_MEMORY	2.0 / 3g	Container resource limits

Security

Single user over an SSH tunnel: the VNC server has no password and no TLS, which is fine over loopback. Do not expose the port publicly.

License

Project scripts, Dockerfile, and config: MIT. Dwarf Fortress is © Tarn Adams / Bay 12 Games and is downloaded at build time, not included here.