Config

Server Config

The server reads data/server.conf on startup (or the file specified via --conf).

Password

Password authentication requires libsodium. If the build was compiled without it, any configured password is ignored and a warning is printed at startup.

To require players to authenticate before joining, set a password:

password = mysecretpassword

Leave the value empty (or omit the key) to allow anyone to connect without a password.

The DC_PASSWORD environment variable takes precedence over server.conf:

DC_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword ./dealers-choice-server

Clients can also also use either method for setting their password.

Admin controls

Any client that authenticates with the server password is granted admin status for that session. An admin can kick or ban other players during a lobby or game via the Kick / Ban buttons in the player list.

• Kick — the target player is immediately disconnected and their coins are reset to the starting amount.
• Ban — same as kick, but the player’s IP address is added to an in-memory ban list so they cannot reconnect for the duration of the server session. Bans are not persisted to disk and are cleared when the server restarts.

An admin cannot kick or ban themselves.

Bet amounts

The bet amounts shown during a game (as a notched bet-amount scale) are configured as a comma-separated list:

bet_amounts = list, 100, 250, 500

Up to 8 values are supported. The hotkeys 1–8 map to each amount in order. The first value is also used to scale the coin display in the pot.

Player Config

When you run the client from a terminal, you’ll see the path to your config file. You can edit settings from the Settings menu on the startup screen, or by editing the file directly.

Sound

sound.volume = 7 # You can use a range of 0 - 10
sound.notify.turn = yes # Use "no" to disable your turn audio notification

Connection

connect.attempts = 6 # Number of connection attempts before giving up

Server browser

The connect screen lists internet servers by asking the registries in common.conf (see the registry guide). To stop the client from contacting any registry, set:

registry_browser = no

The default is yes. You can also change this on the Settings screen, or turn it off for one run from the command line:

dealers-choice --disable-registry-browser

This only affects the internet server list. LAN discovery is separate and is not changed by this setting.

Language

To use a language that is different from your system’s default:

language = de

The value must match the name of a .po translation file, without the .po ending.

You can see the available languages in the po directory.

Game-play hotkeys

In-game keys are set in your player.conf; see keys.md for the full list and how to change them.