# Dad's MMO Lab: Offline Classic MMO Private Servers on Steam Deck and Linux > Dad's MMO Lab is an AGPL-3.0 collection of step-by-step guides, Docker scripts, and automated shell installers for running classic MMO private servers completely offline on a Steam Deck, any Linux machine, or Windows 10/11 via WSL2. It uses only open-source server emulators and requires the user to supply their own legally obtained game client, covering eight completed games as of the v0.8.90-Public release. **DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab** — Offline MMO private servers on Steam Deck. Free guides, Docker scripts & shell installers for classic MMOs. No subscription. No internet. Forever. Visibility: ✅ Public - Repository: https://github.com/DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab - Stars: 1,063 · Forks: 102 - Language: Shell - License: AGPL-3.0 - Published: 2026-09-18 · Updated: 2026-09-18 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/dadsmmolab-dads-mmo-lab ## What Dad's MMO Lab Does and Who It Is For Classic MMO servers get shut down. Commercial operators close games, and the private servers that preserved those games face legal pressure and eventually disappear too. Dad's MMO Lab exists to make it possible to run a private server for certain classic MMOs entirely offline on hardware you own, so the shutdown cycle cannot reach it. The README frames the audience as people who love classic MMOs but are not necessarily developers. It uses the phrase "dad-friendly" and explicitly says the guides are written for people who love games, not just developers. The one-command install approach reflects that goal: each game has an automated shell installer that handles the full setup process. The Steam Deck is the primary target platform because it is a handheld that runs SteamOS, a Linux-based operating system, which makes it suitable for the Docker and shell-based installation approach. All setups are also verified on desktop Linux distributions. Windows 10 and 11 are supported via WSL2, and WoW Wrath of the Lich King has a dedicated PowerShell installer for that path. Each guide uses only open-source server emulators. The README states explicitly that this is not piracy: no copyrighted game files are distributed, and the user must supply their own legally obtained game client. ## Completed Games and Their Emulators As of the v0.8.90-Public release on 2026-09-27, eight games have completed guides with verified installers: - World of Warcraft Vanilla 1.12.1 uses CMaNGOS Classic with Playerbots. - World of Warcraft The Burning Crusade 2.4.3 uses CMaNGOS TBC with Playerbots. - World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King 3.3.5a uses AzerothCore with Playerbots. - The WoW WotLK Unbound Add-on layers the Wrath Unbound multi-class modification onto a working WotLK Playerbots server and requires the WotLK server to be installed first. - RuneScape 2009 Standard Definition uses 2009scape Singleplayer with bot support. - RuneScape 2009 High Definition adds the Saradomin HD client on top of the standard 2009scape install. - MapleStory v83 Pre-Big Bang uses the Cosmic emulator without bot support. - Mu Online uses OpenMU without bot support. The README marks all eight as complete with linked guides. Each guide is a Markdown file in the guides/ directory, paired with at least one automated shell installer script. ## Running the WoW WotLK Installer as an Example The WoW Wrath of the Lich King setup is the most documented and has the largest number of support scripts. The automated installer for Steam Deck and Arch Linux is: ```bash bash install-wow-wotlk.sh ``` Separate installer scripts are provided for Fedora and Bazzite, for Ubuntu, Debian, PopOS, and Mint, and a PowerShell script for Windows 10/11 via WSL2. After installation, the server is managed through an interactive menu-driven script: ```bash bash wow-manage.sh ``` The wow-manage.sh script covers starting and stopping the server, loading modifications, and configuration changes. A lightweight alternative start script, dml-start.sh, is also included for sessions where the full management menu is not needed. The guides directory for WotLK also includes a networking guide for LAN and internet multiplayer, two control reference documents covering server management, a quick reference for creating player accounts, and a Windows-specific Playerbots setup guide. The Wrath Unbound Add-on adds a multi-class system with a Mentor NPC and has its own install and uninstall scripts. ## Bot Support and What It Enables for Solo Play Three of the eight completed games include Playerbots AI: WoW Vanilla, WoW TBC, and WoW WotLK. RuneScape 2009 includes bot support through the 2009scape Singleplayer setup. MapleStory v83 and Mu Online do not include bot support. Playerbots is a module for AzerothCore and CMaNGOS that populates the game world with AI-controlled player characters. For someone running the server alone, Playerbots turns what would otherwise be a single-player experience in a multiplayer game engine into something closer to the original social game. Groups, raids, and world content become accessible without other human players. The Wrath Unbound Add-on builds on this further by adding a multi-class system that unlocks additional character abilities through an in-game Mentor NPC. The README describes it as an add-on that layers onto an existing WotLK Playerbots server, which means it requires the base WotLK installation to be complete and functional before running the Unbound installer. ## Games in Progress, Planned Titles, and Scope Limits Three games are listed as in progress in the README: Monster Hunter Frontier Z (Erupe CE emulator), Ragnarok Online (rAthena), and Dark Age of Camelot (OpenDAoC). These do not yet have complete guides or verified installers. The planned list includes a range of titles: Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, Phantasy Star Universe, LEGO Universe, Habbo Hotel, Tibia, Cabal Online, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, EverQuest 1, Star Wars Galaxies, Lineage 2, Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, and RuneScape Classic. These are not yet available and have no committed timeline. The project's scope is limited to games that have open-source emulators capable of running on a single machine. MMOs that do not have a functioning open-source emulator community cannot be added regardless of demand. The AGPL-3.0 license covers all content in the repository; the guides and scripts are open to modification and redistribution under those terms. ## Legal Position, Maintenance, and AGPL License The README addresses the legal position directly in a section called The Story. It states that the project uses open-source server emulators and that users supply their own legally obtained game clients. A DISCLAIMER.md file is present at the top level, which typically contains additional liability and legal-use information. The AGPL-3.0 license means that anyone who distributes the scripts or deploys them over a network must provide the source code to users who interact with the service. For offline personal use on a single device, this does not create practical obligations. The last push to the repository was on 2026-09-27. The project released three versions in September 2026 alone (v0.8.7, v0.8.65, and v0.8.90). The changelog and release notes for each version are available on the GitHub Releases page and describe which installers and guides were added or updated. ## Conclusion Dad's MMO Lab is practical for anyone who wants to run a classic MMO private server offline on a Steam Deck, Linux machine, or Windows 10/11 via WSL2, and who is comfortable supplying their own legally obtained game client. It is not a general-purpose server administration toolkit; each game's installer and guide is tightly scoped to a specific emulator version. Before starting, verify which emulator version the installer targets (for example, AzerothCore for WotLK 3.3.5a) and whether you have access to the matching client files, since the project does not and cannot distribute those. ## FAQ ### Is Dad's MMO Lab legal to use? The README states that the project uses only open-source server emulators and does not distribute any copyrighted game files. Users must supply their own legally obtained game clients. A DISCLAIMER.md file is included in the repository with additional information. ### Which MMOs are fully working in Dad's MMO Lab? Eight games have completed guides as of the v0.8.90-Public release: WoW Vanilla 1.12.1, WoW TBC 2.4.3, WoW WotLK 3.3.5a (with a Wrath Unbound add-on), RuneScape 2009 (standard and HD), MapleStory v83 Pre-Big Bang, and Mu Online. Three more (Monster Hunter Frontier Z, Ragnarok Online, Dark Age of Camelot) are in progress. ### Does Dad's MMO Lab work on Windows? Yes, via WSL2. WoW Wrath of the Lich King includes a dedicated PowerShell installer (Install-WoW-WotLK.ps1) for Windows 10 and 11. The README notes that other guides also run on Linux and Windows 10/11 via WSL2. ## Sources - [DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab on GitHub](https://github.com/DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab) - [Issues](https://github.com/DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab/issues) - [License: AGPL-3.0](https://github.com/DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab/blob/main/LICENSE) - [README](https://github.com/DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/DadsMmoLab/dads-mmo-lab/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/dadsmmolab-dads-mmo-lab