Server Configuration

This guide covers configuring your Hytale server after the initial setup.

Configuration Files

After first launch, your server generates several configuration files:

my-server/
├── HytaleServer.jar
├── config.json              # Main server configuration
└── universe/
    └── worlds/
        └── default/
            └── config.json  # World-specific settings

Server Configuration (config.json)

The main config.json file controls server-wide settings:

{
  "ServerName": "Hytale Server",
  "MOTD": "",
  "Password": "",
  "MaxPlayers": 100,
  "MaxViewRadius": 32,
  "LocalCompressionEnabled": false,
  "Defaults": {
    "World": "default",
    "GameMode": "Adventure"
  },
  "ConnectionTimeouts": {
    "InitialTimeout": "PT10S",
    "AuthTimeout": "PT30S",
    "PlayTimeout": "PT1M"
  },
  "RateLimit": {
    "Enabled": true,
    "PacketsPerSecond": 2000,
    "BurstCapacity": 500
  }
}

Key Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`ServerName`	string	`"Hytale Server"`	Display name for your server
`MOTD`	string	`""`	Message of the day shown to players
`Password`	string	`""`	Server password (empty for no password)
`MaxPlayers`	integer	`100`	Maximum concurrent players
`MaxViewRadius`	integer	`32`	Maximum view radius in chunks
`LocalCompressionEnabled`	boolean	`false`	Enable local network compression
`Defaults.World`	string	`"default"`	Default world players spawn in
`Defaults.GameMode`	string	`"Adventure"`	Default game mode for new players

World Configuration

Each world has its own config.json in universe/worlds/<worldname>/:

{
  "UUID": "generated-uuid-here",
  "DisplayName": "My World",
  "Seed": 1234567890,
  "WorldGen": {
    "Type": "Hytale"
  },
  "ChunkStorage": {
    "Type": "Region"
  },
  "IsTicking": true,
  "IsBlockTicking": true,
  "IsPvpEnabled": false,
  "IsFallDamageEnabled": true,
  "IsGameTimePaused": false,
  "GameTime": "1970-01-01T05:30:00Z",
  "GameMode": "Adventure",
  "IsSpawningNPC": true,
  "IsSpawnMarkersEnabled": true,
  "IsSavingPlayers": true,
  "IsSavingChunks": true,
  "IsUnloadingChunks": true,
  "GameplayConfig": "Default"
}

World Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`UUID`	string	auto-generated	Unique identifier for this world
`DisplayName`	string	null	Player-facing name of the world
`Seed`	long	current time	World generation seed
`WorldGen.Type`	string	`"Hytale"`	World generator type
`ChunkStorage.Type`	string	`"Region"`	Chunk storage system type
`IsTicking`	boolean	`true`	Whether chunks in this world tick
`IsBlockTicking`	boolean	`true`	Whether blocks in this world tick
`IsPvpEnabled`	boolean	`false`	Allow player vs player combat
`IsFallDamageEnabled`	boolean	`true`	Players take fall damage
`IsGameTimePaused`	boolean	`false`	Whether game time is paused
`GameTime`	ISO-8601	`"1970-01-01T05:30:00Z"`	Current time of day (affects day/night cycle)
`GameMode`	string	inherits from server	Default game mode for this world
`IsSpawningNPC`	boolean	`true`	Whether NPCs can spawn
`IsSpawnMarkersEnabled`	boolean	`true`	Whether spawn markers are enabled
`IsSavingPlayers`	boolean	`true`	Whether player data is saved
`IsSavingChunks`	boolean	`true`	Whether chunk data is saved to disk
`IsUnloadingChunks`	boolean	`true`	Whether chunks can be unloaded
`GameplayConfig`	string	`"Default"`	Gameplay configuration to use

Memory Configuration

Allocate appropriate memory based on your player count:

Players	Recommended RAM
1-10	4GB
10-20	6GB
20-50	8GB
50+	12GB+

Example for a larger server:

java -Xms8G -Xmx8G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ../HytaleAssets

Backup Configuration

Enable automatic backups with command-line arguments:

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar \
  --assets ../HytaleAssets \
  --backup \
  --backup-dir ./backups \
  --backup-frequency 30 \
  --backup-max-count 5

This creates backups every 30 minutes in the ./backups directory, keeping up to 5 backups.

Authentication Modes

Authenticated Mode (Default)

Players must have valid Hytale accounts. This is the recommended mode for public servers:

java -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ../HytaleAssets --auth-mode authenticated

To authenticate as a server operator, use the in-game command:

/auth login device

This initiates OAuth 2.0 device authentication flow.

Offline Mode

No account verification. Use for private/LAN servers only:

java -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ../HytaleAssets --auth-mode offline

Insecure Mode

Similar to offline mode but with additional relaxed security. Only use for development:

java -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ../HytaleAssets --auth-mode insecure

Performance Tuning

JVM Arguments

For better garbage collection performance:

java -Xms4G -Xmx4G \
  -XX:+UseG1GC \
  -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled \
  -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 \
  -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ../HytaleAssets

View Distance

Adjust maximum view radius in config.json to balance performance:

{
  "MaxViewRadius": 32
}

Lower values improve performance but reduce the visible area for players. The default of 32 chunks provides a good balance for most servers.

Running as a Service

Linux (systemd)

Create /etc/systemd/system/hytale.service:

[Unit]
Description=Hytale Server
After=network.target

[Service]
User=hytale
WorkingDirectory=/opt/hytale
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ../HytaleAssets
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl enable hytale
sudo systemctl start hytale

View logs:

sudo journalctl -u hytale -f

Windows Service

Use tools like NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager) to run as a Windows service:

# Install NSSM and configure the service
nssm install HytaleServer "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-25\bin\java.exe"
nssm set HytaleServer AppParameters "-Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ..\HytaleAssets"
nssm set HytaleServer AppDirectory "C:\hytale-server"
nssm start HytaleServer

Next Steps

Learn about Server Commands to manage your server.