Running as a Service

Run your Hytale server as a system service for automatic startup, crash recovery, and easier management.

Linux (systemd)

Create Service File

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

Configuration Options

Option	Description
User	System user to run the server as
WorkingDirectory	Server installation directory
Restart=on-failure	Auto-restart on crashes
RestartSec=10	Wait 10 seconds before restart

Service Commands

# Enable service to start on boot
sudo systemctl enable hytale

# Start the server
sudo systemctl start hytale

# Stop the server
sudo systemctl stop hytale

# Restart the server
sudo systemctl restart hytale

# Check status
sudo systemctl status hytale

View Logs

# Follow live logs
sudo journalctl -u hytale -f

# View last 100 lines
sudo journalctl -u hytale -n 100

# View logs since boot
sudo journalctl -u hytale -b

# View logs from specific time
sudo journalctl -u hytale --since "2024-01-01 00:00:00"

Advanced systemd Configuration

For production servers with optimized JVM:

[Unit]
Description=Hytale Server
After=network.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
User=hytale
Group=hytale
WorkingDirectory=/opt/hytale
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java \
    -Xms8G -Xmx8G \
    -XX:+UseG1GC \
    -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled \
    -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=200 \
    -jar HytaleServer.jar \
    --assets ../HytaleAssets

# Security hardening
NoNewPrivileges=true
PrivateTmp=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=true
ReadWritePaths=/opt/hytale

# Resource limits
LimitNOFILE=65536

# Restart behavior
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
StartLimitIntervalSec=300
StartLimitBurst=5

StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
SyslogIdentifier=hytale

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Windows Service

Using NSSM (Non-Sucking Service Manager)

1. Download NSSM from nssm.cc

2. Install 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"

3. Configure logging:

nssm set HytaleServer AppStdout "C:\hytale-server\logs\stdout.log"
nssm set HytaleServer AppStderr "C:\hytale-server\logs\stderr.log"
nssm set HytaleServer AppRotateFiles 1
nssm set HytaleServer AppRotateBytes 10485760

4. Start the service:

nssm start HytaleServer

NSSM Commands

# Start service
nssm start HytaleServer

# Stop service
nssm stop HytaleServer

# Restart service
nssm restart HytaleServer

# Check status
nssm status HytaleServer

# Edit service configuration
nssm edit HytaleServer

# Remove service
nssm remove HytaleServer confirm

Using Windows Task Scheduler

For simpler setups, use Task Scheduler:

1. Open Task Scheduler
2. Create Basic Task
3. Set trigger to “When the computer starts”
4. Action: Start a program
5. Program: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-25\bin\java.exe
6. Arguments: -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets ..\HytaleAssets
7. Start in: C:\hytale-server

Docker (Optional)

Basic Dockerfile

FROM eclipse-temurin:25-jre

WORKDIR /server

COPY HytaleServer.jar .
COPY HytaleAssets ../HytaleAssets

EXPOSE 5520/udp

CMD ["java", "-Xms4G", "-Xmx4G", "-jar", "HytaleServer.jar", "--assets", "../HytaleAssets"]

Docker Compose

version: '3.8'
services:
  hytale:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "5520:5520/udp"
    volumes:
      - ./universe:/server/universe
      - ./config.json:/server/config.json
      - ./mods:/server/mods
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - JAVA_OPTS=-Xms4G -Xmx4G

Best Practices

1. Use dedicated user - Don’t run as root/Administrator
2. Enable auto-restart - Recover from crashes automatically
3. Configure logging - Rotate logs to prevent disk fill
4. Set resource limits - Prevent runaway memory usage
5. Monitor the service - Use monitoring tools for alerts