Install Hytale mods on your server

Hytale mods are files ending in .jar or .zip. You put them in the mods folder of your server and restart it. Your friends don’t need to install anything: according to Hypixel Studios, the normal game can join any Hytale server with mods.

Where do mods go on a Hytale server?

In the mods folder, in the main folder of your server. You’ll find it in the game panel under File managers. A mod is usually a plugin, a piece of Java code, or an asset pack with new blocks, items or models. Both go in mods. The game panel has no separate mods tab for Hytale: you upload them yourself.

Already see a file called hytale-sourcequery.jar in mods? The game panel puts it there on every start as long as Install Source Query plugin is switched on under Startup. That plugin passes your server’s name and player count to server lists.

How do you upload a mod?

1. Download the mod, for example from CurseForge. Check the mod’s page to see which Hytale version it’s for. A mod runs as code on your server, so stick to sources you trust.
2. Make a backup under Backups and stop your server in the console.
3. Open File managers and then the mods folder. If it isn’t there, create it with Create Directory.
4. Click Upload, choose Upload Files and select the file. Don’t unzip a .zip.
5. Start your server. As soon as the console shows Hytale Server Booted, it’s ready.

Lots of mods or a big file? That’s easier over SFTP. How to restore a backup is explained in Create and restore a backup.

Versions and compatibility

Hytale is in early access and gets frequent updates. Your server checks for a new Hytale version on every start and installs it. A mod is built for a particular server version, and since Update 3 the server checks this itself: a mod that doesn’t fit can stop the server from starting. With Update 6 the network protocol changed, and according to Hypixel Studios servers and plugins had to be rebuilt. After a big update, check first whether your mods have new versions.

Under Startup, Patchline shows which branch your server follows: release or pre-release. Leave it on release, unless your mod is explicitly made for the pre-release.

What are early plugins?

Some mods are early plugins: they change the server before it even starts. They don’t go in mods but in an earlyplugins folder that you create yourself in the main folder. Then switch on Accept Early Plugins under Startup; that confirms in advance the warning Hytale shows on startup. Hytale calls early plugins unsupported and says they can make your server unstable. So only use them when your mod asks for it.

What do you do when something goes wrong?

• The server won’t start anymore. Look for the first error in the console; the mod’s name is often in it. Stop the server, take the newest mod out of mods and start again, or restore your backup.
• Two versions of the same mod. The server then warns about duplicate plugins. Keep only the newest one.
• A mod that needs another mod. The mod’s page says so. Put both in mods.
• Settings that jump back. According to the Hytale manual, the server overwrites config.json and other settings files if you edit them while it’s running. So stop it first.

Still deciding between hosting it yourself and renting? Read Hytale server: host it yourself or rent one? or have a look at our Hytale servers.