How to Create a Hytale Server

Use this guide to create and host a Hytale dedicated server on your own machine (VPS/dedicated box/home host). It covers Java 25, obtaining server files, first boot, authentication, and getting players connected over UDP/QUIC.

Short on time?

Order a pre-configured Hytale server and start playing without the manual setup.

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Requirements

Hardware (minimum)

• RAM: 4 GB minimum (monitor usage and scale for your player count/playstyle)
• CPU: Any modern 64-bit CPU (higher player/entity counts increase CPU usage)
• Storage: Enough space for the server + assets + worlds (plan for growth)

Software

• Java 25 (required)
• Windows (x64) or Linux (x64/arm64). Hytale supports x64 and arm64 architectures.

Note: Resource usage depends heavily on player behaviour. Larger loaded world area (view distance + exploration) increases RAM; high entity counts increase CPU.

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1) Install Java 25

Install Java 25 (Temurin/Adoptium is commonly used), then verify:

java --version

You should see output similar to:

openjdk 25.0.1 2025-10-21 LTS

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2) Get the server files

You have two supported options:

Option A: Copy from your Hytale Launcher install (quick testing)

Locate your Hytale install folder and copy the Server folder and Assets.zip to your server directory.

Typical paths:

• Windows: %appdata%\Hytale\install\release\package\game\latest
• Linux: $XDG_DATA_HOME/Hytale/install/release/package/game/latest
• macOS: ~/Application Support/Hytale/install/release/package/game/latest

You should see something like:

• Client/
• Server/
• Assets.zip

Option B: Use the Hytale Downloader CLI (best for production + easy updates)

The official downloader fetches the latest server + asset files using OAuth2. Refer to QUICKSTART.md inside the downloader archive.

Common commands:

./hytale-downloader
./hytale-downloader -print-version
./hytale-downloader -check-update
./hytale-downloader -patchline pre-release

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3) First launch the server

Create a folder to run your server from (examples: C:\HytaleServer or /opt/hytale), then place:

• HytaleServer.jar
• Assets.zip

Start the server:

java -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip

Tip: You can review all available server arguments with:

java -jar HytaleServer.jar --help

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4) Authenticate the server (required for online play)

After first launch, the server must authenticate before it can accept player connections.

In the server console, run:

/auth login device

You’ll be shown a device URL + code. Open the URL in a browser, enter the code, and sign in. When complete you should see “Authentication successful!” in the server console.

Note (licensing/scale): Hytale limits authenticated servers per game license (see official docs). If you need to run lots of servers or automate authentication at scale, you’ll need a Server Provider approach.

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5) Networking: ports, firewall, and port forwarding

Default port

Hytale listens on UDP port 5520 by default and uses QUIC over UDP (not TCP).

Changing the port / bind address

Use --bind:

java -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip --bind 0.0.0.0:25565

Port forwarding (home hosting)

If you’re behind a router, forward UDP 5520 (or your custom port) to the machine running the server. TCP forwarding is not required.

Firewall rules

Windows (PowerShell)

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Hytale Server" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 5520 -Action Allow

Linux (ufw)

sudo ufw allow 5520/udp

Linux (iptables)

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 5520 -j ACCEPT

NAT notes

QUIC generally handles NAT well, but if players can’t connect:

• Confirm your forward/rules are UDP, not TCP
• Some symmetric NAT setups may cause issues (a VPS/dedicated host often avoids this)

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6) Allocate RAM (recommended)

It can be hard to judge how much RAM a Java process truly needs without tooling. A common approach is to explicitly cap memory with -Xmx (and set an initial heap with -Xms) and then adjust based on load.

Examples (leave ~1 GB free for the OS):

# 4 GB host
java -Xms3G -Xmx3G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip

# 6 GB host
java -Xms5G -Xmx5G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip

# 8 GB host
java -Xms7G -Xmx7G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip

Typical symptom of memory pressure: increased CPU usage due to garbage collection.

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7) Create a start script

Windows: start.bat

@echo off
java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip
pause

Linux: start.sh

#!/bin/bash
java -Xms4G -Xmx4G -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip

Make it executable:

chmod +x start.sh

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8) File and folder structure (what’s what)

Common server files/folders you’ll see after first run:

• .cache/ — cache for optimised files
• logs/ — server logs (first place to check on errors)
• mods/ — installed mods
• universe/ — world + player save data
• config.json — main server config
• permissions.json — ranks/permissions
• whitelist.json — whitelist entries
• bans.json — ban list

Worlds

World data lives under universe/worlds/ and each world has its own config.json.

Important: Core config files are read on startup and may be overwritten by in-game actions. Avoid editing while the server is running.

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9) Installing mods

Place mod files (.zip or .jar) into:

mods/

Restart the server after adding/removing mods.

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Troubleshooting

Server starts but nobody can join

• Confirm the server is authenticated (console should say Authentication successful)
• Ensure UDP port 5520 is allowed through firewall
• If hosting at home, confirm UDP port forwarding is in place
• If you changed ports, confirm you also changed --bind and firewall rules

High CPU usage / stutters

• Check if the host is memory constrained (GC pressure can spike CPU)
• Reduce view distance / limit exploration spread (RAM grows with loaded area)

Where to look for errors

• Check logs/ for the latest server log entries