Make Your First Hytale Server Mod
Hytale is server-first: your players install nothing. Here's what to ask for, how to describe it, what won't work, and how to get the mod onto your server.
Hytale is built server-first. The server owns the rules of the world and players connect to it. That's good news for a server owner: a mod you build runs on the server, and nobody has to install anything to join.
#What a server mod can do
A Hytale server mod (people also call them plugins) is code that runs on the server and changes what players experience.
- Commands and admin tools: /rules, /daily, /warp
- Minigames, quests, and timed events
- Combat, loot, and progression changes
- Region rules: safe zones, PvP arenas, protected builds
- Economy, shops, and player-to-player trading
- Custom items, blocks, and NPC behavior using the game's own assets
- Discord announcements, leaderboards, stats
What it can't do: run code on a player's computer. If your idea needs a custom client, it's not a server mod.
#Good first mods
Start with one feature. Small requests build faster and are easier to check.
- A welcome message plus a /rules command
- A /daily reward with a streak bonus
- A simple currency and a shop NPC
- Custom loot drops inside one region
- A timed arena with a scoreboard and a winner reward
#How to describe it
You don't need technical words. Say what happens, when, and to whom.
- Trigger: on join, on chat, on kill, on entering a region, every 10 minutes
- Rules: messages, rewards, cooldowns, what's allowed
- Numbers: durations, costs, drop rates, damage, limits
- Persistence: what should still be there after a restart
- Admin controls: commands to enable, disable, or reset it
Three prompts that come out right:
Add /daily that gives a random reward once per day per player, with a streak bonus after 3 days in a row.Create a bounty system. Players can place a bounty on another player with /bounty <name> <amount>. When the target is killed, the killer gets the payout and everyone sees a chat message.Make an arena. When a match starts, lock inventories, teleport both players in, track score to 5 kills, and give the winner 100 coins. /arena join to queue.Big ideas work in phases
A full MMO in one prompt comes back incomplete. Ask for the first loop, test it, then add leaderboards, rewards, and balancing in follow-up messages in the same project.
#Install it on your server
Download the JAR
When the build finishes, download the .jar. That file is the mod.
Upload it to the mods folder
Put it in your server's mods folder. Some hosts name the folder differently. If you're unsure, check the panel's file manager for where existing mods live.
Restart and watch the logs
Restart the server and read the startup log. You should see the mod load. If it errors, the log says why.
Try it
Run the command or trigger the feature. Test on a private server first if you have one.
#Versions
Mods are built against a specific Hytale server version. Pick the version your server runs when you generate. If you're starting fresh, use the newest version listed in Creator Hub. If a game update breaks your mod, ask the project for a compatibility update against the new version.
Don't know your server version? It's in the hosting panel or the first lines of the startup log.
#Updating safely
- Keep a copy of the old JAR.
- Replace it with the new one.
- Restart and test before inviting players back.
#When the build isn't right
Stay in the same project and describe what happened versus what should have happened, with the exact numbers and any error text. The same rules as Minecraft apply: what to say when the first build isn't right.
First Hytale mod checklist
Build it yourself
Turn an idea into a working Hytale mod
Describe it in plain English. Download the build. Drop it in your mods folder. No coding.
Start building