How to Mod Hytale: Install Mods and Plugins on a Server

How to mod Hytale depends on where you play, but the files always go in the same place: the host. Hytale is built "server-side first". Hypixel's own docs say that "only the server or world host has to download Asset Packs and Mods", and Hypixel has said it doesn't intend to support client mods at all. So when you install Hytale mods on a dedicated server, your players don't install anything. They connect, and the server sends them what they need.

This guide explains the three kinds of Hytale mod, how to install each one on a GameServerKings server, how to move mods you found in the in-game Mod Browser onto your server, and why a Hytale update can stop a mod from working. It reflects release 0.6.8 (Update 6), checked on 28 September 2026.

The Three Kinds of Hytale Mod

Most mods you'll find are the first two. Hypixel's server manual covers them in one line: download mods "(.zip or .jar) from sources like CurseForge and drop them into the mods/ folder."

Early plugins are the exception. Hypixel describes loading them as "unsupported" and says it "may cause stability issues", which is why the switch is off by default. Only turn it on for a mod that says it needs it.

Installing a Mod on Your GameServerKings Server

1. Take a backup. Open the Backups tab and create one (How to create a backup). Some mods write into your world, and a world that depends on a mod won't load without it.
2. Check the mod supports your server's version. Mod pages, including Hytale's in-game Mod Browser, list the game versions each release supports. Your server runs the current release unless you've set Patchline to pre-release on the Startup tab. /version in the Console shows the exact build.
3. Stop the server.
4. Upload the file to mods/. In File Manager, open the mods folder in the server root and upload the .jar or .zip. Upload it as it is. Asset packs don't need unzipping. For several mods at once, SFTP is quicker.
5. Start the server and watch the Console for errors while it boots.
6. Confirm it loaded. /plugin list shows plugins and /packs list shows asset packs.

You'll already see one file in mods/ that you didn't upload: hytale-sourcequery.jar. Our servers download it on every start while Install Source Query plugin is on, so server lists and status bots can read your server's name and player count. Leave it there.

Early plugins don't go in mods/. Hytale loads them from an earlyplugins folder in the directory the server runs from, which on our servers is the server root. Create earlyplugins, upload the .jar into it, turn on Accept Early Plugins on the Startup tab, and restart. We haven't tested an early plugin on one of our servers. If it doesn't show up in the Console on boot, contact support.

Using Mods From the In-Game Mod Browser

Update 6 (27 August 2026) added a Mod Browser to Hytale's main menu. You can search it, install from it, and use My Library to update or remove what you've installed. It installs into your own game, not your server. To run the same mods on your server, download the same mods, in the same versions, from each mod's page (Hypixel's manual names CurseForge as a source) and upload them to the server's mods/ folder using the steps above.

For asset packs you install by hand, Hypixel's docs give the Windows folder as:

C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\Hytale\UserData\Mods

Hypixel hasn't documented whether the Mod Browser keeps its downloads in the same folder, so the mod's own page is the more reliable place to get the file.

A world you made in singleplayer can also have mods of its own. Hypixel's docs note that packs made with the in-game Asset Editor land in that world's folder, UserData\Saves\<World>\mods, rather than the shared one. If you're moving a modded singleplayer world to your server, check there too.

Plugin Settings

Plugins usually keep their settings in their own folder inside mods/. Hypixel's Asset Editor plugin, for example, reads mods/Hytale_AssetEditor/config.json. Edit these the same way as the server's own config.json: stop the server, edit, start. Hytale writes config files back to disk while it runs, so edits made on a running server tend to be lost.

config.json in the server root also has Mods, ModLoadOrder and DefaultModsEnabled settings. Most servers never need them.

Why Updates Break Mods

A Hytale plugin is compiled against a specific version of the server, and Hytale is in Early Access. Two things go wrong after an update:

• The protocol changes. Hypixel's manual says clients and servers must be on "the exact same protocol version". Update 6 moved the protocol from hytale/2 to hytale/3 and warned that "Servers and plugins need a rebuild before they will connect."
• The plugin API changes. The Update 7 pre-release notes (3–24 September 2026) remove or lock a long list of older chunk and block methods, "so a plugin still calling them will not compile." They also rename types such as DurabilityOperator, which becomes ComparisonOperator, and change method signatures that plugin authors override.

Update 7 carries the upcoming Chapter 1 content, which Hypixel has announced for 12 October 2026 (in a post on the official Hytale account on X, 24 September; hytale.com didn't show a date when we checked on 28 September). When it ships, expect some plugins to stop loading until their authors release a new version. Before a big update:

1. Take a panel backup.
2. Check each mod's page for a build that supports the new version.
3. If you want to test first, set Patchline to pre-release on a copy of your world, not on your only one. Hytale worlds, saves and backups explains why switching back isn't always possible.

When a Mod Stops the Server or a World

• The server crashes on boot after you added a mod. Stop it, move the new file out of mods/ (download it, then delete it from the server), and start again. Then check the mod supports your version.
• "Failed to load world! Missing plugin" in the Console. Worlds record the plugins they need (the RequiredPlugins list in each world's config.json), and Hytale won't load a world whose plugin is missing. Put the plugin back, or restore the backup from before you added it.
• You're writing your own plugin. Hypixel asks you to turn on Disable Sentry while you develop, so your test crashes don't reach their crash reporting.

Hypixel's manual also suggests some hosting plugins from its partners: Nitrado:Query (server status over HTTP), Nitrado:PerformanceSaver (lowers view distance when resources run short) and ApexHosting:PrometheusExporter (server and JVM metrics). You install them the same way as any other plugin.

Related Reading

• How to set up a Hytale dedicated server: first boot, sign-in and the Startup options
• Hytale server commands: /plugin, /packs and the rest
• How to upload files via SFTP: the faster way to move a folder of mods

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