---
title: "Hytale Save Location, Worlds and Backups on a Server"
description: "Where Hytale saves worlds on a server (universe/), per-world settings, how to back up, and why to back up before Chapter 1 arrives."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/hytale/hytale-worlds-and-backups/"
category: "Hytale"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/hytale/"
published: "2026-09-28T04:06:21.926Z"
updated: "2026-09-28T04:56:21.211Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# Hytale Save Location, Worlds and Backups on a Server

The Hytale save location on a dedicated server is one folder: `universe/`, in the server root. It holds every world and all player data. Back up that folder and you can rebuild the server. Lose it and the builds are gone. On your own PC, Hytale's documentation puts singleplayer worlds under `%AppData%\Hytale\UserData\Saves\`, one folder per world.

This guide covers where a Hytale server keeps its worlds, the settings inside each world, the three ways to back it up on a GameServerKings server, and the one rule to follow before Hytale's next big update: **back up before the server starts on a new version.** A world that has been opened on a newer build can't necessarily be opened on the old one again. Checked on 28 September 2026 against release 0.6.8 (Update 6) and the Update 7 pre-release notes.

## Where Hytale Saves Worlds

| What | Location |
|---|---|
| All worlds on a server | `universe/worlds/`, one folder per world |
| One world's settings | `universe/worlds/<world>/config.json` |
| Player data | `universe/players/`, one `.json` file per player |
| Server settings, permissions, whitelist and bans | `config.json`, `permissions.json`, `whitelist.json` and `bans.json` in the server root, outside `universe/` |
| Singleplayer worlds on Windows | `C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\Hytale\UserData\Saves\<World>` |

You can reach all of these in **File Manager** or over [SFTP](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-upload-files-via-sftp/). A Hytale server is a *universe* that can hold several worlds at once. `/world list` shows the loaded ones, and `/world setdefault <name>` picks the one players arrive in.

## The Settings Inside Each World

Every world has its own `config.json`, separate from the server's. Hypixel's manual shows its keys. These are the ones worth knowing:

| Key | What it controls |
|---|---|
| `Seed` | The seed the world was generated from |
| `IsPvpEnabled` | Player-versus-player damage in this world. `/world config pvp true` changes it live |
| `IsFallDamageEnabled` | Fall damage |
| `IsSpawningNPC` | Whether creatures spawn |
| `IsGameTimePaused` | Freezes the day/night cycle |
| `GameplayConfig` | Which gameplay rule set the world uses (`Default` out of the box) |
| `RequiredPlugins` | Plugins the world needs. Hytale refuses to load the world if one is missing |
| `DeleteOnUniverseStart` | If `true`, the world is deleted every time the server starts. Leave it `false` on anything you care about |

As with the server's own config, **stop the server before you edit these.** Hytale reads config files on startup and writes them back during play, so changes made while it's running are likely to be overwritten.

## Three Ways to Back Up a Hytale Server

### 1. Panel backups (start here)

The **Backups** tab takes a snapshot of the whole server: `universe/`, configs and `mods/`. You get 5 per server, a schedule can take them automatically, and you can download them as `.tar.gz` for safekeeping. [How to create a backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/) covers creating, restoring and locking them.

For a clean snapshot, make sure Hytale has written everything to disk first. Either stop the server, or run this in the Console just before the backup:

```text
/world save --all
```

In a schedule, send that command as one task, then add **Create Backup** as the next task with a short delay.

### 2. Hytale's built-in backups

The Hytale server can also zip up the universe on a timer by itself. Hypixel's server manual switches this on with launch options: `--backup`, `--backup-dir` for the folder, and `--backup-frequency`, which defaults to 30 minutes. Our startup line doesn't pass them, so the built-in backups are off on our servers, and `/backup` answers: *"The server must be started with --backup-dir to use this command!"*

If you want Hytale's own timed backups as well, contact support. Panel backups don't depend on them, and they're the ones to rely on either way. Built-in backups sit on the same server as the world. That makes them quick for rolling back an accident, but they're no protection if the server itself is lost. They also use your disk space, and they end up inside every panel backup.

### 3. A copy off the server

Download a panel backup now and then (**...** → **Download**) and keep it somewhere that isn't your server.

## Before Chapter 1: Worlds Don't Downgrade

Hytale's next major content update, Chapter 1, is being tested in the **Update 7 pre-release**. Hypixel has announced Chapter 1 for **12 October 2026**, in a post on the official Hytale account on X on 24 September. hytale.com didn't show a date when we checked on 28 September, so treat it as the planned date. Two lines in the pre-release notes matter for anyone with a world they care about:

- **17 September 2026:** "Saved worlds now take up less disk space than before. Existing worlds will upgrade themselves the first time they load."
- **10 September 2026:** "Cubic worlds now use a new tree heightmap, and BlockSection blobs moved to version 7. Older servers cannot read those blobs, so a world loaded on this version cannot be opened on an older one."

The second note is written about cubic worlds, and Hypixel doesn't spell out whether every world is affected. The safe reading is the one to plan around: **the first start on a new build can convert your world in place, and there may be no going back.** On our servers that first start happens automatically, because the server fetches the new build on the next restart after Hypixel releases it. So:

1. **Take a panel backup before the restart that picks up a big update.** If you're not sure when that is, take one now and keep it locked.
<!-- LAUNCH-DAY 12 Oct (Chapter 1): check the release notes for any world-conversion or no-downgrade wording that applies to all worlds, not only cubic ones, and update the quotes above. Reword this section in the past tense once Chapter 1 is out. -->
2. **Don't point your main world at the pre-release.** Setting **Patchline** to `pre-release` on the **Startup** tab runs the pre-release build, and switching back to `release` later may leave that world unreadable. Test on a copy.
3. **If something breaks, restore the backup.** Don't try to run the old build against the new world. Restore the backup you took before the update.

The same applies to mods. A world that uses a plugin records it in `RequiredPlugins`, and Hytale won't load a world whose required plugin is missing. So a plugin that stops loading after an update can take the world down with it. [How to install Hytale mods on a server](/knowledge-base/hytale/how-to-install-hytale-mods/) covers what the Update 7 API changes break.

## Moving a Singleplayer World to Your Server

Hypixel's support pages treat a singleplayer world as a folder you can hand to a friend to host, and on Windows the docs put those worlds in `%AppData%\Hytale\UserData\Saves\<World>`. What Hypixel hasn't documented is how that folder maps onto a dedicated server's `universe/`, and we haven't tested a transfer ourselves. So we're not giving you step-by-step instructions that might not work.

If you want to bring a singleplayer world across:

1. Take a panel backup of the server first, so you can undo anything.
2. Keep a copy of the whole save folder on your PC, including its `mods` folder if it has one. Packs made with the Asset Editor live inside the save, and the world may need them to load.
3. Contact support with the world's name, and we'll help you move it.

## Starting Over With a Fresh World

- **Keep the old one and add a new one:** `/world add <name>`, then `/world setdefault <name>`.
- **Wipe everything:** stop the server, download a backup, then rename or delete `universe/`. The next start generates a new universe. Player data lives in `universe/` too, so inventories reset as well.

## Related Reading

- [How to set up a Hytale dedicated server](/knowledge-base/hytale/hytale-dedicated-server/): the Patchline option and how updates arrive
- [Hytale server commands](/knowledge-base/hytale/hytale-server-commands/): `/world`, `/backup` and the rest
- [How to setup Schedules](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-setup-schedules/): automate the save-then-backup routine

---

Made with 💜 by GameServerKings