Installing Mods on Your Hytale Server

Installing Mods on Your Hytale Server

One of Hytale’s standout features is its deep modding support. From new creatures and biomes to entirely new game mechanics, mods let you transform your server into a unique experience. This guide walks you through finding, installing, and configuring mods on your Witchly.host Hytale server.

Before You Begin

Choose the right plan for modding:

Mods increase your server’s resource requirements. Here are our recommendations:

• The Scout (4 GB) — Suitable for 1-3 lightweight mods. Not recommended for large or complex mod setups.
• The Explorer (8 GB) — Handles moderate mod installations (5-10 mods) comfortably. A solid choice for most modded servers.
• The Creator (16 GB) — Built for heavy modding. Supports large mod collections, complex scripted mods, and high player counts simultaneously.

Create a backup before installing any mods. Go to your server in Dashboard and create a backup through the dashboard, or see our Backups guide.

Finding Mods

Hytale mods can be sourced from several places:

• Hytale Model Maker Community — Official and community-created content made with Hytale’s built-in model and asset tools
• Community Mod Repositories — Dedicated Hytale modding websites and forums where creators share their work
• Discord Communities — Many mod creators distribute their work through Discord servers, including our own at Discord
• GitHub — Open-source Hytale mods hosted on GitHub, often with detailed installation instructions

When downloading mods, always use trusted sources. Verify that the mod is compatible with your server version before installing.

Installing Mods via the File Manager

The simplest method for installing a small number of mods:

1. Log in to Dashboard and select your Hytale server
2. Stop your server — Never install mods while the server is running
3. Navigate to the Files tab
4. Locate the mods folder in your server’s root directory (create it if it does not exist)
5. Click Upload and select your mod files
6. Start your server and check the console for confirmation that the mod loaded successfully

Installing Mods via SFTP

For larger mods or bulk installations, SFTP is faster and more reliable:

1. Stop your server from the dashboard
2. Open your SFTP client (we recommend FileZilla — see our SFTP guide)
3. Connect to your server using your SFTP credentials:
   • Host: Your server address (shown in the dashboard)
   • Port: 2022
   • Username and Password: Found in the Settings tab of your server dashboard
4. Navigate to the mods folder on the remote server
5. Upload your mod files by dragging them from your local machine to the remote folder
6. Once the upload completes, start your server from the dashboard

Configuring Mods

Most mods generate their own configuration files after the first server startup. To configure a mod:

1. Install the mod and start your server once to generate default config files
2. Stop your server
3. Navigate to the mods folder or a dedicated config folder in the Files tab
4. Look for a configuration file matching the mod’s name (typically .json or .yaml)
5. Open the file and adjust settings as needed
6. Save the file and restart your server

Common configuration options include:

• Feature toggles — Enable or disable specific mod features
• Spawn rates — Control how frequently mod-added creatures or items appear
• Balance values — Adjust damage, health, crafting costs, and other gameplay numbers
• Permissions — Set which player permission levels can access mod features

Managing Mod Load Order

If you are running multiple mods, load order can matter. Mods that depend on other mods must load after their dependencies. To manage load order:

1. Check each mod’s documentation for any dependencies or load order requirements
2. Look for a mod-order.json or similar file in your server’s root or mods directory
3. Arrange mods in the correct order, placing dependencies before the mods that require them
4. If no load order file exists, most servers load mods alphabetically — you can prefix file names with numbers (e.g., 01-base-mod.jar, 02-dependent-mod.jar) to control order

Updating Mods

To update a mod to a newer version:

1. Back up your server before updating any mod
2. Stop the server
3. Download the new version of the mod from its source
4. Replace the old mod file in the mods folder with the new one via the Files tab or SFTP
5. Start the server and verify it loads correctly in the console
6. Check the mod’s configuration files — updates may add new options or change existing ones

Removing Mods

To remove a mod from your server:

1. Stop your server
2. Delete the mod file from the mods folder
3. Optionally, remove the mod’s configuration files from the config folder
4. Start the server
5. If the mod added custom content to your world (blocks, items, entities), those elements may cause warnings in the console but should not prevent the server from running

Troubleshooting Mod Issues

Server crashes on startup after installing a mod:

• Remove the newly installed mod and restart to confirm it is the cause
• Check the console log for error messages — they usually identify the problem
• Verify the mod version matches your server version
• Ensure all required dependencies are installed

Mod installed but not working:

• Check the console for messages about the mod loading or failing
• Verify the mod file is in the correct directory
• Some mods require specific server settings or permissions to be enabled

Performance drops after installing mods:

• Monitor resource usage in your dashboard after adding mods
• Some mods are more resource-intensive than others — check the mod’s documentation for performance notes
• Consider upgrading your plan if you need more resources
• Reduce the number of active mods or disable resource-heavy features in mod configs

Mod conflicts:

• Two mods that modify the same game systems may conflict with each other
• Check both mods’ documentation for known incompatibilities
• Try disabling one mod at a time to identify the conflict
• Contact the mod authors or ask in Discord for help resolving conflicts

Best Practices

• Start small — Add mods one at a time and test after each installation. This makes it easy to identify which mod causes any issues.
• Keep mods updated — Outdated mods can cause security vulnerabilities and compatibility problems.
• Read the documentation — Most mod issues can be resolved by reading the mod creator’s installation instructions and FAQ.
• Test on a backup — Before adding mods to a live server with an active community, test them on a separate instance or backup.
• Monitor performance — After adding mods, keep an eye on your server’s TPS (ticks per second) and memory usage through the dashboard.

Need assistance with mod installation? Our support team is available on Discord.