Hytale server first start: account login, files and admin

Hytale servers work a little differently from most games on Torchlite. The server files are not public downloads: the server has to log in with a real Hytale account to fetch them and to let players in. So the first start needs you for a minute, and it takes longer than later starts. This guide explains what you will see, what to do when something goes wrong, and where everything ends up.

Hytale is still new and changes often. This guide sticks to how the Torchlite server is set up, and keeps the game-specific parts general.

Before you create it

Two things to know before you pick Hytale on torchlite.host.

It only runs on the Max plan. Max gives the server 4.2 GB of RAM, 1.8 CPU cores and 35 GB of disk, and needs renewing every 30 minutes while it runs. The disk is generous because the game's assets alone are about 3.3 GB, and the server keeps copies of earlier versions when it updates. The renewal guide explains the timer.

You need your own Hytale account. Torchlite cannot log the server in for you. The account you sign in with on the first start is the one the server uses from then on, so use your own and do not borrow someone else's.

First start: the device login

After the server is built, open it in the panel at game.torchlite.host and go to Console. If it is not already running, press Start.

Early in the startup, the console prints a login prompt with two things: a link and a short code. The server then waits for you.

1. Open the link in a browser. It can be on your phone or any other device.
2. Sign in with your Hytale account.
3. If the page asks for a code, type the one from the console exactly as shown.
4. Confirm, then go back to the console.

The console notices the login on its own within a few seconds. It then downloads the server and its assets, and boots. That first download is the slow part. The server is ready when the console shows Hytale Server Booted! and the panel marks it as running.

A brand-new server gets extra time on its first start, so the download does not eat into your renewal period. Stay on the page anyway until the server has booted.

The server remembers the login, so later starts normally go straight through. If it ever asks again, repeat the same steps.

If the code expires

Login codes only work for a limited time. If you were too slow, the console reports that the authorisation failed or timed out, and the server either stops or carries on without being logged in. In both cases the fix is the same: press Restart, or Stop and then Start. You get a fresh link and a fresh code. Old codes never come back to life, so always use the newest one.

Do not reinstall the server for this. A reinstall does not skip the login, and the setup script it reruns writes a fresh default Server/config.json over yours.

Where everything lives

Open Files to see the layout. Most of it is created by the installer; the rest appears after the first full boot.

The config.json the installer writes sets the server name to Hytale Server, no password, 20 players, a view radius of 12, a default world called default and the Adventure game mode. Stop the server before you edit it, so a running server cannot overwrite your changes, then start it again. Keep a copy of your edited file too: Reinstall Server replaces it with the default one.

World backups are controlled on Startup: Enable World Backups turns them on, Backup Frequency sets the interval in minutes (30 by default) and Backup Max Count how many to keep (5). They go into the folder named in Backup Directory, Backups by default. The server's own backups use your 35 GB, not the panel's single backup slot, so take a panel backup or a copy over SFTP as well before big changes.

Startup settings worth knowing

The Startup page has many switches. These are the ones that matter for most people:

Players and the server must be on compatible versions, so keep Auto Update on unless you have a reason not to. If an update breaks something, Server Version set to previous goes back one version.

Basic admin

The simplest way to make yourself an operator uses the egg's own switch:

1. On Startup, set Allow Self-OP to 1.
2. Restart the server and join it from the game.
3. Type /op self in chat.
4. Set Allow Self-OP back to 0 and restart, so nobody else can do the same.

Step 4 is important. While the switch is on, every player who joins can make themselves an operator.

For a private server, put a password in the Password field of Server/config.json. To change the player limit, edit MaxPlayers in the same file. The panel's Stop button sends stop, which shuts the server down cleanly.

Players join with the address and port shown in the panel. The in-game commands available to operators change as Hytale develops, so check the official documentation for the current list.

Common problems

I cannot see a link or code in the console

The prompt comes early in the startup, before the download. Scroll up in the console. If the server has already stopped, start it again and keep the console open from the beginning.

The code expired before I finished

Restart the server to get a new link and code, then sign in straight away. See the section above on expired codes.

The server starts but players cannot join

Check that they are using the address and port from the panel and that their game is up to date. If the console shows that the server continued without being logged in, restart it and complete the login. The Transport setting offers TCP for networks where UDP is blocked, but only switch if you know that is the problem.

A mod stops the server from booting

Read the console to see which mod failed, then remove it from Server/mods. Setting Ignore Broken Mods to 1 lets the server boot past it while you sort it out.

The server runs out of memory or lags

Max is the largest plan Torchlite offers. Lower MaxViewRadius in Server/config.json, since every player keeps that much of the world loaded around them. Fewer heavy mods help too.

The server stopped by itself

On Max the renewal period is 30 minutes, the shortest of all plans. Keep the panel open while you play and press Renew when it asks.