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Hytale Server Config: config.json Settings Explained

August 14, 2026 · 6 min read

By GHosting engineering

Hytale keeps its top-level server settings in Server/config.json. Editing them is straightforward, but the server rewrites these files while it runs, so the order of operations matters more than any individual field.

A persistent block-built fantasy homestead beside a river at night Change Hytale settings from a panel, with save and restart handled for you

Stop the server before you edit

A running Hytale process writes config.json, permissions.json and whitelist.json during operation, so it can overwrite a manual live edit. Always stop the server, change the file, validate it, then start again. If startup breaks after a change, restore the previous copy rather than deleting anything under Server/universe, where worlds and player data live separately.

The fields that matter

  • ServerName: the display name players see.
  • MOTD: the message of the day shown on connect.
  • Password: set it to require a password, leave it empty for an open server.
  • MaxPlayers: the connection cap. Set it to what your plan can actually hold, not an aspirational number.
  • MaxViewRadius: how many chunks each player keeps loaded. The official guidance keeps this near 12 chunks. Raising it increases memory and CPU for every player at once.
  • DefaultModsEnabled: keep this aligned with the mods you actually intend to load from Server/mods.
  • Defaults.GameMode: the default mode for the world.
  • Update: a nested policy that controls how the server applies new versions.

Validate the JSON

config.json is strict JSON, so a stray comma or a missing brace stops the server from reading it. After any edit, validate the file before starting:

python3 -m json.tool Server/config.json

That prints the file when it parses cleanly and points at the error when it does not. If the server still will not boot after a change, the fastest fix is to restore your last known-good copy.

Permissions and whitelist

permissions.json and whitelist.json sit beside config.json and are also written by the running server, so treat them the same way: stop, edit, validate, start. Keep a copy of all three before a large change.

Managed alternative

A GHosting Hytale server exposes these settings in a panel and applies them with a controlled restart, so you avoid editing live files by hand. The upstream field reference is in the official Hytale Server Manual.

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