Hytale Server Settings: Death Penalty, Fall Damage and MOTD

Your Hytale server runs, and now you want it your way: no item loss on death, no fall damage, your own name and MOTD, a player cap, a sensible view distance and a spot in the in-game server list. A dedicated server has no settings screen for this. The settings sit in two kinds of JSON file plus a few console commands, and Hypixel's Hytale Server Manual shows only part of them. Here is the file and exact key for each.

Every key comes from Hypixel's own material: the manual, the server API reference, the GameplayConfigs asset reference, the patch notes and the server build itself. We checked each key and command against server 0.7.5, which Hypixel's Maven repository lists as the current release on 3 November 2026.

Quick answer: Hytale server settings live in two files. The server's config.json holds ServerName, MOTD, Password, MaxPlayers (100 by default) and MaxViewRadius (in chunks, 32 at most). Each world's own config.json in universe/worlds/ holds IsFallDamageEnabled, IsPvpEnabled and an optional Death block for the death penalty, with ItemsLossMode set to None, All or Configured. Stop the server before you edit, because it overwrites changes made while it runs. Server Discovery is not a config key: you create a server profile in your Hytale account and link the server with /discovery link <token>.

Where Hytale keeps its server settings

The manual's file table lists config.json in the server folder as the "Server configuration" and says the worlds in universe/worlds/ each have "its own config.json". In the launcher layout from the manual, the server folder is Server/, next to Assets.zip and start.sh. If config.json is missing, the server writes one with its default values on the next start.

The default server world is called default, so its file is universe/worlds/default/config.json. Change any of these the same way:

1. Stop the server. The manual says configuration files "are read on server startup and written to when in-game actions occur", and "manual changes while the server is running are likely to be overwritten."
2. Copy the file you are about to edit, so you can put it back.
3. Edit the value. Keep the JSON valid: text in double quotes, true and false without quotes, a comma between keys.
4. Start the server and read the console. A broken server config.json stops the boot with a "Failed to read server config" error.

On our Hytale server hosting you have full access to the server files, so you edit both files yourself instead of waiting for us to change a value.

Hytale death penalty: what players lose when they die

A world takes its death rules from its gameplay config. The manual's example world points at the built-in one with "GameplayConfig": "Default". To change the rules for one world, add a Death block to that world's config.json. The server describes the key as "Inline death configuration overrides for this world. If set, these values take precedence over the referenced GameplayConfig."

"Death": {
  "ItemsLossMode": "Configured",
  "ItemsAmountLossPercentage": 25.0,
  "ItemsDurabilityLossPercentage": 10.0
},

Put it inside the outer braces, for example on the line after "GameplayConfig": "Default",. The three keys, as Hypixel's asset reference defines them:

• ItemsLossMode: "None", "All" or "Configured". With None players drop nothing and with All they drop their whole inventory. With Configured, only items marked DropOnDeath can be lost.
• ItemsAmountLossPercentage: "The amount (in %) of items lost for an ItemStack upon death", used only with Configured. A number from 0 to 100.
• ItemsDurabilityLossPercentage: "The amount of durability (in %) items lose upon death (applied to the entire inventory)." Also 0 to 100.

For a keep-inventory server with no wear on death, set "ItemsLossMode": "None" and "ItemsDurabilityLossPercentage": 0.0.

Write all three keys. In the server code, a world with a Death block uses that block instead of the gameplay config's death settings. The two are not merged, so a key you leave out falls back to its built-in default (None, 10 and 10), not to what the Default gameplay config says. The Default gameplay config itself ships inside Assets.zip. The asset reference puts gameplay configs at Server/GameplayConfigs/*.json, so you can read Default.json there to see the standard rules. Don't edit it: the start script replaces Assets.zip whenever the built-in updater applies an update.

A world made in singleplayer and uploaded to your server may already have death rules. The world creation screen has its own options, "Inventory Penalty On Death" and "Durability Loss % On Death" (Update 7 hotfix notes). If your world's config.json already has a Death block, edit that one rather than adding a second. One known issue: the Update 8 pre-release notes of 22 October list a fix so that "Items will no longer lose durability upon death in worlds where this has been set in the World Settings". On 0.7.5, worlds with durability loss switched off can still wear items down until that update ships.

Hardcore lives

Since Update 6, "Hardcore is now a server config choice. Defaults.HardcoreMode can be set to None, PerPlayer, or Global." Add the two keys inside the existing Defaults block of the server's config.json:

"HardcoreMode": "PerPlayer",
"HardcoreLives": 3

With PerPlayer every player has their own lives, and with Global the whole server shares one pool. HardcoreLives is, in the server's own words, "Lives per player for PerPlayer, or the shared pool size for Global. Defaults to 1." A player who runs out of lives becomes a spectator. The presets in the game's world creation menu map onto these two keys: Three Strikes is PerPlayer with 3 lives and Nine Lives is Global with 9. A misspelled mode stops the server at boot. The game itself only offers hardcore when a world is created, so set it before your players start.

How to turn off fall damage on a Hytale server

Fall damage is a per world switch in the world's config.json:

"IsFallDamageEnabled": false,

The manual's example world shows true, the default. The server's own description of the key is "Sets whether fall damage is allowed in this world or not." Neither 0.7.5 nor the Update 8 pre-release has a command for it, so stop the server, change the file and start it again. If you run more than one world, change each world's file. Since Chapter I, worlds reached through Portal Devices "adhere to the world settings selected when the original world was created, such as those related to fall damage and PvP."

PvP sits in the same file as "IsPvpEnabled", and unlike fall damage it also has a command, /world config pvp true. Our Hytale server admin guide covers it together with operators and the whitelist.

Server name and MOTD

"ServerName": "Oakridge Survival",
"MOTD": "New season started. Rules are at spawn.",

ServerName starts as "Hytale Server" and MOTD starts empty. The server sends both to each player's game while they join, together with MaxPlayers. In Hypixel's server source, the MOTD is "The message of the day displayed in the server list."

Server Discovery has its own text. In Hypixel's server list post, you describe a listed server with a name and description in the server profile in your Hytale account, so update those there as well.

Password

"Password": "" means no password. Put any text there and the server asks each joining player for it; after three wrong tries the player is disconnected. For a fixed group of friends, a whitelist is easier to manage, because you add and remove people one by one.

Max players

"MaxPlayers": 100 is the default. Once that many players are online, the next one is turned away with a "server full" message. A value of 0 or lower removes the cap. You can also change it without a restart: /maxplayers in the console shows the current limit, /maxplayers --amount 20 sets it (the amount is an optional argument, so it needs the --amount name), and the server saves the new value to config.json itself.

More players means more RAM and CPU. Our Hytale RAM guide sizes a server by group size.

View distance

MaxViewRadius caps how far players see, counted in chunks. A Hytale chunk is 32 blocks wide: the manual gives 12 chunks as 384 blocks. The server default is 32 chunks, which is also the hard ceiling. At boot, a value outside 1 to 32 is clamped, with the warning MaxViewRadius ... is outside [1, 32] in the console.

The manual calls view distance "the main driver for RAM usage" and recommends "limiting maximum view distance to 12 chunks (384 blocks) for both performance and gameplay." So for most servers:

"MaxViewRadius": 12,

The console command does the same without a restart: /maxviewradius shows the cap, /maxviewradius 12 sets it and sends it to everyone online, and /maxviewradius reset goes back to 32. The command refuses values above 32. If memory still runs short at 12, lower the cap before you add RAM. And if your world keeps growing, our Hytale plans let you move up a tier with your files coming along.

How to add your Hytale server to Server Discovery

Server Discovery is the in-game server browser that arrived with Update 5 in May. Getting listed takes two parts, one in your account and one on the server:

1. Sign in to the Hytale Account Manager, open Server Profiles and click Create server.
2. Fill in the name and description players will see, a server type (Survival, Adventure/RPG, Creative, PvP, Minigames, Roleplay, Social, Sandbox or Other), an audience tag (Everyone, Teen or Mature) and the regions you serve.
3. Verify your domain with the TXT record if you list a domain. You can also list by IP and skip verification; you just don't get the verification mark. A listing left in "Pending verification" for more than 30 days is removed.
4. Wait for moderation. The status on your listing card changes from "Under review" to "Accepted" or "Denied".
5. Once accepted, copy the discovery token from your listing card. Check that the server is signed in with /auth status, then run /discovery link <token> in the console.

The link command tells you if the token matches no listing or if the server is signed in with a different game profile than the listing. Hypixel allows one listing per game profile. After linking, the server sends heartbeats on its own. If they stop for more than two minutes, for example during a long restart, the listing is hidden until the server is back. /discovery unlink removes the link.

Discovery also runs compatibility checks "so players only see servers they can actually join". A server still on an older build can drop out of view for players on the new one, so update promptly. Our Chapter I update guide has the steps.

FAQ

How do I change the MOTD on my Hytale server?

Stop the server, put your text in "MOTD": "..." in the server's config.json and start it again. For a Server Discovery listing, you set the name and description in your server profile instead.

How do I turn off fall damage on a Hytale server?

Set "IsFallDamageEnabled": false in universe/worlds/<world>/config.json while the server is stopped. There is no command for it, and each world has its own setting.

Can players keep their inventory when they die on a Hytale server?

Yes. Add a Death block to the world's config.json with "ItemsLossMode": "None" and "ItemsDurabilityLossPercentage": 0.0. Write all three death keys, because keys you leave out fall back to built-in defaults.

How do I add my Hytale server to Server Discovery?

Create a server profile under Server Profiles in the Hytale Account Manager and wait for moderation. When it is accepted, run /discovery link <token> in the server console with the token from your listing card.

Why did my config.json changes disappear?

You edited it while the server was running. The server writes its config back to disk while it runs, so stop it first.

What is the maximum view distance on a Hytale server?

32 chunks, which is also the default. Hypixel recommends 12 chunks (384 blocks), because view distance drives RAM use more than anything else.

Sources

All opened on 3 November 2026:

• Hypixel: Hytale Server Manual (updated 12 October 2026)
• Hytale Server API reference 0.7.4: HytaleServerConfig, WorldConfig, DeathConfig, MutableDeathConfig, HardcoreMode, MaxPlayersCommand, MaxViewRadiusCommand, DiscoveryLinkCommand, constant values
• Hytale asset reference: GameplayConfigs
• Hytale news: Official server lists (28 April 2026), Update 5 patch notes, Update 6 patch notes, Chapter I: Out of the Breach, Hotfixes: Update 7, Pre-release patch notes Update 8
• Hytale Maven repository: release metadata (0.7.5), the Server 0.7.5 build and the published source of the 0.8.0-pre.3 pre-release