Hytale Dedicated Server (Docker)

Minimal Docker image for running a Hytale Dedicated Server.

This image contains only the runtime and server binaries.
Game assets must be provided externally.

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Requirements

• Docker
• Docker Compose (optional)
• A valid Hytale account (required on first startup)

Official documentation:
https://support.hytale.com/hc/en-us/articles/45326769420827-Hytale-Server-Manual

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Image Contents

• Java (Eclipse Temurin 25)
• HytaleServer.jar
• HytaleServer.aot

Not included:

• Assets.zip
• Server data / worlds

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Required Assets

You must provide Assets.zip. You can either:

• download it manually and mount it into the container, or
• set ASSETS_AUTO_UPDATE=true to download the game package automatically.

When auto-update is enabled, the container downloads the official game package, extracts Assets.zip, and writes the server binaries to /assets/server. The downloader is bundled in the image at /opt/hytale/hytale-downloader. If the download URL changes, rebuild with --build-arg HYTALE_DOWNLOADER_URL=....

Example host structure:

For auto-update, mount /assets as a writable directory (not read-only).

/docker/storage/hytale/
├─ data/
└─ assets/
   └─ Assets.zip

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Docker Run Example

docker run -d \
  --name hytale-server \
  -p 5520:5520/udp \
  -v /docker/storage/hytale/data:/data \
  -v /docker/storage/hytale/assets:/assets \
  -e JAVA_OPTS="-Dio.netty.transport.noNative=true" \
  gamedevllama/hytale-server

Auto-update example:

docker run -d \
  --name hytale-server \
  -p 5520:5520/udp \
  -v /docker/storage/hytale/data:/data \
  -v /docker/storage/hytale/assets:/assets \
  -e ASSETS_AUTO_UPDATE="true" \
  -e JAVA_OPTS="-Dio.netty.transport.noNative=true" \
  gamedevllama/hytale-server

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Docker Compose Example

services:
  hytale:
    image: gamedevllama/hytale-server
    container_name: hytale-server
    restart: unless-stopped
    stdin_open: true
    tty: true
    ports:
      - "5520:5520/udp"
    volumes:
      - /docker/storage/hytale/data:/data
      - /docker/storage/hytale/assets:/assets
      # Optional: provide the downloader binary for auto-updates
      # - /docker/storage/hytale/downloader/hytale-downloader-linux-amd64:/opt/hytale/hytale-downloader:ro
    environment:
      JAVA_OPTS: "-Dio.netty.transport.noNative=true"
      HYTALE_OPTS: ""
      ASSETS_AUTO_UPDATE: "false"
      # ASSETS_PATCHLINE: "pre-release"

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First-Time Authentication

On first startup, attach to the container:

docker attach hytale-server

Run:

/auth login device

Follow the instructions to authenticate the server.

Detach safely using:

CTRL + P, CTRL + Q

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Environment Variables

Variable	Description
ASSETS_PATH	Path to Assets.zip inside container
ASSETS_DIR	Directory where assets are stored
ASSETS_AUTO_UPDATE	Set to true to download/extract assets and server files on startup
ASSETS_PATCHLINE	Optional patchline (e.g. pre-release)
ASSETS_VERSION_FILE	File storing the last downloaded asset version
HYTALE_DOWNLOADER_PATH	Path to hytale-downloader binary
SERVER_DIR	Directory for downloaded server binaries
SERVER_JAR	Path to HytaleServer.jar
SERVER_AOT	Path to HytaleServer.aot
JAVA_OPTS	Additional JVM options
HYTALE_OPTS	Additional Hytale server arguments

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Data Persistence

All runtime data is stored in /data.
Mount this directory to persist worlds and configs.

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Disclaimer

Hytale and all related assets are property of Hypixel Studios.
This image provides only a containerized runtime environment.

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Contact

I occasionally share updates and experiments around game development and server tooling on X:

🐦 https://x.com/GamedevLlama

Feel free to reach out if you have questions, ideas, or improvements for this setup.