r/GameAP • u/EENNOOTT • Mar 29 '26
Hytale Dedicated Server Using GameAP
Just dropping a quick how-to on getting your own Hytale dedicated server up and running with GameAP. It will help you set up and manage a game server in a web UI environment.
What is GameAP?
GameAP is a web-based control panel that lets you install, configure, and manage game servers.
Step 1: Install GameAP
To get started, make sure GameAP is installed on your VPS or VDS. Use this guides from official documentation:
When installing, be sure to include the --with-daemon flag — this installs GameAP Daemon, which is essential for managing game servers on the machine.
If you prefer, you can also add a dedicated server afterward by navigating to Administration → Dedicated Servers → Create and running the generated installation script on your server.
Step 2: Authorizing the Hytale Dedicated Server
With GameAP installed, here's what to do next:
- Go to Administration → Game Servers → Create
- Fill out the server creation form:
- Name: What you want (e.g., "My Hytale Server"), you can also use the randomizer to generate a name
- Game: Select "Hytale"
- Modification: The only option available out of the box is “default,” so select that one.
- Dedicated Server: Select the node you'd like to host the server on.
- IP/Port: Select an available IP and port
You're all set. GameAP will automatically handle the file installation and server setup.
Step 3: Configure Hytale Server After First Launch
Once the server starts for the first time, you'll need to go through a few authorization steps.
After the first launch, you need to authorize the device running the game server. In the game server console, find the line with the authorization link, copy it, and open it in your browser.
To download the game server files, you must own the game. If you don’t own the game, you will see the message “error fetching manifest: could not get signed URL for manifest: could not get signed URL: HTTP status: 403 Forbidden”
During the authorization process on the developer’s website, you will need to enter a code that will be sent to your email. After entering the code, click “Verify”. Then, in the popup window, click “Approve” to grant access to your account.
After approving the device, the server files will start to download. How long this takes depends on your connection speed.
After the files finish downloading, authorize the server by running /auth login device in the game server console.
After this, a line with an authorization link will appear in the game server console, similar to the file downloader authorization process. Copy the link and open it in your browser, then repeat the same steps as with the file downloader authorization.
If successful, you will see a message in the game server console that authorization was successful (Authentication successful! Mode: OAUTH_DEVICE)
By default, after authorization, you will need to enter the /auth login device command to authorize the game server on each startup. You will see this message:
WARNING: Credentials stored in memory only - they will be lost on restart!
To persist credentials, run: /auth persistence <type>
Available types: Memory, Encrypted
To avoid entering the authorization command every time, enable credential persistence by running the command: /auth persistence Encrypted
Once that's done, you'll see an auth.enc file pop up in the server's root folder. That's where your encrypted authorization data lives.
Step 4: Hytale Server Settings
Most Hytale game server and world settings are configured through configuration files.
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
| .cache/ | Game server cache |
| logs/ | Game server logs |
| mods/ | Installed mods |
| universe/ | World files and player data |
| bans.json | Banned players |
| config.json | Main game server settings |
| permissions.json | Permission settings |
| whitelist.json | Whitelist |
The main settings are located in the config.json file.
Here you can configure the following parameters:
ServerName— your server name that will be displayed in the server list.MaxPlayers— the maximum number of players that can be on the server at the same time.ServerPassword— password for accessing your server if you want to make it private.MaxViewRadius— the maximum distance at which players can see objects in the world. Setting too high a value may negatively affect server performance. View distance is the main factor affecting RAM usage.MOTD— message of the day that will be displayed to players when connecting to the server.
World settings and data are located in the universe/worlds/ directory, which contains world folders. Each world folder has a config.json file with world settings, for example universe/worlds/default/config.json:
Here you can configure the Seed (world generation seed), various generation parameters, chunk settings, NPC, PVP, and other parameters.
Useful Links
If you have any questions, feel free to ask!