Hytale Server Commands, Permissions & Whitelist

Hytale server commands cover operator access, player moderation, whitelist management, backups, diagnostics, authentication, and updates. Run /help and use command autocomplete on the current server build before changing production access: command arguments and permission requirements can change between updates.

Verification status: Command families were checked against the official Hytale server manual, release Server API documentation, and Update 6 pre-release notes on August 17, 2026. Examples use placeholders; confirm the usage displayed by your current build.

First administrator checklist

1. Use the server console rather than granting broad access from an untrusted player session.
2. Run /help and inspect the current command suggestions.
3. Add only the administrator who needs access.
4. Enable the whitelist before sharing the address beyond your group.
5. Back up permissions.json, whitelist.json, and bans.json.
6. Test with a non-administrator account so ordinary players do not inherit admin commands.

Core command families

Update 1 added support for online usernames and offline UUIDs to whitelist and ban commands. UUIDs are safer when a player is offline or a name could be ambiguous.

Backup and server-health commands

Do not repeatedly force garbage collection to hide sustained memory pressure. Record player count, view distance, loaded areas, mods, CPU, and memory before changing JVM limits.

Update and authentication commands

Useful built-in workflows include:

/auth login device
/auth status
/update check
/update download
/update status
/update apply --confirm

The authentication flow prints a short-lived device code. Never publish that code, auth.enc, auth.key, session tokens, or identity tokens.

How permissions are stored

The server keeps permission configuration in permissions.json. Whitelist membership and bans are stored separately in whitelist.json and bans.json.

Stop the server before editing these files manually. In-game commands write configuration, so manual changes made while the server is running can be overwritten. Prefer commands for routine membership changes and keep file editing for controlled recovery or advanced role maintenance.

Use least privilege

Operator access is broader than most helpers need. Give moderators only the permissions required for their work, remove access when it is no longer needed, and keep destructive world, update, plugin, and player-management commands limited to trusted administrators.

Update 6 continues to tighten command-specific permission checks. For example, targeting another player with certain give and recipe commands now requires additional permissions, and the whitelist persistence path has been hardened. Re-test custom roles on pre-release builds rather than assuming an older permission set still applies.

Whitelist troubleshooting

If an approved player cannot join:

1. Confirm the whitelist is enabled with /whitelist status.
2. List the stored members.
3. Add the player's current username or UUID using the usage shown by /help.
4. Check logs/ for the rejection reason.
5. Confirm client and server protocol versions match.
6. Re-test after a clean restart if the server was updated.

Do not solve a membership problem by permanently disabling the whitelist on a private server.

Official references

• Hytale Server Manual
• Hytale release Server API documentation
• Hytale Update 1 patch notes
• Hytale Update 6 pre-release notes