Hytale Environment Setup & Build/Test

Step-by-step guide for setting up a Hytale plugin development environment and building/testing plugins. Focused on VS Code (skip JetBrains).

Source: Setting Up Your Development Environment | Build and Test Your Mod

Prerequisites

• •Windows 10/11, macOS, or Linux
• •At least 8 GB RAM
• •10 GB free disk space
• •Administrative privileges

Step 1: Install JDK 25

Hytale modding requires Java 25 (OpenJDK recommended from Adoptium).

Windows (Installer)

1. •Download OpenJDK 25 from Adoptium.
2. •Run the installer with default settings.
   • •Enable "Set or Override JAVA_HOME variable" to avoid version conflicts.
3. •Verify in a new terminal:
   code

   java -version
   

Windows (Scoop)

# Install Scoop if you don't have it (https://scoop.sh/)
scoop bucket add java
scoop install java/openjdk25

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install openjdk@25

If java --version fails, add to PATH:

echo 'export PATH="$(brew --prefix)/opt/openjdk@25/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-25-jdk

Verify

java -version

Should show Java 25 or later.

Step 2: Install VS Code + Java Extensions

1. •Install VS Code.
2. •Install the Extension Pack for Java (Microsoft) — includes:
   • •Language Support for Java (Red Hat)
   • •Debugger for Java
   • •Maven for Java
   • •Gradle for Java
   • •Test Runner for Java
3. •Install the Gradle for Java extension if not already included.

VS Code Java Settings

Ensure VS Code uses JDK 25. In settings.json:

{
  "java.configuration.runtimes": [
    {
      "name": "JavaSE-25",
      "path": "C:\\Program Files\\Eclipse Adoptium\\jdk-25",
      "default": true
    }
  ]
}

Adjust the path to match your JDK installation.

Step 3: Clone the Plugin Template

The official Hytale plugin template includes a Gradle Wrapper, so you do not need a system-wide Gradle install.

git clone https://github.com/HytaleModding/plugin-template.git MyFirstMod
cd MyFirstMod

Or download the ZIP from the repository page and extract it.

Open in VS Code

code MyFirstMod

VS Code with the Java extension pack will automatically detect the Gradle project, download dependencies, and set up the classpath.

Step 4: Configure the Project

settings.gradle.kts

Set your project name:

rootProject.name = "MyPlugin"

build.gradle.kts

The template's build script handles:

• •Hytale dependency resolution
• •Manifest packaging
• •JAR output

gradle.properties

If your Hytale installation is not at the default location, create or edit gradle.properties in the project root:

hytale.home_path=C:\Path\To\Hytale

manifest.json

Edit src/main/resources/manifest.json with your plugin details. See the hytale-plugin-config skill for manifest structure.

Step 5: Build

Open a terminal in the project root and run:

./gradlew build

On Windows (if not using Git Bash):

.\gradlew.bat build

This will:

1. •Compile Java source code
2. •Run tests (if present)
3. •Package into a JAR in build/libs/

Build Output

The JAR will be at:

build/libs/MyPlugin-1.0.jar

The exact name depends on rootProject.name and version in your build files.

Common Build Error: Hytale Not Found

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.
* What went wrong:
Failed to find Hytale at the expected location.

Fix: Set the correct path in gradle.properties:

hytale.home_path=C:\Correct\Path\To\Hytale

Step 6: Deploy & Test

1. Locate the Mods Folder

Default path on Windows:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Hytale\UserData\Mods

Tip: Press Win + R, type %appdata%, navigate to Hytale\UserData\Mods. Create the Mods folder if it doesn't exist.

2. Copy the JAR

Copy build/libs/MyPlugin-1.0.jar into the Mods folder.

3. Launch & Verify

1. •Start Hytale
2. •Click "Create a New World"
3. •Click the settings cog
4. •Click "Mods"
5. •Your mod should appear in the list

Hytale Maven Repository

If setting up from scratch (not using the template), add the Hytale dependency:

Gradle (build.gradle.kts)

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
    maven {
        name = "hytale"
        url = uri("https://maven.hytale.com/release")
        // Or "https://maven.hytale.com/pre-release" for pre-release
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation("com.hypixel.hytale:Server:+") // latest version
}

Maven (pom.xml)

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>hytale-release</id>
        <url>https://maven.hytale.com/release</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.hypixel.hytale</groupId>
        <artifactId>Server</artifactId>
        <version>LATEST_VERSION_HERE</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Step 7: VS Code Tasks

Create .vscode/tasks.json to enable one-click build and deploy from VS Code. Before creating the deploy task, ask the user where Hytale is installed so the deploy path can be configured correctly.

Setup Procedure

1. •Ask the user for their Hytale installation path (e.g., C:\Program Files\Hytale or wherever they installed it).
2. •Derive the Mods folder from that path: <hytale_path>\UserData\Mods (Windows) or check %APPDATA%\Hytale\UserData\Mods for the default AppData location.
3. •Set hytale.home_path in gradle.properties to the user's Hytale path.
4. •Create .vscode/tasks.json with the tasks below, substituting the deploy path.

.vscode/tasks.json

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "build plugin",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": ".\\gradlew.bat",
      "args": ["build"],
      "group": {
        "kind": "build",
        "isDefault": true
      },
      "problemMatcher": ["$javac"],
      "detail": "Build the plugin JAR via Gradle"
    },
    {
      "label": "build and deploy",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": ".\\gradlew.bat",
      "args": ["build"],
      "group": "build",
      "problemMatcher": ["$javac"],
      "detail": "Build the plugin and copy to Hytale Mods folder",
      "dependsOrder": "sequence",
      "dependsOn": [],
      "presentation": {
        "reveal": "always",
        "panel": "shared"
      }
    },
    {
      "label": "deploy to mods",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "powershell",
      "args": [
        "-Command",
        "Copy-Item -Path 'build/libs/*.jar' -Destination '${config:hytale.modsPath}' -Force"
      ],
      "problemMatcher": [],
      "detail": "Copy built JAR to Hytale Mods folder",
      "dependsOn": ["build plugin"]
    }
  ]
}

Note: The build and deploy task can alternatively be a single compound task. The example above uses a separate deploy to mods task that depends on build plugin.

.vscode/settings.json (Hytale Mods Path)

Store the Mods folder path as a VS Code setting so tasks can reference it via ${config:hytale.modsPath}:

{
  "hytale.modsPath": "C:\\Users\\<YourUsername>\\AppData\\Roaming\\Hytale\\UserData\\Mods"
}

Replace <YourUsername> with the actual username, or use the full path the user provides.

macOS / Linux Alternative

For non-Windows, replace the deploy command:

{
  "command": "cp",
  "args": ["build/libs/*.jar", "${config:hytale.modsPath}"]
}

And use ./gradlew instead of .\\gradlew.bat in the build tasks.

gradle.properties

Also set the Hytale home path so Gradle can find the game libraries:

hytale.home_path=C:\Path\To\Hytale

First-Time Setup Flow (For Agents)

When a user asks for help and the project is not yet set up, follow this flow:

1. •Check for .vscode/tasks.json — if missing, environment is likely not configured.
2. •Check for gradle.properties — if missing or lacks hytale.home_path, need to configure.
3. •Check Java version — run java -version in terminal.
4. •Ask the user:
   • •"Where is Hytale installed on your system?" (e.g., C:\Program Files\Hytale)
   • •This is needed for both gradle.properties (build) and .vscode/settings.json (deploy)
5. •Derive the Mods path:
   • •Windows default: %APPDATA%\Hytale\UserData\Mods
   • •Or under the install path: <hytale_path>\UserData\Mods
   • •Confirm with the user if unclear.
6. •Create/update files:
   • •gradle.properties with hytale.home_path
   • •.vscode/tasks.json with build + deploy tasks
   • •.vscode/settings.json with hytale.modsPath
7. •Verify the build works: run the build plugin task.

Troubleshooting

Environment Verification Checklist

Use this to validate a user's environment is ready:

1. •java -version → Java 25+
2. •VS Code installed with Extension Pack for Java
3. •Project opens without errors in VS Code
4. •./gradlew build succeeds
5. •JAR exists in build/libs/
6. •Hytale Mods folder exists and is accessible