Hytale Updated April 27, 2026

Managing Hytale Worlds and the Universe Directory

How Hytale organizes world and player data in the Universe directory and how to manage multiple worlds.

HytaleWorldsUniverseWorld ManagementPlayer Data

Managing Hytale Worlds and the Universe Directory

Hytale organizes all persistent server data inside a top-level universe/ directory. Understanding this structure is essential for backups, world resets, and running multiple worlds.

The Universe Directory Layout

universe/
├── worlds/
│   ├── overworld/
│   │   ├── config.json
│   │   ├── region/
│   │   └── entities/
│   ├── dungeon-realm/
│   │   ├── config.json
│   │   ├── region/
│   │   └── entities/
│   └── creative-plot/
│       ├── config.json
│       └── region/
└── players/
    ├── xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.json
    └── yyyyyyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyy-yyyyyyyyyyyy.json

universe/worlds/ — one subdirectory per world, containing terrain chunks, entity data, and a world-specific config.json
universe/players/ — one JSON file per player containing their inventory, position, stats, and progress

World-Specific Configuration

Each world directory contains its own config.json that can override global server settings for players in that world:

{
  "gameMode": "survival",
  "difficulty": "hard",
  "pvp": true,
  "seed": 314159265,
  "generateStructures": true
}

Edit this file and restart the server to apply world-level changes. See Configuring Your Hytale Server for the full field reference.

Adding a New World

To add a world, create a new subdirectory under universe/worlds/ with a config.json and the server will generate it on next startup:

mkdir -p /opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/my-new-world
cat > /opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/my-new-world/config.json <<'EOF'
{
  "gameMode": "survival",
  "difficulty": "normal",
  "seed": 42
}
EOF

Resetting a World

To wipe a world back to a fresh state while keeping player data:

Stop the server.
Delete or rename the world directory:

sudo systemctl stop hytale
mv /opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/overworld \
   /opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/overworld-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)
mkdir /opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/overworld
cp /opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/overworld-backup-*/config.json \
   /opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/overworld/
sudo systemctl start hytale

The server will regenerate the world from scratch on startup.

Uploading an Existing World

To replace the current world with a world save from another server or a local machine:

Stop the server.
Delete the existing world directory.
Copy your world folder into universe/worlds/ using SFTP or SCP:

scp -r ./my-world-save user@yourserver:/opt/hytale-server/universe/worlds/overworld

Restart the server.

Player Data

Each player's data file is named after their UUID. If you need to reset a specific player's progress (inventory, position, etc.) without wiping the world:

rm /opt/hytale-server/universe/players/<player-uuid>.json

The player will start fresh on their next login.

Backing Up the Universe Directory

The entire universe/ directory is the canonical backup target. Copy it while the server is stopped to ensure consistency:

sudo systemctl stop hytale
tar -czf hytale-universe-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
    -C /opt/hytale-server universe/
sudo systemctl start hytale

See Backing Up and Wiping Your Hytale Server for a full backup strategy.

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Managing Hytale Worlds and the Universe Directory