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Configuration

Keeping a Hytale server private with the whitelist

Reviewed October 26, 2026 1 min read

The whitelist is the list of players allowed to join. Hytale keeps it in whitelist.json, in the server folder.

How to manage it safely

  • Prefer managing it from inside the game: in-game actions write the file for you.
  • If you edit whitelist.json by hand, stop the server first. Files are read at startup and in-game changes would overwrite your edit.
  • Set it up before sharing your address, not after strangers have already joined.
Whitelist plus a backup

A private server with a whitelist and regular backups is protected against the two most common disasters: unwanted visitors and lost worlds.

Worth knowing

If you update the server, the official update system backs up the config files (including whitelist.json) before applying an update, as long as that option is on (it's on by default).

About this guide: An original guide from the EnduranceNodes team, written for the servers we host. If a step no longer matches what you see, tell us and we will update it.

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