Hytale Modding Guide: How to Actually Get Your Mods Running Without Breaking the Game
If you are trying to treat Hytale modding exactly like Minecraft, you are already halfway to a corrupted save file.
I have spent the last few days digging through the guts of Hytale’s file system, and while it is built to be "mod-friendly," it still has enough quirks to make a veteran dev sweat. The game officially launched on January 13, 2026, and with it came an official partnership with CurseForge. This is a massive win for anyone who hates manual file management, but for the purists who like to poke around in their AppData folders, there are still plenty of ways to do things the old-fashioned way. The most important thing to remember is that Hytale handles mods differently than the competition. Most of the logic is server-sided, meaning you do not have to worry about your friends having the exact same modpack installed just to join your world.
The CurseForge Partnership: The Lazy Way (That Actually Works)
Hypixel Studios did us a huge favor by integrating CurseForge directly into the ecosystem. If you do not want to spend your afternoon dragging and dropping files, the standalone CurseForge launcher is your best friend. I personally recommend the standalone version over the Overwolf one because it is significantly lighter on resources and does not spam you with as many ads.
Using the Launcher
Once you have the CurseForge app, you just select Hytale from the game list and start browsing. When you hit install, the app handles the directory paths for you. The real magic happens when you hit "Run Game" from the launcher. It injects the mods into the client, and they show up in your in-game world menu. It is almost too easy, which usually means the manual route is where things get interesting.
Manual Installation for Single-Player and Servers
If you are like me and prefer to manage your own files, you need to know exactly where Hytale hides its UserData. It is not always where you think it is, especially if you installed the game on a secondary drive.
Pro Tip for Manual Installs
When you download a mod from CurseForge manually, it usually comes as a .jar file. Do not unzip this file. Just drop the .jar directly into the Mods folder. If the mod comes as a .zip, check the creator's instructions. Some specific asset packs need to be extracted, but 90% of the gameplay mods are "plug and play" as long as the file is in the right spot.
Activating Mods in the Menu
Simply putting a file in a folder does not mean it is active. Hytale lets you manage mods on a per-world basis, which is great for keeping your "pure" survival world separate from your "magic-infused" chaos world.
To activate your mods, go to the Worlds menu in the game. Right-click on the world you want to modify. You will see a "Mods" section on the left or bottom-left of the menu. This list shows every mod currently sitting in your UserData folder. You just check the boxes for the ones you want and hit save. If a mod does not appear, it usually means the file is in the wrong directory or it is incompatible with your current game version.
Can You Be Banned for Modding?
I have seen this question asked a thousand times in the last week. The short answer is no. Hytale is designed for modding. You are not playing on a centralized "official" server that scans your files for cheats. You are either playing in your own world or on a server hosted by another player.
However, the "Your Server, Your Rules" principle applies. If you join a public server with a mod that gives you an unfair advantage, the server admins can and will ban you from their specific world. Hypixel Studios is not going to issue a game-wide ban for using a mod to see through walls, but do not expect to be welcomed on any competitive servers if you are caught being a prick.
