How to port forward a Hytale server (UDP 5520)

To host a Hytale server at home, forward UDP port 5520 on your router to the computer running the server, and allow that port through the computer's firewall. Hytale uses QUIC over UDP, so TCP forwarding isn't required.

Friends then join with your public IP and the port, for example 203.0.113.10:5520.

These steps assume the server already runs. If it doesn't yet, start with how to set up a Hytale server.

1. Pick the port

The server listens on 0.0.0.0:5520 unless you tell it otherwise. 0.0.0.0 means every network interface on the machine, which is what you want for a server other people join.

To use a different port, add --bind when you start the server:

java -jar HytaleServer.jar --assets Assets.zip --bind 3500

You can also give the full address, such as --bind 0.0.0.0:5520. Don't bind to 127.0.0.1, which only accepts connections from the same computer.

If you start the server with the official start.sh or start.bat, arguments you add after the script name are passed to the server, so ./start.sh --bind 3500 works too.

2. Allow the port through the firewall

Run the command for your system. Change 5520 if you picked a different port.

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Hytale Server" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 5520 -Action Allow

sudo ufw allow 5520/udp

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 5520 -j ACCEPT

On Windows, open PowerShell as administrator, since creating a firewall rule needs admin rights. These commands come from Hypixel's Hytale Server Manual.

3. Forward the port on your router

Every router's admin page looks different, so these steps are general. Your router's manual or your internet provider's help pages will show where the settings live on your model.

4. Connect and test from outside

Look up your public IP address (a "what is my IP" search works) from any device on the same network as the server. It's different from the local address you used in the router.

Before anyone joins, the server must be authenticated with /auth login device. See how to authenticate a Hytale server.

Then have a friend outside your home network open Servers → Direct Connect and enter your public IP and port, such as 203.0.113.10:5520. A test from inside your own network doesn't prove the forward works, so use someone elsewhere.

Share the address with the port included. Hytale doesn't support SRV records yet (the manual lists them as "Unsupported. Under evaluation."), so DNS can't supply the port, even if you point a domain name at your IP.

If the connection fails, check in this order:

• The rule is UDP, not TCP.
• The firewall rule, router rule, and shared address all use the same port.
• The server's local IP still matches the router rule.
• The server is running, authenticated, and on the same version as your friend's game.

Connection troubleshooting covers version, password, and whitelist problems.

If port forwarding doesn't work: NAT

QUIC handles NAT traversal well in most cases, according to Hypixel. If friends still can't connect after you've checked the UDP rule, NAT is the next thing to look at.

Symmetric NAT on the hosting side may cause connection issues even with a correct forward. Hypixel's suggestion is to run the server on a VPS or dedicated server instead.

Carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT) works differently depending on which side it's on:

• Players behind CGNAT, which is common on mobile networks, should connect fine as clients. Hypixel's manual says so directly.
• A host behind CGNAT is a different story. Your internet provider shares one public address between many customers, so your router doesn't have its own public IP, and a port forward on it generally can't receive connections from the internet. A common sign is when the internet address your router shows doesn't match the public IP you looked up. Your provider may be able to give you a public IP address. If not, host the server somewhere that has one.

A hosted server doesn't need port forwarding at all. On berrybyte, the address and port are allocated for you, and you share them straight from Overview.

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