Play Hytale with friends: share code or dedicated server?
Hytale can open your single player world to friends with a share code, or everyone can join a dedicated server. How each works, where share codes fall short and which to pick.
4 min read · Updated Sep 24, 2026 · By GuavaHost Team
There are two ways to play Hytale with friends. You can open your own single player world to them with a share code, or everyone can join a dedicated server that runs on its own. This guide explains both, based on Hypixel Studios' own help articles, so you can pick the one that fits your group.
Option 1: open your world with a share code
When you let other players into your single player world, Hytale asks your router to open a port for you using UPnP (Universal Plug and Play, a standard that lets a game set up a router automatically). It then gives you a share code. The code holds a list of addresses for your game, and your friend's game tries them one after another until one connects.
Host your world
- Load into your single player world.
- Press Esc and choose Online Play.
- Switch Allow Other Players to Join on.
- If you like, set a Password, and choose whether to include it in the share code.
- Click Save. After a moment a share code appears, with the connection status underneath.
- Copy the code and send it to your friends directly.
Join a friend's world
- On the main menu, open Servers.
- Click Join via Code and paste the share code.
- Enter the password if your friend sent it separately, then click Connect.
Keep share codes private. A share code contains the host's IP address. Hypixel's advice is never to post one publicly, paste it in public chats or show it on stream. Codes also expire, so you may need to send a fresh one next time.
Where share codes fall short
Hypixel describes friend joins as an early system that will not work for everyone yet. These are the usual reasons a code does not work:
- UPnP is off or unsupported on your router. No share code appears after you click Save. Turning UPnP on in your router settings usually fixes it. If your router cannot do UPnP, you can forward the UDP port shown in your Online Play settings to your PC by hand.
- Your internet provider uses carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT). Many customers share one public IP address, so the router cannot open a port for you and UPnP cannot help.
- Two routers in a row (double NAT). UPnP has to be on for both, or your PC needs to connect to the main router.
- A firewall or antivirus is blocking Hytale. Allow Hytale through Windows Firewall on both private and public networks.
- The world is only online while the host plays. The world runs inside the host's game, so everyone else has to wait for the host to be on.
Hypixel suggests two workarounds before giving up. A friend on a different network may be able to host instead. Or you can both install Tailscale, a free (for personal use) VPN that links your computers directly. Hytale adds Tailscale addresses to the share code automatically once it is running.
Option 2: a dedicated server
A dedicated server is a separate program that runs your world on its own machine, whether or not anyone is playing. For persistent worlds or more than a few friends, Hypixel recommends one, for these reasons:
- Better performance, because the server is not also drawing the game on screen.
- The world stays online when you are offline.
- More configuration options.
- Reliable connections without the router and NAT problems above.
What changes when you use one:
- Friends join with the server's address (an IP and a port) instead of a share code. How to connect to your Hytale server shows where to find it and how to add it in Hytale.
- The server is approved once with a Hytale account before players can join. Start your Hytale server and authenticate it covers it step by step.
- You get server tools a shared world does not have: operators, a whitelist, bans, mods and plugins and scheduled backups. See Hytale server settings, operators and whitelist and Install mods and plugins on a Hytale server.
Which should you pick?
| Share code | Dedicated server | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | A monthly plan |
| When the world is online | Only while the host is playing | All the time |
| Networking | Depends on UPnP and the host's router | Players only need the address |
| Admin tools | The host's game settings | Operators, whitelist, bans, mods, backups |
| Best for | A quick session with one or two friends | A regular group or a public community |
A good rule of thumb: if your group keeps asking the host to log in so they can play, or the share code keeps failing on someone's network, it is time for a server.
Running a dedicated Hytale server on GuavaHost
GuavaHost runs the official Hytale dedicated server on AMD Ryzen and Intel hardware with NVMe storage and DDoS protection, in Dallas, Limburg, Gravelines, Warsaw and Sydney. Plans start at 8GB of RAM, and you choose the location closest to your group at checkout. See the Hytale server hosting page for current prices, or Hytale server hosting on GuavaHost: what you get for everything a plan includes.
Source: Hypixel Studios, Joining Friends.
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