Hytale-documentation.github.io

Plugin Runtime & Sandbox

Hytale plugins run in a managed Java environment with specific class loading rules to ensure stability and compatibility.

Class Loading

• Loader: com.hypixel.hytale.server.core.plugin.PluginClassLoader
• Isolation: Plugins are loaded in their own PluginClassLoader.
  • Delegation Priority:
    1. System/Server: Core Hytale classes (to ensure types match).
    2. Self: Classes inside the plugin’s JAR.
    3. Bridge: The PluginManager.PluginBridgeClassLoader connects plugins, allowing them to share classes if dependencies are declared.

Security & Identification

• ThirdPartyPlugin: Classes from external plugins are tagged with the “ThirdPartyPlugin” ClassLoaderName.
• Exception Tracking: The server uses isFromThirdPartyPlugin checks in stack traces to attribute crashes to specific plugins.
• Permissions: Plugins have a basePermission calculated from "group.name". This interacts with the internal permission system (likely used for command access).

Execution Model

• Thread: Plugins run on the main server thread by default. Heavy operations should be offloaded to HytaleServer.SCHEDULED_EXECUTOR or ForkJoinPool to avoid lagging game ticks.
• Status: PluginState (NONE, SETUP, START, ENABLED, DISABLED, SHUTDOWN) tracks the lifecycle. If a plugin throws an error during setup/start, it is automatically set to DISABLED.