Playtest Notes

Write down what you find while you play, without leaving the game. Type /note the bridge texture flickers at dusk #art and a timestamped line goes into a Markdown file on the server. The line records who wrote it, the world, the position and any #tags.

Each file starts with a table of the loaded plugins and their versions. When someone writes the test report, hand them the file. The table answers "which jars was I running?"

Features

• /note <text> adds one line to today's notes file. Known #tags (bug, idea, balance, art, perf, ui) are picked out; you can change the list.
• Time, player, world and position on every line, in the format you choose.
• A plugin table at the top of each file: the server build, the start time, and the loaded plugins with their versions.
• /notes shows the last lines in chat. /notes mark <label> writes a ## heading, to split a session into parts. /notes file prints the file's path.
• One file per day and world by default. Files are append-only UTF-8, and each line is flushed at once, so nothing is lost if the server stops. Letters in any language work.
• Works from the server console too. Console notes have no position.
• Guards: a note that is too long is refused, not cut short. A second note within the cooldown is refused, in case you press Enter twice.
• Everything is configurable: output folder, file name, line format, time format, UTC, coordinate decimals, length limit, cooldown, chat echo, who may write notes, the command name and the tag list.

A notes file

Each day and world gets one Markdown file. It opens with the date, the server version and a table of the loaded mods, then one line per note: time, player, world, position, text and tags. /notes mark Boss fight adds a heading, and settings changes made through Mod Settings Manager are logged too. See the notes-file picture in the gallery.

Commands and permissions

Permission: playtestnotes.write lets a player write notes when WhoCanNote is permission. Operators always pass. The server console can always write.

Settings

Settings live in notes/settings.json in the mod's data folder. The first start writes the most-used keys; any other key works when you add it. A bad value is replaced by its default, with a line in the server log. The mod never rewrites the file after it first creates it.

Default LineTemplate: "- {time} **{player}** @ {world} ({x}, {y}, {z}): {text} {tags}"

Works with Mod Settings Manager

Playtest Notes does not need Mod Settings Manager, but if it is installed, every setting appears in its /modsettings window, with labels, sections, ranges and dropdowns. Changes apply live. Only Command name needs a restart. A change made that way is also written into the current notes file.

Mod Settings Manager pages: CurseForge · Nexus Mods

If you set the output folder to one the server can't write to, the change is refused and notes keep going to the old folder. The server log says why.

Install

1. Put PlaytestNotes-1.0.0.jar in your server's mods folder (singleplayer: %APPDATA%\Hytale\UserData\Mods\).
2. Start the server or open the world.
3. Type /note it works #idea.

The notes are in mods\Hledjolf_PlaytestNotes\notes\. In singleplayer, that is inside the world's save folder: %APPDATA%\Hytale\UserData\Saves\<world>\mods\Hledjolf_PlaytestNotes\notes\.

Compatibility

• Hytale server 0.7.3.
• Works on dedicated servers and in singleplayer.
• No dependencies. Mod Settings Manager is optional.
• Not in this version: screenshots attached to notes, a notes window, uploading or syncing notes, and per-player files.

License

MIT, copyright (c) 2026 Hledjolf.

Source code and issue tracker: https://github.com/Hledjolf/PlaytestNotes