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Overview

MDevTools streamlines Hytale mod development by watching mods, builtin, and earlyplugins (plus optional extra paths) and reloading JAR/ZIP files when they change. It also cleans old logs on startup and can set a global log level for all server loggers.

Hybrid file monitoring combines Java WatchService with polling fallback for Docker, VMs, and network filesystems.

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Features

• Log cleanup on startup.
• Global log level configuration with per-logger skip list.
• Automatic hot-reload of modified mods.
• Automatic loading of new mods dropped into watched directories.
• Exclusion patterns for mods that must not reload.
• File stability detection before reload (avoids half-written uploads).
• Polling fallback for container and NFS/CIFS mounts.

Hot-reload behavior

When a file changes, MDevTools waits until size is stable, then reloads or loads the mod depending on whether the plugin ID is already active.

Ideal for rapid iteration, CI artifact drops, and remote Docker development.

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Configuration

Paths:

• config/com.machina/mdevtools (preferred)
• fallback: mods/com.machina/mdevtools

JSON5 format (comments and trailing commas allowed).

Log settings

Key	Purpose
logs.cleanupOnStartup.enabled	Remove old log/lock files on startup
logs.global.level	Global level (INFO, DEBUG, WARNING, ...)
logs.global.skip	Logger names to skip when applying global level

Mod reload settings

Key	Purpose
mods.reload.enabled	Master hot-reload switch
mods.reload.delayMs	Delay before stability check
mods.reload.fileStabilityCheckMs	Time file size must stay stable
mods.reload.additionalDirectories	Extra directories to watch
mods.reload.exclude	Wildcard patterns (mod IDs and filenames)
mods.reload.unloadWhenDeleted	Unload mod when file is deleted

Example:

{
  "logs": {
    "cleanupOnStartup": { "enabled": true },
    "global": {
      "level": "INFO",
      "skip": ["PacketLogging", "WorldChunk"]
    }
  },
  "mods": {
    "reload": {
      "enabled": true,
      "delayMs": 1000,
      "fileStabilityCheckMs": 500,
      "additionalDirectories": [],
      "exclude": ["com.example:core", "*:system", "test*.jar"],
      "unloadWhenDeleted": false
    }
  }
}

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Installation

1. Place the MDevTools JAR in the server's mods directory.
2. Configure config.json5 as needed.
3. Restart the server.

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Community

• Support: machinastudios.net/support-us
• Discord: discord.gg/QAFrzj48EN

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License

Part of the Machina plugin ecosystem for Hytale.