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Hytale Modding Manual

Item Categories

Overview

Item categories define the tree structure that organizes items in crafting menus and the creative library. Each JSON file represents one top-level category node and contains an ordered list of child category entries. Items are assigned to categories via the Categories array in their item definition.

File Location

Assets/Server/Item/Category/<LibraryId>/<CategoryId>.json

The two library roots are:

  • Assets/Server/Item/Category/CreativeLibrary/ — Creative mode item browser (Blocks, Furniture, Items, Tool)
  • Assets/Server/Item/Category/Fieldcraft/ — Survival crafting menus (Tools)

Schema

Category File Fields

FieldTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
IconstringYes—Path to the icon image for this top-level category (e.g. "Icons/ItemCategories/Natural.png").
OrdernumberNo0Sort order of this category relative to its siblings. Lower values appear first.
NamestringNo—Localization key for the category display name (used on leaf/sub-category nodes).
Childrenobject[]No—Ordered array of child category entries.

Children Entry Fields

FieldTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
IdstringYes—Unique identifier for this child category. Used as the second segment in item Categories values (e.g. "Foods" maps to "Items.Foods").
NamestringYes—Localization key for the child category’s display label (e.g. "server.ui.itemcategory.foods").
IconstringYes—Path to the icon image for this child category.

Example

Assets/Server/Item/Category/CreativeLibrary/Blocks.json:

{
  "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Natural.png",
  "Order": 0,
  "Children": [
    {
      "Id": "Rocks",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.rocks",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Blocks.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Structural",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.structural",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Build-Roofs.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Soils",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.soils",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Soil.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Ores",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.ores",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Natural-Ore.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Plants",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.plants",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Natural-Vegetal.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Fluids",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.fluids",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Natural-Fluid.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Portals",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.portals",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Portal.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Deco",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.deco",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Natural-Fire.png"
    }
  ]
}

Assets/Server/Item/Category/CreativeLibrary/Items.json:

{
  "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items.png",
  "Order": 2,
  "Children": [
    {
      "Id": "Tools",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.tools",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items-Tools.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Weapons",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.weapons",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items-Weapons.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Armors",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.armors",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items-Armor.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Foods",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.foods",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items-Food.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Potions",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.potions",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items-Potion.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Recipes",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.recipes",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items-Recipe.png"
    },
    {
      "Id": "Ingredients",
      "Name": "server.ui.itemcategory.ingredients",
      "Icon": "Icons/ItemCategories/Items-Ingredients.png"
    }
  ]
}

Assigning Items to Categories

In an item definition file, set the Categories field to a list of "<LibraryId>.<ChildId>" strings:

{
  "Categories": [
    "Items.Foods"
  ]
}

A single item can belong to multiple categories by adding more entries to the array.