How to Host a Lavalink Server

What Lavalink needs

• Java 17 or newer. Lavalink recommends the latest LTS release.
• Lavalink 4.2 or newer. Since March 2026 Discord only allows end-to-end encrypted voice (the DAVE protocol), and Lavalink 4.2.0 was the first release to support it. Older servers can no longer play audio in Discord.
• A client library in your bot that supports the same version — current lavalink-client, Shoukaku, Wavelink, lavalink.py and others do. Choosing one is covered in how to make a Discord music bot.
• A machine that stays on, because the music stops when Lavalink does.

Download and start Lavalink

1. Download Lavalink.jar from the latest release on GitHub into an empty folder.
2. Create application.yml in the same folder (next section).
3. Start it from that folder:

java -jar Lavalink.jar

Lavalink is ready when the log shows that it started. On a Linux server, the Lavalink docs recommend running it as a systemd service so it restarts on crash and on reboot; a Docker image is also published.

Configure application.yml

A minimal Lavalink 4 config with the YouTube plugin:

server:
  port: 2333
  address: 0.0.0.0
lavalink:
  plugins:
    - dependency: "dev.lavalink.youtube:youtube-plugin:1.18.2"
      snapshot: false
  server:
    password: "a-long-random-password"
    sources:
      youtube: false
      soundcloud: true
      bandcamp: true
      twitch: true
      vimeo: true
      http: true
      local: false
plugins:
  youtube:
    enabled: true
    allowSearch: true

• password — change it. The example config ships with youshallnotpass, which is public; anyone who finds your server could use it with the default.
• port — 2333 by default; your bot connects to this port.
• sources.youtube: false — the built-in YouTube source is deprecated. The plugin replaces it, and its documentation says the built-in one must be turned off.
• http: true lets the bot play direct links; the official example notes that without a proxy this can reveal your server's IP.

YouTube, Spotify and other sources

Plugins are listed under lavalink.plugins and downloaded at startup. Two are worth knowing:

• youtube-source (dev.lavalink.youtube:youtube-plugin) — YouTube playback and search. YouTube actively blocks automated access, so it can stop working until the plugin is updated; keep it on the latest version.
• LavaSrc (com.github.topi314.lavasrc:lavasrc-plugin) — adds Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and more. Spotify and Apple Music links are read for their track details, and the audio is played from another source.

Connect your bot to Lavalink

Every Lavalink client asks for the same four values, called a node:

For example, Wavelink in Python takes wavelink.Node(uri="http://your-host:2333", password="..."). If the bot cannot connect, check the password first, then that the port is reachable from where the bot runs.

Lavalink hosting on HytHost

1. Pick Lavalink as the runtime. On Discord bot hosting, choose a plan and select Lavalink as the language. The server installs the latest Lavalink on Java 21 with the official example config.
2. Change the password. Open application.yml in the file manager and replace the default password. The panel already sets the address and the port to your server's own port, so leave those two as they are.
3. Add the YouTube plugin if you want YouTube: the plugin block and youtube: false from the config above, then restart.
4. Connect your bot with the server address and port shown in your panel and the password you set.

Lavalink runs as its own server, separate from your bot. Order one plan for the bot and one with the Lavalink runtime, or on a plan with several bot slots ask us to move one of them to the Lavalink runtime. In our tests Lavalink idles at under 200 MB; for one small bot our recommendation is 1 GB, more if it plays in many servers at once.