How Pelican Panel Replaces Legacy Game Server Panels

Anyone who has ever tried to set up a dedicated server for Minecraft, DayZ, or Satisfactory on a clean virtual machine knows this pain. First you install the required version of Java or SteamCMD. Then you sort through library conflicts, configure auto-restart via systemd, and figure out how to give friends console access without handing out SSH keys for the entire host.

For many years, Pterodactyl was the standard in this niche. It's a great project, but its codebase and admin stack have grown noticeably outdated, and updates come out rarely. Stepping in to replace it is the open-source project Pelican Panel, which has rethought the architecture of game server management.

Under the Hood

The system architecture is split into two independent parts: the web panel and the host agent.

The web component of Pelican Panel is built with Laravel and FilamentPHP. It handles the interface, user authentication, permission management, resource allocation, and database operations. Thanks to Filament, the panel has a clean interface where it's convenient to assign administrator roles and monitor node load.

The second component is called Wings. It's a lightweight Go daemon installed directly on the node running the servers. The web panel sends commands to Wings over a secure API, and the daemon manages Docker containers.

The host system stays clean. Each game process runs in an isolated container with strict limits on RAM, CPU, and disk. If a Palworld server starts consuming memory uncontrollably due to a leak, the daemon will simply constrain it within the limits or restart it, without affecting neighboring instances.

       [ Веб-интерфейс Pelican ]
          (Laravel + Filament)
                   │
         REST API / WebSockets
                   │
                   ▼
          [ Демон Wings (Go) ]
                   │
         Docker API (Socket)
         ┌─────────┴─────────┐
         ▼                   ▼
   [ Docker: MC ]     [ Docker: CS2 ]

Ready-Made Configuration Templates

In the Pelican ecosystem, launch templates are called "eggs". These are JSON manifests that define the base Docker image, environment variables, startup scripts, and game file installation rules.

The panel supports a vast library of pre-built configurations:

• SteamCMD games: Counter-Strike, Rust, ARK, 7 Days to Die, Enshrouded, Project Zomboid.
• Minecraft builds: Vanilla, Paper, Sponge, BungeeCord, Waterfall.
• Voice servers: TeamSpeak, Mumble, Lavalink instances.
• Discord bots and utility services on Python, Node.js, Java.
• Databases and monitoring: Redis, PostgreSQL, Prometheus, Grafana.

If a game isn't available in the standard repository, you can easily create a custom template. Just specify the Docker image and a script to download the binaries.

Practical Example: Launch and Isolation

In daily operations, Pelican handles the routine tasks:

1. User creation and permission assignment. You can grant a friend access only to console viewing and a restart button, hiding network settings and file editing.
2. Built-in file manager and SFTP. Users upload mods and edit configs directly from the browser or through their favorite FTP client, staying within their folder boundaries.
3. Schedules and triggers. Scheduled backups to S3 storage, cron-based restarts, and sending commands to the server console without crontab workarounds.
4. Port management. The panel tracks allocated ports and distributes them across containers without risking port conflicts.

Who This Project Is For

If you're running a dedicated server at home or renting a VPS for gaming with friends, Pelican eliminates terminal hassle. Set up a node once and deploy new games with just a few clicks.

For small game hosting providers and communities, it's a full replacement for commercial solutions. The project is released under the open-source AGPLv3 license, actively maintained, and works out of the box with modern PHP and Docker stacks.

Documentation and installation guides are available on the official website pelican.dev, and the panel source code can be explored in the project's GitHub repository.