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How to Install Pterodactyl Panel on Your Linux VPS

Published on July 18, 2026

Pterodactyl is an advanced open-source game server management panel that lets you create, manage, and isolate game servers in Docker containers. The platform consists of the Pterodactyl Panel and Wings. The Panel provides the management interface, while Wings runs the game servers.

You can install Pterodactyl on a VPS running Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS Stream, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CloudLinux, or Fedora.

Note Basic Linux knowledge is required for the installation. If you encounter any problems during the installation, you can ask the Pterodactyl community on Discord for support.

Installing the Pterodactyl Panel

The Pterodactyl Panel is the web interface where you manage users, nodes, and game servers.

  1. Connect via SSH to the VPS on which you want to install the Panel.
  2. Follow the official installation guide to install the required software and configure the Pterodactyl Panel.
  3. Then follow the official web server documentation to configure Apache, NGINX, or Caddy.

Installing Pterodactyl Wings

Wings runs the game servers and their associated Docker containers. You can install Wings on the same VPS as the Panel or on a separate VPS.

  1. Connect via SSH to the VPS on which you want to install Wings.
  2. Follow the official Wings installation guide to install Docker and Wings, create a node, and connect Wings to the Panel.

Alternatives to Pterodactyl

Calagopus

Calagopus was founded in 2025 as a modern open-source alternative to Pterodactyl.

The platform is written in Rust and stands out for its high performance, reliability, and user-friendly design. Its modular architecture and straightforward installation process also make Calagopus easy to install and extend.

Pelican

Pelican was founded in 2024 as a fork of Pterodactyl and a modern alternative to the project. One of the reasons for its creation was Pterodactyl’s slow development.

The game server management panel has a user-friendly interface and includes built-in support for plugins, themes, and multiple languages.

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