Pelican Panel Guide for Minecraft Hosting (2026)

Pelican Panel Guide for Minecraft Hosting (2026)

Pelican Panel is the community-driven successor to Pterodactyl Panel. It provides a polished web interface for managing game servers using Docker containers. If you run multiple Minecraft servers or a hosting business, Pelican is the enterprise-grade option.

What Changed from Pterodactyl

Pterodactyl development slowed, and the community forked it as Pelican. Key improvements:

• Updated dependencies and security patches
• Better performance
• Improved API
• Active community maintenance
• Modern PHP and Laravel framework

Architecture

Pelican uses Docker for server isolation:

• Panel: Web interface (PHP/Laravel)
• Wings: Server daemon that manages Docker containers
• Database: MySQL/MariaDB for panel data
• Docker: Each game server runs in its own container

Requirements

• Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 11+
• PHP 8.1+
• MySQL 8 or MariaDB 10.3+
• Nginx or Apache
• Docker
• 2+ GB RAM for the panel

Installation

Panel

# Install dependencies
apt install php8.1 php8.1-cli php8.1-gd php8.1-mysql   php8.1-mbstring php8.1-bcmath php8.1-xml php8.1-curl   php8.1-zip mariadb-server nginx

# Download Pelican
mkdir -p /var/www/pelican
cd /var/www/pelican
curl -Lo panel.tar.gz https://github.com/pelican-dev/panel/releases/latest/download/panel.tar.gz
tar -xzvf panel.tar.gz

# Setup
composer install --no-dev
php artisan p:environment:setup
php artisan migrate --seed

Wings (on each server node)

curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/wings https://github.com/pelican-dev/wings/releases/latest/download/wings_linux_amd64
chmod u+x /usr/local/bin/wings
wings --config /etc/pelican/config.yml

Minecraft Server Eggs

Pelican uses "eggs" to define server types. Pre-built eggs exist for:

• Vanilla Minecraft
• Paper / Purpur
• Forge / NeoForge
• Fabric
• Bedrock
• BungeeCord / Velocity
• Modpacks (CurseForge, FTB)

Features for Hosting Providers

• User isolation: Each customer gets their own Docker container
• Resource limits: Set CPU, RAM, and disk per server
• Subuser management: Server owners can add collaborators
• API: Full REST API for automation
• Billing integration: Works with WHMCS and Blesta
• Server transfer: Move servers between nodes

When to Use Pelican

Pelican is overkill for a single personal server. Use it when:

• Running 5+ servers
• Offering hosting to others
• Need Docker isolation
• Want a professional web panel
• Need user management and permissions

For a single personal server, Crafty or MCSManager is simpler.

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