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The Pterodactyl Panel administration area provides comprehensive tools for managing your entire game server hosting platform. As an administrator, you have full control over users, servers, nodes, and system configuration.

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Accessing the Admin Panel

Administrators can access the admin panel by:
  1. Logging in with an account that has root_admin permissions
  2. Clicking on the admin menu in the top navigation bar
  3. Navigating directly to /admin on your Panel installation
Only users with the root_admin flag set to true can access the admin panel. This is stored in the users table.

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Admin Dashboard

The admin dashboard provides an overview of your entire Pterodactyl installation:
  • System Statistics: Total servers, users, nodes, and resource allocation
  • Recent Activity: Latest server creations and user registrations
  • Node Status: Health and resource usage across all nodes
  • Version Information: Current Panel and Wings versions

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Key Admin Sections

Users

Manage user accounts, permissions, and access levels

Servers

Create, configure, and manage game servers

Nodes

Add and configure physical/virtual nodes

Locations

Organize nodes by geographic location

Nests & Eggs

Configure game types and server configurations

Mounts

Manage shared directories across servers

Database Hosts

Configure MySQL/MariaDB database servers

Settings

System-wide configuration and settings

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User Levels

Pterodactyl has two user levels defined in the User model:
  • Regular User (USER_LEVEL_USER = 0): Standard user with access to their servers
  • Administrator (USER_LEVEL_ADMIN = 1): Full administrative access
public const USER_LEVEL_USER = 0;
public const USER_LEVEL_ADMIN = 1;

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Common Admin Tasks

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Setting Up a New Installation

1

Create a Location

Locations help organize your nodes geographically
2

Add a Node

Configure at least one node to host servers
3

Configure Allocations

Assign IP addresses and ports to the node
4

Import Nests & Eggs

Install game configuration templates
5

Create Users

Add user accounts for server owners
6

Deploy Servers

Create servers for users on your nodes

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Administrative Permissions

The admin panel operates with a simple permission model:
  • Root Admin: Full access to all admin functions
  • Regular User: No admin panel access
There is no granular permission system for administrators. Any user with root_admin = true has complete control over the Panel.

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Best Practices

  1. Limit Admin Access: Only grant root_admin to trusted individuals
  2. Use 2FA: Enable two-factor authentication for all admin accounts
  3. Regular Backups: Maintain backups of your Panel database
  4. Monitor Activity: Review the activity log regularly for unauthorized changes
  5. Update Regularly: Keep Panel and Wings updated to the latest versions

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Activity Logging

All administrative actions are logged to the activity_log table, including:
  • User creation and modification
  • Server deployment and configuration changes
  • Node updates
  • Settings modifications
You can review activity logs to track changes and troubleshoot issues.

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Next Steps

User Management

Learn how to create and manage user accounts

Node Setup

Configure your first node for hosting servers

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