Panel Configuration - Pterodactyl Wings

After installing and configuring Wings, you need to create and configure the node in your Pterodactyl Panel. This guide covers the complete process of setting up Wings in the Panel.

Prerequisites

Before configuring Wings in the Panel:

Panel Installed

Ensure Pterodactyl Panel is installed and running

Wings Installed

Wings must be installed on the target server

Admin Access

You need administrator access to the Panel

Network Connectivity

Panel must be able to reach Wings on port 8080 (or configured port)

Creating a Node

A node represents a Wings instance in the Panel.

Step 1: Access Admin Panel

Log in to your Pterodactyl Panel
Navigate to the Admin Control Panel
Go to Nodes in the sidebar
Click Create New

Step 2: Basic Configuration

Fill in the basic node information:

Name

string

required

Descriptive name for the node (e.g., “US-East-1”, “EU-Node-01”)

Description

string

Optional description for internal use

Location

select

required

Select or create a location for this node

FQDN

string

required

Fully qualified domain name or IP address of the Wings serverExamples:

node1.example.com
192.168.1.100
wings.pterodactyl.example.com

The FQDN must be accessible from both the Panel and end users. Use a domain name for production deployments.

Communicate Over SSL

boolean

Enable if Wings is configured with SSL/TLS

Behind Proxy

boolean

Enable if Wings is behind a reverse proxy

Step 3: Configuration Settings

Configure resource limits and paths:

System Settings

Total Memory

integer

required

Total RAM allocated to this node in MB

This should be less than total system memory to account for OS overhead

Memory Over-Allocation

integer

default:"0"

Percentage of additional memory to allow allocationExample: 20% allows allocating 120% of total memory

Total Disk Space

integer

required

Total disk space allocated in MB

Disk Over-Allocation

integer

default:"0"

Percentage of additional disk to allow allocation

Daemon Configuration

Daemon Port

integer

default:"8080"

Wings API port (must match api.port in Wings config)

Daemon SFTP Port

integer

default:"2022"

Wings SFTP port (must match system.sftp.bind_port in Wings config)

Step 4: Save Node

Click Create Node to save the configuration.

Obtaining Configuration

After creating the node, you need to configure Wings with the Panel.

Method 1: Auto-Configuration (Recommended)

Use the Wings auto-configure command:

Generate API Token

In the Panel, go to Account Settings → API Credentials
Click Create New
Description: “Wings Configuration”
Select permissions:
- ✓ Nodes → Read
- ✓ Nodes → Create
Copy the generated API token

Run Configure Command

On the Wings server, run:

sudo wings configure --panel-url https://panel.example.com \
  --token YOUR_API_TOKEN \
  --node NODE_ID

The Node ID is shown in the Panel’s node list

Verify Configuration

Check that the config was created:

sudo cat /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

Method 2: Manual Configuration

Alternatively, copy configuration from the Panel:

View Configuration

In the Panel, open your node
Go to the Configuration tab
Copy the YAML configuration shown

Create Config File

On the Wings server:

sudo nano /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

Paste the configuration from the Panel

Set Permissions

sudo chmod 600 /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml
sudo chown root:root /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

Setting Up Allocations

Allocations are IP:Port combinations assigned to servers.

Creating Allocations

Navigate to Node

In the Panel, open your node and go to the Allocation tab

Add Allocation

Click Create Allocation

Configure Allocation

IP Address

string

required

Server’s IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100 or 0.0.0.0 for all interfaces)

IP Alias

string

Friendly name for the IP (optional)

Ports

string

required

Port or port range to createExamples:

Single port: 25565
Port range: 25565-25665
Multiple ports: 25565,25566,25567

Save Allocation

Click Submit to create the allocation(s)

Bulk Allocation Creation

For large deployments, create multiple allocations at once:

IP Address: 192.168.1.100
Ports: 25565-26565

This creates 1,001 allocations (25565 through 26565).

Ensure your firewall allows these ports! See Network Requirements.

Starting Wings

With configuration complete, start Wings:

First-Time Start

# Start Wings manually to check for errors
sudo wings --debug

Watch the output for any errors. You should see:

[INFO] configured wings with system timezone: UTC
[INFO] configured system user successfully
[INFO] configuring internal webserver
[INFO] webserver is now listening

Enable Systemd Service

Once verified, enable the systemd service:

# Stop the manual instance (Ctrl+C)

# Enable and start the service
sudo systemctl enable --now wings

# Check status
sudo systemctl status wings

Verifying Connectivity

Ensure the Panel can communicate with Wings:

Check Node Status

In the Panel:

Go to Admin → Nodes
Your node should show a green heart icon indicating it’s online
Click the node to view details

Test API Connection

From the Panel server, test the Wings API:

curl -k https://node.example.com:8080/api/system

You should receive a JSON response with system information.

Check Wings Logs

Monitor Wings logs for connection attempts:

# View real-time logs
sudo journalctl -u wings -f

# View recent logs
sudo journalctl -u wings -n 100

# View Wings log file
sudo tail -f /var/log/pterodactyl/wings.log

Authentication Tokens

Wings uses token-based authentication with the Panel.

Token Configuration

Tokens are configured in two places:

Panel: Node configuration stores the token ID and token
Wings: Configuration file references these tokens (see config/config.go:324)

/etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

token_id: 'abc123def456'
token: 'very-long-secure-token-string'

Rotating Tokens

To change authentication tokens:

Regenerate in Panel

In the Panel, go to your node’s Configuration tab
Click Generate Token
Copy the new configuration

Update Wings Config

Update /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml with new tokens

Restart Wings

sudo systemctl restart wings

Secure Token Storage

For production environments, use systemd credentials:

/etc/systemd/system/wings.service

[Service]
LoadCredential=token_id:/etc/pterodactyl/credentials/token_id
LoadCredential=token:/etc/pterodactyl/credentials/token

/etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

token_id: 'file://${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/token_id'
token: 'file://${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/token'

See config/config.go:844 for credential expansion implementation.

SSL/TLS Configuration

Secure communication between Panel and Wings:

Using Let’s Encrypt (Auto-TLS)

Wings includes built-in Let’s Encrypt support:

sudo wings --auto-tls --tls-hostname node.example.com

Update systemd service:

/etc/systemd/system/wings.service

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/wings --auto-tls --tls-hostname node.example.com

Auto-TLS requires port 80 to be accessible for ACME challenges (see cmd/root.go:353).

Using Custom Certificates

Configure SSL in Wings config:

/etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

api:
  ssl:
    enabled: true
    cert: /etc/letsencrypt/live/node.example.com/fullchain.pem
    key: /etc/letsencrypt/live/node.example.com/privkey.pem

Enable SSL in Panel node settings:

Edit node in Panel
Enable Communicate Over SSL
Update FQDN to use https:// if needed

Advanced Configuration

Reverse Proxy Setup

If Wings is behind a reverse proxy (Nginx, Apache, Cloudflare):

Panel: Enable Behind Proxy in node settings
Wings: Configure trusted proxies

/etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

api:
  trusted_proxies:
    - 127.0.0.1
    - 10.0.0.0/8
allow_cors_private_network: false

Multiple Nodes

For multi-node setups:

Create Each Node

Repeat the node creation process for each Wings server

Configure Unique Allocations

Each node should have its own IP allocations

Load Balancing

The Panel automatically distributes servers across nodes based on available resources

Troubleshooting

Node Shows Offline

Check Wings status:

sudo systemctl status wings
sudo journalctl -u wings -n 50

Verify Panel can reach Wings:

# From Panel server
curl https://node.example.com:8080/api/system

Authentication Failures

Verify tokens match:

# Check Wings config
sudo grep -E "token" /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

Regenerate tokens in Panel and update Wings config.

SSL/TLS Errors

Check certificate validity:

# Test SSL connection
openssl s_client -connect node.example.com:8080

Ensure Panel has “Communicate Over SSL” enabled if Wings uses SSL.

Port Already in Use

Check for port conflicts:

sudo ss -tulpn | grep -E ':(8080|2022)'

Change ports in both Wings config and Panel node settings.

Allocation Issues

Verify allocations exist:

# Check Wings network
sudo docker network inspect pterodactyl_nw

Ensure firewall allows allocation ports.

Testing Server Creation

Verify everything works by creating a test server:

Create Server

In the Panel, go to Servers → Create New
Select your node
Choose an allocation
Configure and create the server

Monitor Wings Logs

sudo journalctl -u wings -f

Watch for:

Container creation
Image pulling
Server startup

Verify Server Starts

The server should start successfully in the Panel console

Next Steps

Managing Servers

Learn how to manage servers through Wings

Backups & Transfers

Configure backup and transfer systems

Monitoring

Set up monitoring and alerting

Upgrading Wings

Keep Wings up to date

Configuration Summary

Key configuration points:

Panel node FQDN must match Wings server address
Ports in Panel must match Wings configuration
Tokens must be identical in Panel and Wings config
Allocations must be created before assigning servers
SSL settings must match between Panel and Wings
Firewall must allow all configured ports

Overview

Installation

Core Concepts

Configuration

Operations

Security

Troubleshooting

​Prerequisites

​Creating a Node

​Step 1: Access Admin Panel

​Step 2: Basic Configuration

​Step 3: Configuration Settings

​System Settings

​Daemon Configuration

​Step 4: Save Node

​Obtaining Configuration

​Method 1: Auto-Configuration (Recommended)

​Method 2: Manual Configuration

​Setting Up Allocations

​Creating Allocations

​Bulk Allocation Creation

​Starting Wings

​First-Time Start

​Enable Systemd Service

​Verifying Connectivity

​Check Node Status

​Test API Connection

​Check Wings Logs

​Authentication Tokens

​Token Configuration

​Rotating Tokens

​Secure Token Storage

​SSL/TLS Configuration

​Using Let’s Encrypt (Auto-TLS)

​Using Custom Certificates

​Advanced Configuration

​Reverse Proxy Setup

​Multiple Nodes

​Troubleshooting

​Testing Server Creation

​Next Steps

Managing Servers

Backups & Transfers

Monitoring

Upgrading Wings

​Configuration Summary

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Prerequisites

Creating a Node

Step 1: Access Admin Panel

Step 2: Basic Configuration

Step 3: Configuration Settings

System Settings

Daemon Configuration

Step 4: Save Node

Obtaining Configuration

Method 1: Auto-Configuration (Recommended)

Method 2: Manual Configuration

Setting Up Allocations

Creating Allocations

Bulk Allocation Creation

Starting Wings

First-Time Start

Enable Systemd Service

Verifying Connectivity

Check Node Status

Test API Connection

Check Wings Logs

Authentication Tokens

Token Configuration

Rotating Tokens

Secure Token Storage

SSL/TLS Configuration

Using Let’s Encrypt (Auto-TLS)

Using Custom Certificates

Advanced Configuration

Reverse Proxy Setup

Multiple Nodes

Troubleshooting

Testing Server Creation

Next Steps

Configuration Summary