> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/pterodactyl/panel/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# System Requirements

> Hardware and software requirements for running Pterodactyl Panel

# System Requirements

Before installing Pterodactyl Panel, ensure your server meets the minimum requirements for both the Panel and Wings daemon. This guide covers all necessary dependencies and recommended configurations.

## Panel Requirements

The Panel is the web interface and management system. It can be installed on a separate server from your game servers.

### Operating System

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Supported" icon="check">
    * Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, 24.04
    * Debian 11, 12
    * CentOS 8, 9 Stream
    * Rocky Linux 8, 9
    * AlmaLinux 8, 9
  </Card>

  <Card title="Not Supported" icon="xmark">
    * Windows Server
    * Shared hosting
    * OpenVZ/LXC containers (without Docker support)
    * 32-bit operating systems
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Warning>
  Pterodactyl **does not** run on Windows. You must use a Linux-based operating system.
</Warning>

### PHP Requirements

Pterodactyl requires **PHP 8.2 or PHP 8.3**. Older versions are not supported.

#### Required PHP Extensions

The following PHP extensions are required:

* `cli`
* `openssl`
* `gd`
* `mysql` (or `pdo_mysql`)
* `pdo`
* `mbstring`
* `tokenizer`
* `bcmath`
* `xml` or `dom`
* `curl`
* `zip`
* `fpm` (if using NGINX)
* `json`
* `posix`

<Note>
  Most Linux distributions include these extensions by default when installing PHP from official repositories.
</Note>

#### Installing PHP 8.2

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Ubuntu/Debian theme={null}
  # Add PHP repository
  apt -y install software-properties-common curl apt-transport-https ca-certificates gnupg
  LC_ALL=C.UTF-8 add-apt-repository -y ppa:ondrej/php
  apt update

  # Install PHP 8.2 and required extensions
  apt -y install php8.2 php8.2-{common,cli,gd,mysql,mbstring,bcmath,xml,fpm,curl,zip}
  ```

  ```bash CentOS/RHEL/Rocky/Alma theme={null}
  # Add REMI repository
  dnf install -y dnf-utils http://rpms.remirepo.net/enterprise/remi-release-$(rpm -E %rhel).rpm
  dnf module reset php -y
  dnf module enable php:remi-8.2 -y

  # Install PHP 8.2 and required extensions
  dnf install -y php php-{common,fpm,cli,json,mysqlnd,mcrypt,gd,mbstring,pdo,zip,bcmath,dom,opcache,posix}
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Database Requirements

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="MySQL">
    **Minimum Version**: MySQL 5.7.22 or higher

    **Recommended**: MySQL 8.0+

    MySQL is the recommended database for Pterodactyl.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="MariaDB">
    **Minimum Version**: MariaDB 10.2 or higher

    **Recommended**: MariaDB 10.6+

    MariaDB is fully supported and often preferred for its performance.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Warning>
  Do **not** use the `root` MySQL user for the Panel. Create a dedicated database user with appropriate permissions.
</Warning>

### Web Server Requirements

You need a web server to serve the Panel. Both NGINX and Apache are supported.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="NGINX (Recommended)">
    * NGINX 1.18 or newer
    * PHP-FPM configured and running
    * Support for URL rewrites
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Apache">
    * Apache 2.4 or newer
    * `mod_rewrite` enabled
    * `.htaccess` support enabled
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Additional Software

#### Composer

**Required Version**: Composer 2.x

Composer is required to install PHP dependencies.

```bash theme={null}
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer
```

#### Redis

**Recommended Version**: Redis 6.x or newer

Redis is used for caching and queue management.

```bash Ubuntu/Debian theme={null}
apt install -y redis-server
systemctl enable --now redis-server
```

<Note>
  While Redis is optional, it is **highly recommended** for production environments to improve performance.
</Note>

### SSL Certificate

<Tip>
  Always use HTTPS in production. Let's Encrypt provides free SSL certificates.
</Tip>

* SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt recommended)
* Valid domain name pointing to your server
* Port 80 and 443 accessible

## Wings Requirements

Wings is the server control daemon that manages Docker containers. It must be installed on every machine where you want to run game servers.

### Operating System

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Supported" icon="check">
    * Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04, 24.04
    * Debian 11, 12
    * CentOS 8, 9 Stream
    * Rocky Linux 8, 9
    * AlmaLinux 8, 9
  </Card>

  <Card title="Required Kernel" icon="linux">
    * Linux Kernel 5.10 or newer
    * Kernel headers installed
    * Docker support enabled
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Warning>
  Wings **requires** Docker and will **not** work on OpenVZ or other container systems that don't support Docker.
</Warning>

### Docker Requirements

**Required Version**: Docker 20.10.0 or newer (Docker 24+ recommended)

Docker is the container runtime used to isolate game servers.

#### Installing Docker

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash Ubuntu/Debian theme={null}
  curl -sSL https://get.docker.com/ | CHANNEL=stable bash
  systemctl enable --now docker
  ```

  ```bash CentOS/RHEL/Rocky/Alma theme={null}
  curl -sSL https://get.docker.com/ | CHANNEL=stable bash
  systemctl enable --now docker
  ```
</CodeGroup>

#### Docker Configuration

* Docker daemon running on startup
* User permissions configured (if needed)
* Storage driver: `overlay2` (recommended)
* IPv4 forwarding enabled in kernel

### Firewall Configuration

<Steps>
  <Step title="Allow Panel Communication">
    Wings communicates with the Panel on port **8080** (configurable)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Allow SFTP Access">
    SFTP server runs on port **2022** by default
  </Step>

  <Step title="Allow Game Server Ports">
    Open the port range allocated for game servers (e.g., 25565-25665)
  </Step>
</Steps>

#### Example Firewall Rules (UFW)

```bash theme={null}
# Allow SSH
ufw allow 22/tcp

# Allow Wings communication with Panel
ufw allow 8080/tcp

# Allow SFTP
ufw allow 2022/tcp

# Allow game server ports (example range)
ufw allow 25565:25665/tcp
ufw allow 25565:25665/udp

# Enable firewall
ufw enable
```

### Network Requirements

* Static IP address or dynamic DNS
* Adequate bandwidth for game servers
* Low latency connection to Panel (if separate servers)
* No NAT restrictions for allocated ports
* Reverse DNS (rDNS) recommended but not required

## Hardware Requirements

### Panel Hardware

The Panel has minimal resource requirements:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="CPU" icon="microchip">
    **Minimum**: 1 core

    **Recommended**: 2+ cores
  </Card>

  <Card title="RAM" icon="memory">
    **Minimum**: 1 GB

    **Recommended**: 2 GB+
  </Card>

  <Card title="Storage" icon="hard-drive">
    **Minimum**: 5 GB

    **Recommended**: 10 GB+
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Note>
  Panel resource usage scales with the number of users and servers. Large installations may require more resources.
</Note>

### Wings Hardware

Wings resource requirements depend entirely on the game servers you run:

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="CPU" icon="microchip">
    **Minimum**: 2 cores

    **Recommended**: 4+ cores

    Varies by game server load
  </Card>

  <Card title="RAM" icon="memory">
    **Minimum**: 2 GB + game server needs

    **Recommended**: 4 GB + game server allocation
  </Card>

  <Card title="Storage" icon="hard-drive">
    **Minimum**: 20 GB

    **Recommended**: 50 GB+ SSD

    Depends on number and size of servers
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Tip>
  **Storage Recommendation**: Use SSD storage for Wings nodes to improve game server performance, especially for I/O-intensive games like Minecraft.
</Tip>

### Example Configurations

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Small (1-5 servers)">
    * **CPU**: 2-4 cores
    * **RAM**: 4-8 GB
    * **Storage**: 50 GB SSD
    * **Network**: 100 Mbps

    Suitable for personal use or small communities.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Medium (5-20 servers)">
    * **CPU**: 4-8 cores
    * **RAM**: 16-32 GB
    * **Storage**: 100-250 GB SSD
    * **Network**: 1 Gbps

    Good for small hosting businesses or large communities.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Large (20+ servers)">
    * **CPU**: 8+ cores (or multiple nodes)
    * **RAM**: 32+ GB per node
    * **Storage**: 250+ GB SSD per node
    * **Network**: 1+ Gbps per node

    Enterprise-grade hosting with multiple Wings nodes.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Recommended Setup

### Production Environment

<Steps>
  <Step title="Separate Panel and Wings">
    Run the Panel on one server and Wings on separate game server nodes
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use Redis">
    Install Redis for caching and queue performance
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable SSL">
    Use Let's Encrypt for free SSL certificates
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Backups">
    Set up S3 or local backup storage
  </Step>

  <Step title="Monitor Resources">
    Use monitoring tools to track server health
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Development Environment

For local development and testing:

* **Node.js**: v22 or newer (for asset building)
* **Yarn**: v1.x.x (package manager)
* **Go**: 1.17.x or newer (for Wings development)

<Note>
  Development requirements are only needed if you plan to modify the Panel's React frontend or Wings daemon. Pre-built releases include compiled assets.
</Note>

## Compatibility Notes

### Cloud Providers

Pterodactyl works on all major cloud providers:

* AWS (EC2)
* Google Cloud Platform (GCE)
* Microsoft Azure
* DigitalOcean
* Vultr
* Linode/Akamai
* OVH
* Hetzner

<Warning>
  **Oracle Cloud Free Tier**: Some users report issues with Docker on Oracle Cloud's ARM instances. Use x86\_64 instances for best compatibility.
</Warning>

### Virtualization

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Supported">
    * KVM
    * VMware
    * Xen HVM
    * Hyper-V
    * Proxmox (KVM-based)
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Not Supported">
    * OpenVZ
    * LXC (without Docker support)
    * Virtuozzo
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### IPv6 Support

Pterodactyl fully supports IPv6:

* IPv6 allocations for game servers
* Dual-stack (IPv4 + IPv6) configurations
* IPv6-only setups (with proper configuration)

## Quick Checklist

Before proceeding to installation, verify:

* [ ] Linux server with kernel 5.10+
* [ ] PHP 8.2 or 8.3 with required extensions
* [ ] MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+
* [ ] Web server (NGINX or Apache)
* [ ] Composer 2.x installed
* [ ] Redis installed and running
* [ ] Docker installed (for Wings)
* [ ] Domain name with DNS configured
* [ ] Firewall rules configured
* [ ] Adequate CPU, RAM, and storage

## Next Steps

<Card title="Installation Guide" icon="download" href="/installation">
  Ready to install? Follow our comprehensive installation guide to get Pterodactyl up and running.
</Card>