Creating Your First Server

Once XyraPanel is installed and configured, you can create your first game server. This guide walks through the complete process from setting up Wings nodes to launching your first server.

Before creating servers, you must have at least one Wings node installed and configured. Wings is the daemon that manages game servers.

Prerequisites

Verify Panel is Running

Confirm your panel is accessible:

pm2 status xyrapanel
# Should show "online" status

Access the panel at your configured URL and login with admin credentials.

Install Wings Daemon

Wings must be installed on a server (can be the same server as the panel or a separate node).See the Wings Installation Guide for detailed instructions.

Wings handles Docker container management, resource allocation, and server monitoring.

Step 1: Add a Wings Node

Navigate to Node Management

Login to your XyraPanel admin account
Go to Admin → Nodes
Click Create Node

Configure Node Details

Fill in the node configuration:Basic Information:

Name: node-01 (or any descriptive name)
Description: Primary game server node
FQDN: node1.yourdomain.com (or server IP)
Scheme: https (use http for testing without SSL)
Behind Proxy: Check if using Cloudflare or reverse proxy

Connection:

Daemon Port: 8080 (default Wings port)
SFTP Port: 2022 (default Wings SFTP port)

Resource Limits:

Memory: Total RAM available for servers (e.g., 8192 MB)
Disk: Total disk space for servers (e.g., 102400 MB)
Memory Over-allocate: 0 (percentage to allow over 100%)
Disk Over-allocate: 0

FQDN must be resolvable and accessible from the panel. Use IP address if DNS is not configured.

Create and Configure Wings

After creating the node:

Click on your newly created node
Navigate to the Configuration tab
Copy the Wings configuration YAML
On your Wings server, save it to /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml

# On Wings server
sudo mkdir -p /etc/pterodactyl
sudo nano /etc/pterodactyl/config.yml
# Paste the configuration

Start Wings:

sudo systemctl start wings
sudo systemctl enable wings

Verify Wings is running:

sudo systemctl status wings

Add Allocations

Allocations are IP:Port combinations that servers bind to.

In the node details, go to Allocations
Click Create Allocations
Configure:
- IP Address: Server’s public IP or 0.0.0.0
- Port Range: 25565-25575 (for Minecraft, adjust per game)
Click Create

Each server needs at least one allocation. Create enough for all planned servers.

Step 2: Create a Server

Navigate to Server Creation

Go to Admin → Servers
Click Create Server

Configure Server Details

General Information:

Server Name: My Minecraft Server
Description: Vanilla Minecraft server for friends
Owner: Select the user who will own this server

If you don’t have additional users yet, select your admin account as the owner.

Select Node and Allocation

Deployment:

Node: Select the Wings node you created
Primary Allocation: Choose an available IP:Port from the dropdown

Only unassigned allocations from the selected node will appear in the dropdown.

Configure Resources

Resource Limits:Set resource limits for this server:

Memory: 2048 MB (2GB for Minecraft)
Swap: 0 MB (recommended)
Disk Space: 10240 MB (10GB)
CPU Limit: 100 % (100% = 1 core, 200% = 2 cores)
CPU Threads: Leave empty for all threads, or specify (e.g., 0-3)

Feature Limits:

Databases: 2 (MySQL databases this server can create)
Allocations: 5 (additional IP:Port assignments)
Backups: 3 (number of backups allowed)

Ensure total allocated resources don’t exceed your node’s available resources.

Select Nest and Egg

Server Configuration:

Nest: Minecraft (game type category)
Egg: Vanilla Minecraft (or Paper, Forge, etc.)

Nests are game categories (Minecraft, Source Engine, etc.). Eggs are specific server types within a nest.

Configure Startup Command

The startup command and Docker image are pre-filled from the egg.Startup Command Example (Minecraft):

java -Xms128M -Xmx{{SERVER_MEMORY}}M -jar {{SERVER_JARFILE}}

Docker Image:

ghcr.io/pterodactyl/yolks:java_17

Don’t modify these unless you know what you’re doing. The default values work for most cases.

Configure Environment Variables

Set game-specific variables:Minecraft Example:

Server Jar File: server.jar
Minecraft Version: latest or 1.20.4
Build Number: latest

These variables vary by egg. Fill in the required values shown in the form.

Additional Options

Advanced Settings:

Start Server After Install: ✅ Check to auto-start (recommended)
Skip Egg Install Script: ⬜ Leave unchecked for first install
OOM Disabled: ✅ Prevent Linux from killing the container on memory limit

Skipping install scripts will create a server without downloading game files. Only use for troubleshooting.

Create Server

Click Create ServerThe panel will:

Create the server in the database
Assign the allocation
Send provisioning request to Wings
Wings will pull the Docker image
Run the egg install script
Start the server (if enabled)

This process takes 2-10 minutes depending on the game and server speed.

Step 3: Monitor Installation

View Server in User Panel

Switch from Admin panel to User panel
Click on your newly created server
You’ll see the server dashboard

Watch Installation Console

The console will show real-time installation progress:

[Pterodactyl Daemon] Pulling Docker image...
[Pterodactyl Daemon] Image pulled successfully
[Pterodactyl Daemon] Running installation script...
[Installer] Downloading server.jar...
[Installer] Installation complete!
[Pterodactyl Daemon] Server container started
[Server] Starting Minecraft server...
[Server] Done! Server is running on *:25565

Installation logs vary by game type. Wait for the “Installation complete” message.

Check Server Status

Once installation completes:

Status: Should show “Online” or “Running”
Resource Usage: CPU, RAM, and network stats will appear
Console: Live server logs and command input

If the server shows “Offline” after installation, click the Start button in the power controls.

Step 4: Connect to Your Server

Get Connection Details

In the server dashboard:

Server Address: node1.yourdomain.com:25565 (shown in the allocation section)
Copy the IP:Port to connect

Connect from Game Client

Minecraft Example:

Open Minecraft
Click Multiplayer → Add Server
Server Address: your-node-ip:25565
Click Done and join

Configure Server Settings

Use the console to send commands:

# Minecraft example commands
op YourUsername
difficulty hard
gamerule keepInventory true

Or edit configuration files directly using the Files tab.

Common Server Management Tasks

Power Controls

Start

Starts a stopped server

Stop

Gracefully stops the server (sends stop command)

Restart

Stops then starts the server

Kill

Force kills the server process (use if unresponsive)

File Management

Access Files Tab

Click Files in the server navigation

Edit Configuration Files

Common Files:

server.properties - Minecraft settings
config/ - Plugin/mod configurations
world/ - World save data

Click any file to edit in the built-in editor.

Upload Files

Use the Upload button to add:

Custom maps
Plugins/mods
Configuration files

Maximum upload size: 20MB (configurable in .env)

Create Backups

Go to Backups tab → Create BackupBackups include:

All server files
World data
Configuration

Backups count toward your disk quota. Delete old backups regularly.

Creating Databases

Navigate to Databases Tab

Click Databases in the server menu

Create Database

Click Create Database
Database Name: minecraft_db
Remote: % (allow connections from anywhere)
Click Create

View Credentials

The database credentials will be displayed:

Hostname: database-host.com
Port: 3306
Database: s1_minecraft_db
Username: u1_xxxxxx
Password: [click to reveal]

Use these in your plugin configurations.

Scheduling Tasks

Go to Schedules Tab

Click Schedules in the server navigation

Create Schedule

Click Create Schedule
Schedule Name: Daily Restart
Cron Expression: 0 4 * * * (4 AM daily)
Click Create

Add Tasks

Click on your schedule
Click New Task
Action: Send Power Action
Payload: restart
Time Offset: 0 seconds
Click Create

You can chain multiple tasks (e.g., send warning → wait 60s → restart).

Troubleshooting

Server stuck in 'Installing' status

Possible causes:

Wings daemon not running
Docker image pull failed
Network connectivity issues

Solutions:

Check Wings status on the node:

sudo systemctl status wings
sudo journalctl -u wings -f

Check Docker on Wings server:
```
sudo docker ps
sudo docker images
```

Manually pull the Docker image:

sudo docker pull ghcr.io/pterodactyl/yolks:java_17

Reinstall the server from the panel

Cannot connect to server

Checklist:

✅ Server status shows “Online”
✅ Firewall allows the port (e.g., 25565)
✅ Allocation IP:Port is correct
✅ Server actually finished starting (check console)

Test connectivity:

# From Wings server
sudo ufw status
sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp

# Test port is open
nc -zv node-ip 25565

Server crashes on start

Common causes:

Insufficient memory allocation
Corrupt world data
Incompatible plugins/mods

Solutions:

Check console for error messages
Increase memory limit in Admin → Servers → Edit
Restore from backup
Remove plugins one-by-one to identify issues

Out of disk space

Check disk usage:

# On Wings server
df -h /var/lib/pterodactyl/volumes

Solutions:

Delete old backups
Clean up log files
Increase disk limit on the node
Add more physical disk space

Next Steps

User Management

Create users and assign servers

Nests & Eggs

Configure game server types

Advanced Node Config

Optimize Wings performance

Backup Management

Set up automatic backups

Additional Resources

Server Permissions - Configure user access levels
SFTP Access - Use FTP clients to manage files
API Documentation - Automate server management
Discord Community - Get help from the community

Overview

Getting Started

Server Management

Administration

Configuration

CLI

Advanced

Creating Your First Server

Prerequisites

Step 1: Add a Wings Node

Step 2: Create a Server

Step 3: Monitor Installation

Step 4: Connect to Your Server

Common Server Management Tasks

Power Controls

Start

Stop

Restart

Kill

File Management

Creating Databases

Scheduling Tasks

Troubleshooting

Next Steps

User Management

Nests & Eggs

Advanced Node Config

Backup Management

Additional Resources

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Getting Started

Server Management

Administration

Configuration

CLI

Advanced

Documentation Index

​Prerequisites

​Step 1: Add a Wings Node

​Step 2: Create a Server

​Step 3: Monitor Installation

​Step 4: Connect to Your Server

​Common Server Management Tasks

​Power Controls

Start

Stop

Restart

Kill

​File Management

​Creating Databases

​Scheduling Tasks

​Troubleshooting

​Next Steps

User Management

Nests & Eggs

Advanced Node Config

Backup Management

​Additional Resources

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Prerequisites

Step 1: Add a Wings Node

Step 2: Create a Server

Step 3: Monitor Installation

Step 4: Connect to Your Server

Common Server Management Tasks

Power Controls

File Management

Creating Databases

Scheduling Tasks

Troubleshooting

Next Steps

Additional Resources