Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most asked questions and our answers.
Last Updated: 2026-09-29
Yes, Pelican 1.0 is out! Head over to the Install docs and try out Pelican yourself.
- Panel
- Wings
- Licensing
- Project
- Plugins
What makes Pelican different to Pterodactyl?
We have a dedicated Comparison page where you can see differences and planned features.
Will my Eggs still be compatible?
Yes! We have a newer version of them planned, but the original ones will always work.
How can I migrate to Pelican?
Follow our Migrating from Pterodactyl guide. Pelican upgrades your existing Pterodactyl database in place, so your users, servers and nodes carry over.
Are automatic updates planned?
Yes. And easier manual updates too.
Can I use the original API?
Yes, it'll be backwards compatible. Any new changes for the API will be put in a new and separated version.
Where can I submit bugs and pull requests?
They can be posted on our Github!
Will Blueprint extensions work on Pelican?
No, Blueprint extensions will not work with Pelican.
Will WHMCS and other billing solutions still work?
To our knowledge, almost all of these solutions use the Panel's API to function. We will be supporting the same API, so everything should work the same.
Are automatic updates planned?
Yes!
Where can I submit bugs and pull requests?
They can be posted on our Github!
Will Wings support plugins?
Currently it's not planned. But new features are being built into Wings and are on the way!
Will the original Wings still be compatible with Pelican?
Yes, the original latest version of Wings will remain compatible with Pelican. We are working on adding new features and improvements to Wings that will greatly improve your experience.
Will Podman / Kubernetes be supported?
Yes, we plan on supporting them in the future.
We forked from Pterodactyl and made the decision to relicense the Panel from the original MIT license to the AGPLv3 license.
The AGPL license is what is known as a copyleft type license. It requires that any modifications to a public panel must be open sourced under the same license. Private panels do not have that restriction!
Plugins do not fall under the new license because they do not modify the panel source code. See the plugin FAQ for more information.
The license change does only affect you if you meet all of the following requirements:
- You modified the Pelican panel source files.
- These modifications are not open source.
- Your modified panel is publicly available. (Note: People who are family, friends, and acquaintances are not the public)
If you meet all of the above requirements you need a commercial license.
Please note that the usage or development of plugins/themes does not require a commercial license.
Where can I submit feature requests and discuss new ideas?
They can be posted on our Github Discussions
Are there any hostilities with the previous project?
Not at all. We also gave the previous team 2 months of advance notice.
Why move away to make your own project?
Difference of visions, directions, and opinions.
Couldn't these changes be part of Pterodactyl?
If they could, they would. But they can't, so they shan't.
What will happen with Pterodactyl? Is it EOL now?
We can't say that. That's up to the Maintainer of Pterodactyl. Pelican and Pterodactyl are separate projects.
When will the plugin system be available?
The plugin system was released with beta30!
Will pterodactyl addons work with the new system?
No. Pterodactyl "addons" are just code modifications. Our codebase now greatly differs from pterodactyls. Pelicans plugin system will be a "real" plugin system where plugins don't touch any core files.
Will blueprint plugins work with the new system?
No. And the creator of blueprint won't port blueprint to also support pelican:
[I] do not have the capacity to work on multiple Pterodactyl forks [and I] do not believe making an extension framework for a platform promising it's own addon system is worth our time.
Do I need the commercial license to use or develop plugins?
No. Pelicans plugin system will be a "real" plugin system where plugins don't touch any core files.
Do I need to license my plugins under the same license as pelican?
No. You can do whatever you want with your plugins, it's your code.
What can plugins do?
Pretty much anything you want! They can add new pages, change existing ones (to some extent), add new languages, change the theme (color/ font/ css) and more.
The first iteration will have some limitations but we will continuously improve the capabilities of plugins.
How are plugins installed?
You can find information on that here.
How do you create plugins?
You can find detailed information on that here.
Are the plugins from the sneak peaks available?
Yes! Everything that was shown as little sneak peaks (+ more!) is available as plugin, for free and open source.
You can find the official plugin repo here.