Terminology

This guide outlines the core terminology used within the FeatherPanel and Pterodactyl ecosystem. Understanding these terms is essential for managing your game servers effectively.

Core Components

Panel

The Panel is the central interface (dashboard) where you manage users, nodes, and servers. It is the web-based "front-end" that administrators and clients interact with.

Node

A Node represents a physical or virtual machine that runs the game servers. The Panel connects to Nodes to create, control, and delete servers.

Wings

Wings is the server control plane software (written in Go) that runs on each Node. It interfaces with Docker and the Panel to provide secure, remote management of game servers.

Server

A Server refers to a specific game server instance (e.g., a Minecraft server) managed by the Panel. Servers run on Nodes inside isolated containers.

Infrastructure & Virtualization

Docker

Docker is the platform used to containerize applications. It separates the game server software from the underlying infrastructure, ensuring consistency and security.

Docker Image

A Docker Image is a lightweight, standalone, executable package that includes everything needed to run a piece of software, including the code, runtime, system tools, libraries, and settings.

Container

A Container is a running instance of a Docker Image. Each game server runs in its own isolated container, which enforces resource limits (CPU, RAM) and prevents interference with other servers on the Node.

Egg System

Nest / Relams

A Nest is a category used to group related Eggs. For example, a "Minecraft" Nest/Relam might contain Eggs for different server types like Spigot, Paper, or BungeeCord.

Egg / Spell

An **Egg / Spell ** is a configuration file that defines how a specific game server should be installed, managed, and run within Docker. It acts as a blueprint for creating servers.

Yolks

Yolks refers to a curated collection of core Docker images maintained by the Pterodactyl community, designed specifically for compatibility with the Egg system.

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Visualizations

Hierarchy Overview

This diagram illustrates the relationship between the Panel, Nodes, and Servers. One Panel manages multiple Nodes, and each Node hosts multiple Servers.

System Architecture

A detailed look at how the Panel Machine communicates with a Node Machine.