Docs / Connecting a Pterodactyl server

Connecting a Pterodactyl server

Already running a Minecraft server somewhere else? If that host runs a Pterodactyl panel, you can connect it to Orca and manage it alongside the servers you create here. You paste the panel URL and an API key, Orca checks the key against the live panel, and the server gets imported into your dashboard.

This is the one way to bring an outside server into Orca right now. There is no raw SFTP or RCON connection to a non-Orca host yet, so a generic game host without a Pterodactyl panel cannot be connected. If your server already lives on a Pterodactyl panel, the steps below get it in.

What you need

Two things from your Pterodactyl host: the panel URL and an API key. The key comes from your account on that panel, not from Orca.

  • The panel URL, the same web address you sign in to on your host.
  • A Pterodactyl API key tied to your account on that panel.
  • Access to the server you want to import on that panel.

How the connection works

When you submit the panel URL and key, Orca validates the key against the live panel before saving anything. If the key is wrong, expired, or the panel is unreachable, the connection fails and nothing is imported, so you can fix it and try again.

Once the key checks out, Orca imports the server into your dashboard. The API key is encrypted at rest, so your panel credential is stored protected on Orca's side.

  • Paste the panel URL and your API key.
  • Orca validates the key against the live panel.
  • On success, the server is imported into your dashboard.
  • The key is encrypted at rest.

What is not supported yet

Pterodactyl is the only external-host connection that is live today. Be clear-eyed about what that excludes:

  • No raw SFTP connection to a non-Orca host.
  • No RCON connection to a non-Orca host.
  • A generic game host with no Pterodactyl panel cannot be connected yet.

If your host has no Pterodactyl panel

If your current host does not run a Pterodactyl panel, the connect flow will not reach it. The simplest path is to create a fresh server on Orca and move your world over.

Every account gets a free 1 GB server, and you can rent more RAM by the gigabyte on hosting. New servers come up in about 30 seconds, and the in-browser world tools let you upload and restore a world .zip, so you can lift your existing world onto an Orca server and pick up from there.

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