Best Backup Solutions Compatible with Pterodactyl Panel

Your options, ranked by frustration level

If you are running a game server on Pterodactyl, you have probably thought about backups at least once. Maybe twice, if you have already lost data. Here is every option available to you, from built-in to bolted-on, with an honest look at what works and what does not.

Option 1: The built-in Pterodactyl backup system

The good: It already exists. No installation, no configuration (on your end), no third-party anything. Click the backup button in your server console and Wings compresses your files into a tar.gz archive. If the panel admin configured S3 storage, it goes to the cloud. If not, it sits on the local disk.

The less good:

• No scheduling. You trigger it manually or write a script to hit the API.
• Your hosting provider sets the backup limit. Common numbers: 0, 2, or 3. Zero means the feature is disabled for you.
• It backs up everything. Every log, every cache file, every temporary directory. You cannot exclude anything.
• Restores are all-or-nothing. Want to grab a single config file from last Tuesday? You will need to restore the entire backup.

Verdict: Fine if you are the panel admin with full control. Frustrating if you are a client on shared hosting.

Option 2: Manual SFTP downloads

Open an SFTP client (FileZilla, WinSCP, whatever), connect to your server, and download the files you care about to your local machine.

This is technically a backup. It is also the backup equivalent of "I will start going to the gym on Monday." You will do it once, maybe twice, and then you will forget for three months until something breaks.

Verdict: Not a real solution. Do not pretend it is.

Option 3: Community scripts on GitHub

The Pterodactyl community has produced a handful of backup scripts over the years. Here are the ones you will actually find:

• pterodactyl-automated-backups by Fz77z. A Python script that calls the Pterodactyl API to create backups across your servers. The most popular dedicated backup tool with about 30 stars. It works, but it is still subject to the panel's backup limits. If your host set your limit to 0, this does nothing.
• Pterodactyl-Auto-Backup by finlayhalliday. A bash script using rsync to transfer server files. Last updated in October 2019. That is over six years ago. It has three open issues that will never be resolved.
• pterodactyl-backup by rayyanmd. A Node.js tool that backs up to Google Drive. Has four commits total. It exists, and that is the nicest thing you can say about it.

There are also scattered GitHub Gists from people who wrote one-off bash scripts to trigger backups and upload them to Linode or Backblaze. They work for the person who wrote them. Your mileage will vary.

Verdict: The Python script by Fz77z is genuinely useful if you have panel admin access and decent backup limits. Everything else is either abandoned or too thin to rely on.

Option 4: Addon marketplace tools

Pterodactyl had a marketplace at pterodactylmarket.com where developers sold panel addons. It was acquired by sourceXchange, and the creation of new resources is now disabled. The marketplace is effectively frozen.

Some backup-related addons that were listed there included automatic backup schedulers, database backup tools, and backup management panels. Most targeted Pterodactyl 1.x, and with the ecosystem slowly migrating toward Pelican Panel (the active successor to Pterodactyl), compatibility is not guaranteed.

On BuiltByBit, you can still find a few paid Pterodactyl backup addons. These require panel admin access to install and are PHP modifications to the panel itself. If you are a client on someone else's host, you cannot use them.

There was also Pterodactyl-AutoAddons, a script for automatically installing panel addons. It was archived in September 2024. And bagou4502/pterodactyl-addons, a collection of 37 previously-paid addons that were open-sourced when the developer ceased operations in late 2024.

Verdict: The ecosystem is fragmenting. Developers are moving on, marketplaces are freezing, and compatibility with current panel versions is hit-or-miss.

Option 5: Pink Narwhal

Full disclosure: this is us. Here is what makes it different from the above.

Pink Narwhal is a standalone service that connects to your Pterodactyl server through the client API (the same API you use when you log into the panel as a regular user). It does not require panel admin access, it does not modify the panel, and it does not use the built-in backup system.

• Works as a regular client. You give it your client API key. No panel admin needed. No PHP modifications. No asking your host to install anything.
• Scheduled backups. Pick a time, it runs automatically. Daily, or hourly on higher plans.
• Game-aware file selection. Instead of backing up your entire server directory (logs, caches, and all), it uses game-specific profiles that know which files actually matter. Rust saves, Minecraft worlds, Discord bot data. The rest gets skipped.
• Cloudflare R2 storage. Backups go to isolated cloud storage with zero egress fees. Your backups survive even if the Wings node dies.
• Selective restore. Browse any backup and download individual files or folders. No need to restore everything.
• Not affected by backup limits. Since it uses the file API, not the backup API, host-imposed backup limits do not apply.

Quick comparison

Which one should you pick?

If you are a panel admin with full control and just need basic coverage, the built-in system with a cron script is reasonable. If you are a client on shared hosting, or you want something that handles scheduling, storage, and game-aware file selection without any setup headaches, Pink Narwhal is worth a look.