Great news for the Pterodactyl community! On December 20th, 2025, it was announced that Infraly, LLC is now the project manager for Pterodactyl. This marks an exciting new chapter for one of the most popular game server control panels in the hosting industry.
Who is Infraly?
Infraly is a technology infrastructure company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that has been operating since January 2020. They specialize in revolutionizing technology infrastructure to empower developers. Notably, Infraly currently manages WISP, a popular fork of Pterodactyl that serves as a paid alternative with additional features.
This background is important because it shows Infraly has real-world experience with Pterodactyl's codebase and understands the needs of the hosting community.
What This Means for Pterodactyl
The announcement brings several important commitments that should reassure the entire Pterodactyl community:
- Pterodactyl will remain free and open-source - The MIT licensing will remain the same and will not be changing. This is a permanent promise.
- No commercial plans - Pterodactyl will always be free. WISP is their paid alternative, but Pterodactyl itself will never be monetized.
- Long-term stability - Infraly is committed to ensuring Pterodactyl continues to thrive for years to come
- Consistent maintenance - Regular updates and improvements are planned
- Reliable support - The new project managers are dedicated to providing ongoing support for the community
- Sponsorships only - The only direct money that will come in from Pterodactyl is through sponsorships, and 100% of these funds will be used to pay people who contribute to the project
Upcoming Security and Bug Fix Update
As part of their commitment to the project, Infraly has announced that a long-awaited security and bug fix update will be released in the coming days. This is excellent news for users who have been waiting for important fixes and security patches.
This update demonstrates Infraly's immediate focus on improving the stability and security of Pterodactyl, which is crucial for hosting providers and game server owners who rely on the panel for their operations.
Dane Returns to the Project
In an emotional message, Dane, the original creator of Pterodactyl who started the project a decade ago, announced his return to the project. He expressed excitement about seeing what heights Pterodactyl will reach with Infraly at the helm.
"I started this project a decade ago and I'm excited to see what heights it will be taken to with Infraly at the helm. I have full confidence in their team and ability to provide the resources necessary for Pterodactyl's continued long-term success."
— Dane, Pterodactyl Creator
Dane has worked closely with Infraly over the last few weeks to ensure alignment on the project's direction and the needs of the community. His return brings continuity and the original vision back to the project, while Infraly provides the resources and structure needed for long-term success.
Dane also addressed why a company managing the project is beneficial:
"A project of this scale requires an inordinate amount of time for a solo-developer to maintain. There are tens of thousands of voices requesting features, filing bug tickets, asking questions, and generally just existing and requiring moderation. All of that is before we even consider the time required to build, test, maintain, and manage the project. A company managing the project is far better for long-term maintenance, stability, and security than a single developer. Many large open-source projects run this way."
— Dane, explaining why he wouldn't have returned without believing in Infraly
Dane personally confirmed that he would not have come back to help support the project if he did not believe in Infraly and their ability to help Pterodactyl succeed long into the future. This endorsement from the original creator should give the community confidence in this transition.
Roadmap and Development Plans
Infraly and Dane have been transparent about their immediate priorities and future plans:
Immediate Focus: Maintenance and Cleanup
Dane's current focus is on cleaning up the project and fixing bugs. There's a lot of "dust to blow off" after a period of reduced maintenance. This includes:
- General housekeeping tasks
- Bug fixes and security patches
- Tooling improvements
- Test coverage enhancements
- Removal of dependencies that don't make sense in 2026
Future Features and Improvements
Once the maintenance phase is complete, the team plans to:
- Accept new feature contributions - The project will start accepting feature contributions from the community
- Usability improvements - Better user experience and interface enhancements
- WISP feature backporting - Since WISP is now under the Pterodactyl umbrella, there's potential to backport useful features to make maintenance and building custom solutions easier
- API improvements - Simplification of the API and additional endpoints
- Plugin system evaluation - The team is evaluating an official addon or plugin system, though this is complex and they want to "do their homework" before implementing
Addressing the Feature Gap
One concern raised by the community is the growing feature gap compared to panels like WISP and Pelican. Dane addressed this:
"WISP is now under the Pterodactyl umbrella, so the feature gap will likely close or help Pterodactyl's core since there is plenty of stuff to backport to make maintenance and building a more custom solution easier. Think API simplification, additional endpoints, foundations to build custom features more easily."
— Dane on closing the feature gap
Regarding Pelican, Dane emphasized that both projects can coexist peacefully:
"I would also like to clarify that I have been friends with many of the Pelican developers for close to a decade now, and deeply respect them and the work they do. Both projects exist to solve different user needs and represent the very nature of open-source... There is more than enough space in this industry for a little friendly competition and diverging panels."
— Dane on Pelican and Pterodactyl coexistence
Addressing Community Concerns
Naturally, the community had questions and concerns about this transition. Here are the key points addressed:
Conflict of Interest with WISP?
Some community members were concerned about a potential conflict of interest since Infraly manages WISP (a paid fork) while now managing Pterodactyl (free and open-source). Infraly has been clear:
- Pterodactyl will always be free and open-source - This is a permanent promise
- WISP is their paid alternative - They serve different markets and use cases
- No monetization of Pterodactyl - The only revenue from Pterodactyl will be sponsorships, and 100% of that goes to contributors
Why Did Infraly Take Over?
According to Infraly, they took over Pterodactyl because:
- They felt the project could use "some love and attention" from their team
- It aligned well with Dane wanting to come back to the project
- They have experience managing WISP, giving them deep knowledge of the codebase
What About Wings?
Wings (the daemon component of Pterodactyl) will continue to be maintained alongside the panel. Community members have suggested improvements, and the team welcomes pull requests for enhancements.
Community Questions and Discussion
Infraly has started a discussion on GitHub to answer questions from the community about who they are, what they do, and their plans for Pterodactyl. This open approach to communication is a positive sign for the project's future.
If you have questions about the transition or want to learn more about Infraly's plans, we encourage you to join the discussion and share your thoughts with the community.
What This Means for Pterodactyl Users
For current Pterodactyl users, this news is overwhelmingly positive:
- No action required - Your existing installations will continue to work as normal. Nothing will change with your current setup.
- Stay updated - Keep an eye out for the upcoming security and bug fix update
- Future-proof - The project now has dedicated resources for long-term maintenance and development
- Open-source remains - The MIT license stays the same. The project will continue to be open-source, so you can still contribute and customize as needed
- More maintainers - With Infraly's team and Dane back, there will be more hands available to handle bugs, features, and community support
- Reduced burnout risk - Having a company manage the project should prevent the burnout issues that led to reduced maintenance in the past
The Future of Pterodactyl
This transition represents a new beginning for Pterodactyl. With Infraly's resources and commitment, combined with Dane's return and the original vision, the project is positioned for continued growth and success.
The game server hosting industry relies heavily on Pterodactyl, and this acquisition ensures that the panel will continue to evolve and improve to meet the needs of hosting providers, server owners, and the broader community.
Stay Connected
To stay updated on Pterodactyl news and updates:
- Follow the Pterodactyl GitHub organization
- Join the Pterodactyl Discord community
- Check out the GitHub discussion about the acquisition
Conclusion
The acquisition of Pterodactyl by Infraly LLC, combined with Dane's return, marks an exciting new chapter for the project. The commitment to keeping Pterodactyl free and open-source (with MIT licensing unchanged), along with promises of long-term stability, consistent maintenance, and reliable support, should give the entire community confidence in the project's future.
Key takeaways:
- Pterodactyl will always be free and open-source - This is a permanent promise, not subject to change
- No monetization - The only revenue will be sponsorships, and 100% goes to contributors
- Immediate focus on maintenance - Bug fixes and cleanup are the priority before new features
- Long-term sustainability - Company management should prevent the burnout issues that plagued solo development
- Feature development coming - Once maintenance is caught up, new features and improvements will follow
With an upcoming security and bug fix update on the horizon, the original creator back on board, and a dedicated team managing the project, Pterodactyl is well-positioned to continue being the leading game server control panel for years to come.
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