PufferPanel

A web panel for running and sharing many game servers from one place, aimed at hobbyists and small hosting networks alike.

1.8k stars, 268 forks Go On GitHub since October 2013

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

PufferPanel at a glance

Open sourceYes, Apache-2.0No paid parts in the repository
Health54 of 100Actively developed
Self-hostingDocker, LinuxOne-click in YunoHost
AppsLinux, including ARMBuilds in GitHub releases
Interface27 languagesIncluding English, German and French
Issue repliesWithin ~3 hoursMedian first reply; 44% of recent issues answered

What is PufferPanel?

PufferPanel is a browser-based control panel for game servers. From a single dashboard you start, stop and manage several different game servers, and you can hand other people their own servers or grant them access to yours. The project pitches its interface at everyone from a single player hosting friends to larger community networks. Its web interface ships in 27 languages, and installation steps, updates and day-to-day management are covered in the project's documentation.

Good fit if

  • You host a handful of game servers for friends or a community and want users to manage their own instances.
  • You run Linux and prefer installing from packages or Docker over assembling a stack by hand.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a widely used panel with a larger team behind it: Pterodactyl or its Laravel-based successor Pelican Panel.
  • You are happy on the command line and just need scripts to deploy dedicated servers: LinuxGSM.

Before you adopt it

PufferPanel is under the Apache license; it switched from GPL-3.0 to Apache-2.0 in October 2018 when version 2 work began, and the repository contains no paid parts. All commits in the last 90 days came from one developer, which is a continuity risk despite organization ownership. Linux builds and a Docker image are provided. The maintainers state that they reject AI-generated pull requests, issues and security reports.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

How to run PufferPanel yourself

One-click install

Not listed in Umbrel, TrueNAS, Unraid, CasaOS, Runtipi, Proxmox VE Helper-Scripts and Coolify. Checked against each panel’s app catalog on 12 November 2026.

Ways to install

Docker files
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Docker image
pufferpanel/pufferpanel: 697k pulls · x86-64, ARM64 · 56 MB downloadAlso ghcr.io/pufferpanel/pufferpanel
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
Builds for Linux, including ARM in GitHub releases
Interface languages
27 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish
Show all 27

Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese

Install instructions: pufferpanel.com or the README on GitHub. Docker images and packages are checked weekly.

PufferPanel health: is it still maintained?

54 of 100, actively developed

Release rhythmEvery ~14 daysLatest: v3.0.9, 14 July 2026
Issue repliesWithin ~3 hoursMedian first reply; 44% of recent issues answered
Bus factorHigh riskOne person wrote all recent commits
  • Activity
    19 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026.
    16 / 30
  • Contributors
    1 person wrote the 19 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 100% of them.
    2 / 20
  • Releases
    10+ releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v3.0.9, on 14 July 2026.
    14 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 44% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 3 hours.
    16 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 6 of 10.
    6 / 10

Read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. How the score works

PufferPanel security

Security advisories are the vulnerabilities the maintainers disclosed on GitHub, with the versions that fix them; many advisories can mean careful disclosure as much as weak code. OpenSSF Scorecard checks how a project is developed and released: reviews, protected branches, pinned dependencies, signed releases. It does not audit the code itself.

Security advisoriesNone publishedNo advisories in the repository’s Security tab
OpenSSF Scorecard6 of 10How the project is built and released
Security policyYesExplains how to report a vulnerability
Signed releasesNoDownloads cannot be checked against a signature

What each Scorecard check found

  • Dangerous workflows10 / 10No risky patterns in GitHub Actions
  • Dependency updates10 / 10A tool such as Dependabot keeps dependencies up to date
  • Known vulnerabilities10 / 10No open known vulnerabilities in the code or its dependencies
  • License file10 / 10A license file is present
  • Maintained10 / 10Steady commits and issue activity in the last 90 days
  • Packaging10 / 10Releases are published as packages from CI
  • Security policy10 / 10Explains how to report a vulnerability
  • Binary files9 / 10A few compiled binaries are checked into the repository
  • Pinned dependencies5 / 10Some dependencies use fixed versions
  • Branch protection3 / 10Rules on the main branch are partly enforced
  • Code review1 / 10Some changes are merged without review
  • Best-practices badge0 / 10No OpenSSF Best Practices badge
  • Fuzzing0 / 10No fuzz testing found
  • Signed releases0 / 10Releases are not signed
  • Token permissions0 / 10CI tokens have broad write rights

Advisories read from GitHub on 12 November 2026. From the OpenSSF Scorecard of 15 August 2022; checks that do not apply to PufferPanel are left out.

PufferPanel license: is it open source?

PufferPanel uses Apache-2.0, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. October 2013First published on GitHub under GPL-3.0.
  2. 15 October 2018Changed to Apache-2.0. Commit: Reset for v2.0.0 work
  3. TodayApache-2.0.

PufferPanel for developers

Written in

  • Go 52%
  • SCSS 20%
  • Vue 18%
  • JavaScript 9%
  • HTML <1%
  • Other <1%

Getting involved

Contributing guideYesCONTRIBUTING.mdOpen issues120On GitHub
Authors, 90 days1Of 19 commits
Donations2 waysGitHub Sponsors, Open Collective

Language shares are GitHub’s count of the code in the repository.

Alternatives to PufferPanel

  • LinuxGSMThe command-line tool for quick, simple deployment and management of Linux dedicated game servers. 71 health · MIT · 4.9k stars
  • PterodactylPterodactyl® is a free, open-source game server management panel built with PHP, React, and Go. Designed… 56 health · MIT · 9.5k stars
  • SunshineSelf-hosted game stream host for Moonlight. 84 health · GPL-3.0 · 43.3k stars
  • RomMA beautiful, powerful, self-hosted ROM manager and player. 74 health · AGPL-3.0 · 14.3k stars

All 7 projects in Games & game servers

Questions about PufferPanel

Is PufferPanel open source?

Yes. PufferPanel is published under Apache-2.0, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is PufferPanel still maintained?

Its health score is 54 of 100 (actively developed). It had 19 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 3 November 2026, and its latest release came out on 14 July 2026.

Did PufferPanel change its license?

Yes. It moved from GPL-3.0 to Apache-2.0 on 15 October 2018.

How do I run PufferPanel?

You can run it with the Docker image pufferpanel/pufferpanel, as an app for Linux, including ARM and in one click from YunoHost. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What is PufferPanel written in?

PufferPanel is written mainly in Go (52% of the code), with SCSS (20%) and Vue (18%), by GitHub’s count of the repository.

What languages is PufferPanel available in?

The repository has interface translations for 27 languages, including English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish and Russian.

What are the alternatives to PufferPanel?

Close alternatives in the Games & game servers category include LinuxGSM, Pterodactyl, Sunshine.