Zelie compared with other panels
Game panels like Pterodactyl and Pelican run game servers. Coolify runs apps and databases. Zelie does both from one binary, with no PHP and no Docker, and it installs with one command.
Updated September 2026
Side by side
| Zelie | Pterodactyl Full comparison | Pelican Full comparison | Coolify Full comparison | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Install and upkeep | ||||
| Install | Yes One command, a few minutes | Partly A long manual guide | Partly A manual guide | Yes One command |
| No PHP stack to run | Yes One Go binary | No PHP, Laravel, a web server, MySQL and Redis | No PHP, Laravel and a web server | No PHP and Laravel, with PostgreSQL and Redis |
| Runs without Docker | Yes Its own containerd | No Wings needs Docker | No Wings needs Docker | No Built on Docker |
| Light on memory | Yes Under 90 MB, checked on every change | Partly A PHP panel, a queue worker and Wings | Partly About 230 MB, before the database | Partly Needs at least 2 GB of RAM |
| Updates from the panel | Yes One click, rolls back by itself if it fails | No By hand, with commands | No By hand, with commands | Yes One click or automatic |
| Game servers | ||||
| Pterodactyl and Pelican eggs | Yes 21 games ready, any other by its link | Yes | Yes | No |
| Console, files, SFTP, schedules | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Safe passwords by default | Yes RCON and admin passwords get a random value | Partly As the egg sets them | Partly As the egg sets them | No |
| Steam updates | Yes Checks each hour, updates when nobody plays | Partly On start, if the egg does it | Partly On start, if the egg does it | No |
| Apps and databases | ||||
| Deploy from GitHub on push | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Deploys without downtime, one-click rollback | Yes Last five versions kept | No | No | Yes |
| Automatic HTTPS for apps | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Databases | Yes PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Redis, with a data browser | Partly MySQL for game servers | Partly MySQL for game servers | Yes Many engines |
| Metrics | Yes Requests, errors, memory and CPU for a day | Partly Live memory and CPU | Partly Live memory and CPU | Partly Server and container usage |
| Security | ||||
| Two-step login | Yes Required, with a passkey or an app | Partly Optional | Partly Optional | Partly Optional |
| Nothing on the network runs as root | Yes The root part has no port | No Wings runs as root on a public port | No Wings runs as root on a public port | No Reaches servers as root over SSH |
| Secrets the panel cannot read back | Yes | No | No | No |
| Encrypted backups to S3 | Yes Encrypted on the server | Partly To S3, not encrypted | Partly To S3, not encrypted | Partly Database backups to S3 |
| Coming later | ||||
| Several machines from one panel | Planned | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sub-users with their own permissions | Planned | Yes | Yes | Partly Teams |
| Docker Compose and one-click services | No | No | No | Yes |
The other panels are described as they install by default. Memory figures were measured on idle servers: Zelie’s on every change in its test runs, Pelican’s on a live server.
Why one panel for everything
- Less to install
- One command sets up the panel, its proxy and its container engine. There is no PHP, no web server, no queue worker and no database server to look after.
- Less memory
- Zelie’s own processes stay under 90 MB when idle, and the test runs fail if they grow past it. That leaves the machine for your games and apps.
- Safer by design
- The part that runs as root has no network port. Every account needs a second login step, and secrets are sealed so the web panel cannot read them back.
- Updates itself
- A new release is one click on the Server page. Games, apps and databases keep running, and if the new version does not come up, the old one is put back.
Questions
Can Zelie replace both my game panel and Coolify?
On one machine, yes: game servers from Pterodactyl and Pelican eggs, apps from GitHub, images or plain files, and PostgreSQL, MariaDB and Redis, under one login.
What does Zelie not do yet?
It manages the one machine it is installed on, and only administrators log in. Several machines and sub-users are planned. It does not run Docker Compose files.
Install Zelie
Run this as root on a Debian or Ubuntu server. It checks the release’s signature, installs Zelie and asks how people will reach the panel.
curl -fsSL https://github.com/Caria-Core/zelie/releases/latest/download/install.sh | shFree on a single server. Read how the install works first if you want to know what it changes.