Moving to a new server

Move a FeatherPanel install or a FeatherWings node to another machine with the installer's Export for Migration and Import Migration tools.

The installer can package a whole Docker install of the panel, or a whole FeatherWings node, into one archive and restore it on another machine. This page covers both. To move from Pterodactyl instead, read Migrating from Pterodactyl.

Move the panel

1. Export on the old server

Run the installer and open Panel → Backup Manager → Export for Migration:

curl -sSL https://get.featherpanel.com/installer.sh | bash

The containers must be running. The installer:

• exports every Docker volume used by the mysql, backend and redis containers (database files, config with the encryption key, attachments, snapshots, Redis data) as .tar.gz files,
• copies docker-compose.yml and .env,
• writes migration_info.txt (it looks up the server’s public IP with ifconfig.me) and README_MIGRATION.txt,
• packs everything into /var/www/featherpanel/migrations/featherpanel_migration_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.tar.gz with mode 600.

2. Copy the archive

From the new server:

mkdir -p /var/www/featherpanel/migrations
scp root@OLD_SERVER:/var/www/featherpanel/migrations/featherpanel_migration_*.tar.gz /var/www/featherpanel/migrations/

rsync -avz works the same way.

3. Import on the new server

Run the installer and open Panel → Backup Manager → Import Migration. It lists archives in /var/www/featherpanel/migrations and up to two levels below /root and /home, or asks for a path. Type yes to confirm.

• If the panel is not installed yet, the installer installs Docker, restores docker-compose.yml and .env from the package, restores the volumes and starts the stack.
• If a panel is installed, it runs docker compose down, replaces every volume with the imported data and starts the containers again. Everything that was on the new server is lost.

4. Finish the move

The import does not configure a web server or certificates. On the new server:

1. Point your DNS record at the new IP.
2. Set up the web server and SSL, or a Cloudflare Tunnel.
3. Sign in and check that servers, nodes and settings look right.

Nodes keep working without changes as long as the panel URL stays the same. If the URL changes, change it in the panel settings and re-run featherwings configure on each node so the node talks to the new address.

Move a FeatherWings node

Export

In the installer open Wings → Backup Manager → Export for Migration, or run:

featherwings node-backup export --out /var/lib/featherpanel/wings_migrations

The installer stops the featherwings service during the export and starts it again afterwards. If the CLI export is not available it falls back to a tar archive with the server volumes, local backups and config.yml, named featherwings_migration_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.tar.gz.

Import

1. Install FeatherWings on the new machine.

2. Copy the archive to /var/lib/featherpanel/wings_migrations/.

3. Run the installer’s Wings → Backup Manager → Import Migration, or:

   featherwings node-backup import --file /var/lib/featherpanel/wings_migrations/featherwings_migration_XXXX.tar.gz

4. Start FeatherWings and, if the IP or hostname changed, update the node’s FQDN in Admin → Nodes.

Game ports are bound to the node’s IP addresses. If the new machine has different IPs, update the allocations too.

Related

• Backups
• Updating the panel
• Uninstall