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Guide

Connect your game server

PanelRP learns about your players and jobs from your game server. You can connect it in three ways: a small resource or plugin installed on the server (recommended), direct access to the game database, or reading the server.cfg file over FTP or SFTP. The options you see depend on your game module and on your installation. This guide follows the recommended path, then describes the other two.

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Steps

  1. Open the "Game database" step

    In the initial setup, go to the "Game database" step. You can answer "Where is your server hosted?": PanelRP then tells you where to find your credentials and files with your host, for example ZAP-Hosting, Nitrado or Pterodactyl.

  2. Choose the resource or the plugin

    Under "How do you want to connect your server?", pick "Install the PanelRP resource" for FiveM, or "Install the PanelRP plugin" for Minecraft. It is tagged "Recommended" and works with every host, without MySQL access.

  3. Generate your API key

    Click "Generate a key". Copy the key straight away: it is shown only once. If a key already exists, generating a new one revokes the old one, so remember to update the configuration of your server.

  4. If you run FiveM, install the resource

    Click "Download panelrp-bridge.zip" and unzip it into the resources folder of your server. Open config.lua and paste your key. The API URL is already filled in.

    Config.ApiKey = 'prp_…'

  5. If you run Minecraft, install the plugin

    Click "Download panelrp-bridge.jar" and drop it into the plugins folder of your server. Start the server once, then open plugins/PanelRPBridge/config.yml and paste your key. The API URL is already filled in.

    api-key: "prp_…"

  6. Start it

    On FiveM, add the line below to server.cfg and restart the server: the first heartbeat arrives within two minutes. On Minecraft, restart the server (or use /reload confirm): the first heartbeat arrives within a few seconds.

    ensure panelrp-bridge

  7. Confirm the server

    The wizard shows "Waiting for the first heartbeat from your server…". Once it arrives, "Server detected" lists the server name, the framework, the players online and the last heartbeat. Click "Use this server" to link it to your panel.

  8. Check the connection later

    Open "Connections" in the sidebar of the admin. The "Game server bridge" block shows whether the server is Online or Offline, and the time of the "Last signal".

Other ways to connect

  • Connect the game database: choose "Direct MySQL" or "SSH Tunnel", fill in the connection details and click "Test Connection". With direct MySQL, PanelRP connects from the cloud, so the host cannot be localhost or 127.0.0.1: use the public IP of your game server and allow the connection in your firewall. With an SSH tunnel, MySQL is addressed as seen from the remote server, so 127.0.0.1 is allowed.
  • Read server.cfg (FTP/SFTP): enter the FTP or SFTP details from your host, optionally the path to server.cfg, and click "Read server.cfg". PanelRP reads the file, fills in the database form and detects the framework, then you click "Test Connection". The FTP credentials are used for this read only, then forgotten.
  • No game server yet? Leave the step empty. You can connect it later from Settings, under Database.

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