> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/pterodactyl/wings/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configuration File

> Learn about the Wings configuration file location, structure, and how to manage it

## Configuration File Location

Wings uses a YAML configuration file to manage all settings. The default location for this file is:

```
/etc/pterodactyl/config.yml
```

You can override this location using the `--config` flag:

```bash theme={null}
wings --config /path/to/custom/config.yml
```

## File Structure

The configuration file is structured in YAML format with several main sections:

```yaml theme={null}
app_name: Pterodactyl
debug: false
uuid: <node-uuid>
token_id: <token-id>
token: <authentication-token>

api:
  host: 0.0.0.0
  port: 8080
  ssl:
    enabled: false
    cert: /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
    key: /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
  upload_limit: 100
  trusted_proxies: []
  disable_remote_download: false

system:
  root_directory: /var/lib/pterodactyl
  log_directory: /var/log/pterodactyl
  data: /var/lib/pterodactyl/volumes
  archive_directory: /var/lib/pterodactyl/archives
  backup_directory: /var/lib/pterodactyl/backups
  tmp_directory: /tmp/pterodactyl
  username: pterodactyl
  timezone: UTC
  # ... additional system settings

docker:
  network:
    name: pterodactyl_nw
    # ... docker network settings
  # ... additional docker settings

remote: https://panel.example.com
remote_query:
  timeout: 30
  boot_servers_per_page: 50

allowed_mounts: []
allowed_origins: []
```

## Loading the Configuration

Wings automatically loads the configuration file on startup. The configuration is read from disk and stored in memory for the duration of the Wings process.

### Initial Configuration

If Wings cannot find a configuration file at the default location (or specified location), it will exit with an error. You must have a valid configuration file before starting Wings.

To generate a configuration file:

1. Access your Pterodactyl Panel
2. Navigate to the node you want to configure
3. Copy the auto-generated configuration
4. Save it to `/etc/pterodactyl/config.yml`

### Environment Variable Expansion

Wings supports environment variable expansion in configuration values:

```yaml theme={null}
token: ${WINGS_TOKEN}
token_id: ${WINGS_TOKEN_ID}
```

### File References

You can reference external files for sensitive values using the `file://` prefix:

```yaml theme={null}
token: file:///path/to/token/file
token_id: file://${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/token_id
```

This is particularly useful with systemd's `LoadCredential` or `LoadCredentialEncrypted` options.

## Reloading Configuration

Wings does not support hot-reloading of configuration changes. To apply configuration changes:

1. Edit the configuration file
2. Restart Wings:
   ```bash theme={null}
   systemctl restart wings
   ```

<Warning>
  Restarting Wings will interrupt all running game servers briefly as they are re-attached to the Wings process.
</Warning>

## Configuration Persistence

Wings may write configuration changes to disk automatically in certain cases:

* When the Panel sends configuration updates (unless `ignore_panel_config_updates` is set to `true`)
* When system-detected values are updated (e.g., user UID/GID)

The configuration file is written with `0600` permissions (read/write for owner only) for security.

## Debug Mode

You can enable debug mode in two ways:

1. **Configuration file:**
   ```yaml theme={null}
   debug: true
   ```

2. **Command-line flag:**
   ```bash theme={null}
   wings --debug
   ```

<Note>
  When using the `--debug` flag, the debug setting will not be persisted to the configuration file on disk.
</Note>

## Configuration Sections

The configuration file is divided into several major sections:

* **`api`** - API server and web interface settings
* **`system`** - System directories, user, and operational settings
* **`docker`** - Docker container and network configuration
* **`remote`** - Panel connection URL
* **`remote_query`** - Settings for API requests to the Panel
* **`throttles`** - Console output throttling configuration
* **`allowed_mounts`** - Host paths allowed for server mounts
* **`allowed_origins`** - Additional CORS origins

Refer to the specific configuration pages for detailed information about each section.

## Common Configuration Patterns

### Ignoring Panel Updates

If you want to manage configuration manually and prevent the Panel from updating it:

```yaml theme={null}
ignore_panel_config_updates: true
```

### Trusted Proxies

If Wings is behind a reverse proxy, configure trusted proxy IPs to correctly detect client IPs:

```yaml theme={null}
api:
  trusted_proxies:
    - 127.0.0.1
    - 10.0.0.1
```

### CORS Configuration

For allowing additional origins beyond the Panel URL:

```yaml theme={null}
allowed_origins:
  - https://example.com
  - https://panel.example.com
```