How do I create custom aircraft liveries for Microsoft Flight Simulator?

To create a custom aircraft livery in Microsoft Flight Simulator, we repaint the aircraft’s texture files, export them in the correct DDS format, then package them as a separate add-on and place that package in the Community folder. In practice, the workflow is template, paint, export, package and test.

What do you need to make an MSFS livery?

You do not need a full 3D development setup just to repaint an aircraft, but you do need the right source files and a bit of patience.

• An unencrypted aircraft package you can inspect on PC
• A paint kit or the original texture files
• An image editor that supports layers and DDS export
• A way to generate or update package files such as layout.json and manifest.json
• Access to your MSFS Community folder for testing

The big point people miss is this: a livery is usually a separate add-on, not a direct overwrite of the aircraft’s original files. That keeps things cleaner and makes updates easier to manage.

Can any aircraft be repainted?

If the aircraft is encrypted, there may be no workable repaint path at all. In that case the problem is not your painting technique; it is file access.

How do I create a custom aircraft livery in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

1. Choose a repaint-friendly aircraft

   Start with an aircraft that has accessible textures and, ideally, a proper paint kit. If you are learning, avoid complex airliners with dozens of texture sheets and dynamic decals. A simple GA aircraft is much easier.

2. Find the texture template or original texture set

   A good paint kit usually includes layered templates showing panel lines, rivets, dirt, masks and UV layout. If no paint kit exists, we often work from the aircraft’s original texture files and build our own layered template from them.

3. Identify which texture maps you actually need to edit

   Most MSFS aircraft use more than one map. The main one is the colour or albedo texture. There may also be a normal map for surface detail and a composite map controlling roughness, metallic finish and wear.

   For many basic repaints, we only need to change the colour map and leave the normal and composite files alone. If the shine, bare metal or painted finish looks wrong later, the composite map is usually why.

4. Paint on layers, not directly on the flattened texture

   Keep stripes, logos, registrations and weathering on separate layers. Do not throw away alpha channels unless you know what that alpha is doing for that particular aircraft. On some aircraft it affects reflectivity or masking, and deleting it can create very odd results.

5. Respect the aircraft’s UV mapping

   Aircraft textures are wrapped around the 3D model, so a straight stripe in your editor may curve once it is on the aircraft. Wing roots, engine nacelles, fairings and mirrored fuselage parts are where mistakes usually show up first.

   If a texture area is mirrored, you may only be able to paint one side and have the other side mirror it. That is not always fixable from the livery alone; it depends on how the model was built.

6. Export to the same sort of DDS format the aircraft uses

   Match the original resolution where possible. Keep mipmaps enabled unless you have a very specific reason not to. If you export in the wrong compression or drop an alpha channel the aircraft expects, the result can be blurry, black, shiny in the wrong places or invisible.

7. Build a separate livery package

   This is the step that turns painted files into something MSFS can load. A typical livery package contains a SimObjects path, a new aircraft variation entry in aircraft.cfg, a texture folder for your repaint, and package files such as layout.json and manifest.json.

   Your new variation normally points back to the aircraft’s existing model, sound and panel, while using your own texture folder and user interface details such as manufacturer, aircraft name and variation title. Folder names and references must match exactly.

8. Add a thumbnail and menu details

   A thumbnail image is not just cosmetic. It helps you confirm in the aircraft selection menu that the sim is reading your variation correctly. Give the livery a clear name so it is easy to identify when testing.

9. Place the finished package in the Community folder

   Once the package is built, copy it into the MSFS Community folder and start the sim. If you are not sure where that folder is, see our separate guide on the subject in the answer library.

10. Test in several lighting conditions

    Check the livery in bright daylight, overcast light, low sun and night apron lighting. A repaint that looks fine at noon can reveal bad alpha, roughness or metallic settings in rain or at sunset.

What files are usually involved in an MSFS livery?

• aircraft.cfg for the new aircraft variation entry
• Your repaint textures inside a texture.xxxxx folder
• A thumbnail image for the aircraft menu
• layout.json so MSFS knows what files are in the package
• manifest.json so the package appears correctly to the sim

The exact folder structure can vary a bit by aircraft and by sim version, but those are the usual moving parts.

Why is my custom livery not showing in Microsoft Flight Simulator?

If the livery does not appear in the menu at all, the cause is usually packaging rather than painting.

• The folder is in the wrong place inside Community
• The aircraft.cfg entry has a typo or duplicate title
• The texture folder name does not match the reference in the config
• layout.json was not rebuilt after adding or renaming files
• The base aircraft is encrypted or structured differently from what your package expects

If the livery appears but looks wrong, check these next:

• Wrong DDS compression or broken alpha channel
• Incorrect roughness or metallic values in the composite map
• Mirrored UV sections on the 3D model
• Dynamic registration decals overlapping your painted registration
• Old cached files after an aircraft update

Registration numbers keep appearing over my paint

Many aircraft can overlay a tail number generated by the sim. If you have painted a registration into the texture and the sim adds another one on top, disable the dynamic tail number in the aircraft settings if that aircraft allows it, or adjust the livery package so the painted and generated markings do not conflict.

The metallic finish looks wrong

That usually points to the composite texture rather than the main colour texture. Highly polished metal, matte paint, de-iced boots and gloss panels all depend on the material channels being set sensibly. If you only repaint the albedo map, the colour may be right while the surface finish is completely off.

MSFS 2020 vs MSFS 2024: is the livery workflow different?

We would not assume that a livery package for a 2020 aircraft will drop straight into the 2024 version of the same aircraft. Always check the exact folder structure, texture names and aircraft configuration for the version you are painting.

Best practice before you share your repaint

• Test the livery after a full sim restart
• Check it on external and cockpit views
• Make sure your package name is unique
• Credit the original paint kit or base files if the licence requires it
• Do not upload trademarks or airline branding you do not have permission to distribute

If you want to study how finished repaints are packaged, our downloads library is a useful reference because it shows how Community-ready add-ons are typically organised.

The short version

On PC, the clean way to make a Microsoft Flight Simulator livery is to repaint the aircraft’s texture maps, export them correctly, then package them as a new aircraft variation that sits in the Community folder. The hardest parts are usually UV mapping, alpha and roughness channels, and getting the package structure exactly right.