How do I install mods in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020?

To install most mods in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on PC, we extract the download and copy the add-on’s main folder into the sim’s Community folder, then restart the simulator. Marketplace items install through the in-game content system, and Xbox does not support normal manual mod installation.

What counts as a mod in MSFS 2020?

In Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, “mods” usually means add-ons such as aircraft, liveries, airports, scenery packages, missions, effects, and small tweaks. Most freeware and manually installed packages use the Community folder, but not every add-on does.

That distinction matters. If a download comes with its own installer or setup program, we follow the package’s instructions rather than forcing it into Community.

How do I install mods in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020?

1. Download the mod

   Get the add-on package and save it somewhere easy to find. Most manual MSFS 2020 mods arrive as a ZIP or RAR archive.

2. Extract the archive

   Do not copy the ZIP or RAR file straight into the simulator. We need to unpack it first so we can see the actual package folder inside.

3. Check the folder structure

   This is the step that catches most installation mistakes. The folder we copy should normally contain the add-on files at the first level, often including manifest.json and layout.json. If we open the folder and see another folder with the same name inside it, we are probably one level too high.

4. Find the Community folder

   Open the MSFS 2020 Community folder on your PC. This sits inside the simulator’s installed packages location, which can differ between Microsoft Store, Steam, and custom installs.

5. Copy the add-on folder

   Place the extracted package folder into Community. We copy the folder itself, not the archive and not a whole chain of extra folders above it.

6. Restart the simulator

   If MSFS 2020 was already open, close it and launch it again. Most add-ons are only read properly during startup.

7. Check that the mod appears

   Aircraft should show up in aircraft selection, liveries under the relevant aircraft, and airports or scenery in the world map or at the location itself. If it does not appear, the folder structure is the first thing we inspect.

Where is the Community folder in MSFS 2020?

The exact location varies. Steam, Microsoft Store, and custom package locations do not always use the same path, so there is no single folder path that fits every installation.

The safest way to find it is to locate the simulator’s UserCfg.opt file and check the InstalledPackagesPath entry. Inside that packages location, we then open the Community folder. If you chose a custom packages location when installing the sim, that is usually where the working Community folder lives.

One warning: do not place manual mods in Official unless the add-on specifically says to. For normal freeware aircraft, scenery, liveries and similar packages, Community is the correct destination.

How do we know the mod is in the right folder?

MSFS 2020 is fussy about folder depth. A package might fail simply because it is nested one level too deep.

A correct structure usually looks like this:

Community\addon-folder\manifest.json
Community\addon-folder\layout.json

A common wrong structure looks like this:

Community\addon-folder-v1.2\addon-folder\manifest.json

In that second example, we would usually move the inner addon-folder into Community, not the outer version-labelled wrapper folder.

Mod not showing up in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020?

If the add-on is not appearing, these are the first things we check:

• Wrong folder depth: the package is nested inside an extra folder.
• Archive not extracted: the ZIP or RAR file was copied instead of the actual package folder.
• Wrong simulator version: the download may be made for MSFS 2024 rather than MSFS 2020.
• Sim not restarted: the mod was added while MSFS was running.
• Duplicate or old version: an older copy of the same add-on is still in Community.
• Broken after a sim update: some older mods stop working until their developer updates them.
• Installed in the wrong place: the add-on was put in Official or in the wrong packages path.

If the simulator starts behaving oddly after installing something, remove the newest add-on first and test again. A faulty or outdated package can cause missing textures, broken airports, crashes, or long loading times.

How do I update or uninstall a mod?

Manual mods are easy to manage once we know where they live.

• To update: remove the old package folder from Community, then copy in the new one.
• To uninstall: delete the package folder from Community, or move it somewhere else as a backup.
• To troubleshoot: temporarily empty the add-on from Community and restart the sim.

We prefer replacing the old folder completely rather than dragging new files over the top. That avoids leftover files from previous versions causing odd problems.

Can you install mods in MSFS 2020 on Xbox?

Not in the normal PC sense. On Xbox, we are generally limited to content distributed through the in-game Marketplace, because there is no standard access to the Community folder for manual installs.

So if you are on Xbox, the answer is simpler: use Marketplace content inside the simulator. If you are on PC, manual installation through Community is the usual method.

Best practice for keeping MSFS 2020 mods tidy

Once the collection grows, organisation matters. We keep package names clear, avoid duplicate versions, and remove old test files we no longer use. That makes fault-finding much easier after a sim update.

It also helps to install one new add-on at a time. If something breaks, we know exactly which package caused it rather than hunting through dozens of recent changes.