Learn how to install repaints and liveries in MSFS 2024, X-Plane, FSX and Prepar3D, with exact folders, console limits and fixes.
To install repaints and liveries, extract the download, verify that it matches the exact simulator, aircraft and model variant, then copy the package to that simulator’s add-on or livery folder. Microsoft Flight Simulator uses the Community folder on PC; X-Plane uses liveries; FSX and many Prepar3D aircraft require aircraft.cfg registration.
In simulator downloads, repaint and livery usually mean the same thing: replacement textures for an existing aircraft. Check the description and included instructions for any file selected from our freeware aircraft and add-on downloads library before installing it.
Does a repaint include the aircraft?
Usually not; unless the download explicitly says it is a complete aircraft, a repaint supplies textures and configuration data but not the aeroplane itself.
The required base aircraft provides the 3D model, systems, flight dynamics and shared textures. Before beginning a livery installation, confirm all of the following:
- Simulator and generation: an MSFS 2020 repaint is not automatically compatible with MSFS 2024, and an FSX repaint may need changes before it works in Prepar3D.
- Exact aircraft package: paints made for different developers’ versions of the same aircraft type are not interchangeable.
- Model variant: engine, fuselage, cargo, winglet and cockpit variants can use different texture maps.
- Installation format: identify whether the download is a ready-made package, a texture folder, an image template or a file intended for a dedicated livery manager.
If the required base aircraft is missing, the paint will either be absent from the selector or appear with white, black, incomplete or badly positioned surfaces.
Where do I install liveries in MSFS 2024 and other simulators?
The destination depends on the simulator, platform and way the base aircraft was packaged.
| Simulator | Where the livery goes | Main caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and 2020 on PC | Place the extracted package in that installation’s active Community folder. A normal finished path resembles Community/package-name/manifest.json, with layout.json beside it. | Store, Steam and custom installations can use different package locations. Our PC guide to locating the active MSFS Community folder also covers livery managers and common package-detection problems. |
| MSFS on Xbox or PlayStation | There is no user-accessible Community folder for manual downloads. | Use liveries distributed through the simulator’s supported in-game content system. |
| X-Plane 11 and 12 | Use Aircraft/Aircraft Name/liveries/Livery Name/. Aircraft textures are commonly retained beneath an objects directory inside the livery. | Preserve filenames, capitalisation and directory depth. See the exact X-Plane livery folder structure and selection steps. |
| FSX | Copy the supplied texture.name folder into the relevant directory under SimObjects/Airplanes, then register it in that aircraft’s aircraft.cfg. | Back up the configuration first. Follow the complete FSX texture-folder and aircraft.cfg procedure when no automatic installer is supplied. |
| Prepar3D | Legacy aircraft often use the FSX-style texture folder and aircraft.cfg method. Aircraft supplied through an add-on package should retain that package’s structure. | Do not move files out of an add-on.xml package merely to make it resemble an older FSX installation. |
| FlightGear | Retain the repaint’s supplied hierarchy inside the matching aircraft package. | Destinations vary because some paints rely on aircraft-specific XML definitions as well as image files. |
| Mobile simulators | Use the app’s documented import or in-app livery function, if one is provided. | Desktop MSFS, X-Plane and FSX packages cannot be installed simply by copying them into phone storage. |
How to add liveries to MSFS 2024 on PC
On PC, an MSFS 2024 livery is normally installed by extracting its package into the Community folder used by that specific MSFS 2024 installation.
- Close the simulator. Installing while a flight or aircraft-selection screen is open can leave the old package list loaded.
- Extract the complete archive. Do not copy a ZIP, RAR or 7z file into Community. If extraction reports a data or CRC error, obtain a clean copy rather than installing partial files.
- Read the included instructions. Use an aircraft developer’s livery manager when the repaint explicitly requires it. A texture-only repaint normally does not need an unrelated executable.
- Find the package root. Open the extracted directories until you find the folder containing
manifest.jsonandlayout.json. Documentation or screenshots may sit outside that folder. - Locate the active Community folder. Use the packages or content location assigned to MSFS 2024. If MSFS 2020 is also installed, do not assume that its Community folder is shared with MSFS 2024.
- Copy the package folder. The intended result is normally
Community/package-name/manifest.json, notCommunity/download-name/package-name/manifest.json. If the archive contains several separate package roots, retain them as separate folders. - Restart MSFS and select the matching aircraft. Open that aircraft’s livery or appearance choices and check the exact passenger, cargo, engine or other model variant named by the repaint.
A mistake we see constantly is copying the download’s outer wrapper folder instead of the package inside it. Do not flatten the package, scatter individual textures into Community or place manual add-ons in the simulator’s official or streamed-content directories.
Why is my installed livery not showing or causing an add-on error?
Most missing liveries are caused by incorrect folder depth, a mismatched base aircraft, an unextracted archive or a bad FSX-style configuration entry.
- Nothing appears in MSFS: confirm that
manifest.jsonis one directory below Community, that the package is in the MSFS 2024 Community folder rather than the MSFS 2020 folder, and that the sim is not running in a mode which disables third-party content. - The wrong aircraft is selected: a livery can be tied to one model variant and remain absent from another version of the same aircraft.
- The dependency is missing: many repaints require a separate freeware or commercial aircraft package. Installing the textures alone does not create that aircraft.
- X-Plane lists no paint: remove unnecessary wrapper directories and check for the expected
liveries/Livery Name/objectshierarchy. On case-sensitive systems,Objectsandobjectsare different names. - FSX or Prepar3D skips the entry: make each
[fltsim.x]number andtitle=value unique, keep the entries in sequence, and ensuretexture=namematches the folder namedtexture.name. - The paint is white, black or misaligned: the livery is being found, but its textures are missing, misnamed or mapped for a different 3D model. Moving the same files to another folder will not correct incompatible texture mapping.
- Two copies appear: search for a duplicate package or a second
[fltsim.x]entry. Do not install both a manager-generated version and a manually copied version of the same repaint.
If the simulator fails to start after installation, remove only the newly added package and try again. If an edited aircraft.cfg caused the failure, restore the backup and reapply the supplied entry carefully. Never delete the base aircraft’s shared texture folders while troubleshooting a repaint.
Can MSFS 2020 liveries be used in MSFS 2024?
Only when the livery author identifies MSFS 2024 compatibility or the targeted aircraft retains compatible package identifiers and texture mapping.
Some MSFS 2020 packages may load in MSFS 2024, but this cannot be assumed from the aircraft name alone. Install a separate copy in the MSFS 2024 Community folder, test the correct variant and remove it if it causes missing textures, duplicate entries or loading errors.
Can I install custom liveries on Xbox, PS5 or mobile?
No PC-style Community package can be installed manually on Xbox, PlayStation or a mobile device unless that simulator provides its own supported import system.
MSFS 2024 on PS5 and Xbox
MSFS 2024 on Xbox Series X|S, PS5 and PS5 Pro accepts liveries through its supported in-simulator content system, not by copying a download from a website or USB drive.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launched on PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro on 8 December 2025, making it the first Microsoft Flight Simulator released on PlayStation. MSFS 2020 remains PC and Xbox only. Console availability must be stated for the individual add-on; a PC-compatible livery is not automatically available on PS5 or Xbox.
How do Real Flight Simulator livery downloads work on mobile?
A livery for the mobile title Real Flight Simulator, often abbreviated RFS, must be made for that app and the exact aircraft concerned.
Use a livery offered through the app or its documented custom-import function when that function is available in the installed version. MSFS packages containing manifest.json, X-Plane objects folders and FSX texture.name directories are different formats and will not work in RFS. Access to Android or iOS file storage does not make those desktop formats compatible.