Why are liveries not showing in Microsoft Flight Simulator?
Aircraft liveries usually fail to appear in Microsoft Flight Simulator because the package is in the wrong Community folder, is nested one folder too deep, requires a different base aircraft or variant, or is incompatible with your simulator version. Restart the sim after correcting the package, then select the livery under the base aircraft.
Where should an installed livery appear?
A livery normally appears as a paint option for its base aircraft, not as a separate aircraft in the selection screen. Choose the correct aircraft first, then open its livery, appearance or paint-scheme selector.
This distinction catches out many simmers. If the download is a complete aircraft rather than a repaint, use our guidance for troubleshooting an add-on aircraft missing from the selector.
How do I fix a livery that is not showing?
Most missing liveries are restored by verifying the active Community folder, package root and exact aircraft dependency in that order.
- Extract the download. Microsoft Flight Simulator cannot load a livery while it remains inside a ZIP, RAR or 7Z archive. Extract it before moving the package.
- Use the active Community folder. Do not place manually downloaded liveries in the Official package folder. MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024 normally use different package locations, and Steam, Microsoft Store and custom installations can point to different paths. Our livery installation and Community-folder instructions explain how to identify the correct location.
- Remove excessive folder nesting. Open the installed livery folder and look for
manifest.jsonandlayout.jsonnear its top level. If those files sit inside another identically named folder, move the inner package folder into Community. A structure such asCommunity/livery-name/livery-name/manifest.jsonis one folder too deep. - Confirm the exact base aircraft. A repaint made for one developer's aircraft will not automatically work with another model of the same real aeroplane. Passenger, cargo, engine and upgraded variants may also use separate livery packages. Check how airline liveries must match their developer aircraft and variant.
- Check simulator compatibility. Do not assume every MSFS 2020 livery works unchanged in MSFS 2024, or vice versa. Use a version explicitly supported by the author, particularly when the aircraft itself differs between the two simulators.
- Restart outside Safe Mode. Close Microsoft Flight Simulator fully after installing the package. Safe Mode disables third-party content, so a Community livery will not appear while the simulator is running in that mode.
- Clear aircraft-selection filters. Remove text searches and filters, select the base aircraft, and inspect all available paint schemes. A missing or blank thumbnail does not always mean the livery itself failed to load.
- Test the livery alone. Temporarily move other Community packages elsewhere, leaving only the affected livery and any required base aircraft. If it then appears, another package is conflicting with it.
What does each livery problem mean?
The visible symptom usually identifies whether the fault lies with installation, compatibility or missing textures.
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| No new aircraft tile | The download is a livery, not a complete aircraft | Select the base aircraft and open its paint options |
| No livery option at all | Wrong Community folder, nested package or missing dependency | Check the package root and exact aircraft variant |
| Blank thumbnail but paint loads | Missing or outdated preview image | Select the livery and inspect the aircraft preview |
| Pink, chequered or unpainted aircraft | Missing textures, broken fallbacks or incompatible package data | Install the correct release for that aircraft and simulator |
| Works in MSFS 2020 but not MSFS 2024 | Version-specific package or aircraft changes | Find a release marked for MSFS 2024 |
| Missing after a crash | The simulator started in Safe Mode | Restart normally after resolving the crash |
Why is the livery pink, chequered or invisible?
Pink, chequered, transparent or partly unpainted surfaces mean the package loaded but Microsoft Flight Simulator could not resolve some of its textures or material references. Reinstalling the same files rarely helps if the livery targets the wrong aircraft model.
Remove the package, download the correct variant and extract it again without renaming internal files. If only one old livery fails while newer liveries for the same aircraft work, the failed package probably needs an update rather than a different Community-folder location.
Do downloaded PC liveries work on Xbox or PlayStation?
Manually downloaded PC Community-folder liveries cannot be installed directly on Xbox or PlayStation consoles. Console users are limited to compatible content distributed through Microsoft Flight Simulator's own in-simulator content system for that platform.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is available on PC and Xbox only. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro, but a PC livery archive does not become console-compatible simply because the base aircraft exists there.