How do I download, install and use the MSFS 2024 or MSFS 2020 SDK?

For an MSFS 2024 SDK download or MSFS 2020 SDK download, use the matching Microsoft Flight Simulator installation on Windows PC. Enable Developer Mode, open its toolbar, then choose Help > SDK Installer. Do not use a third-party standalone package or assume one SDK build supports both simulators.

MSFS 2024 SDK download and install

The MSFS 2024 SDK install begins inside Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on Windows PC, not at a generic download page. The simulator supplies the route to the SDK release intended to work with that version.

1. Launch the target simulator. Open Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 for a native 2024 project or Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 for a 2020 project. If both are installed, make sure you have launched the one you intend to develop for.
2. Update the simulator. Complete any required simulator and content updates before installing its SDK. A stale build tool paired with a newer simulator can cause unexplained validation or packaging errors.
3. Enable Developer Mode. Find Developer Mode in the simulator settings and switch it on. The Developer Mode toolbar should appear at the top of the simulator. Our guide to enabling and using MSFS 2024 Developer Mode covers the toolbar and core editors in more detail.
4. Open the MSFS SDK installer. From the Developer Mode toolbar, select Help > SDK Installer. Follow the download or installation prompt supplied by that simulator.
5. Select the required components. Install the build tools and include the documentation and samples offered for that SDK release. Samples are particularly useful because they show valid project structures and asset definitions.
6. Verify the installation. Return to Developer Mode and confirm that tools such as Project Editor are available. Open the installed documentation and check that it identifies the simulator generation you intend to target.

There is no single universal “MSFS SDK download” that should be installed for both simulators. The authoring SDK is also a Windows PC toolchain: Xbox and PlayStation users can run supported finished content but cannot install the SDK or author projects on those consoles.

What does the Microsoft Flight Simulator SDK install?

The SDK combines in-simulator editors with installed build tools, technical references and sample projects; it is not one aircraft-design application or an automatic converter for old add-ons.

• Developer Mode editors: Project Editor, Scenery Editor and specialist tools exposed for the selected simulator and project type.
• Package-building tools: These process source assets, validate references and create the package structure loaded by Microsoft Flight Simulator.
• Content definitions: Schemas and configuration references for scenery, airports, SimObjects, aircraft, instruments, materials, animations, sounds and supported activities.
• Programming interfaces: References for supported instrument technologies, WASM modules and external applications using SimConnect.
• Documentation and samples: Official explanations and working examples tied to that SDK release.

The SDK does not require a separate purchase, but access requires the licensed Windows PC version of the matching simulator. Players who only want to install finished aircraft, scenery or liveries do not need it.

MSFS 2024 SDK manual and official documentation

The MSFS 2024 SDK manual is the official documentation set installed or opened through the matching SDK release. Use it as the primary reference for native 2024 projects rather than relying on old tutorials, copied configuration files or the MSFS 2020 manual.

The documentation normally covers several distinct areas:

• Getting-started material: Project creation, package definitions, asset groups, building, mounting and testing.
• Content manuals: Aircraft and other SimObjects, airports, scenery objects, materials, textures, models, animations, sounds, instruments and 2024-specific systems.
• API and schema references: Supported properties, configuration fields, programming interfaces and data structures.
• Samples: Known-good source projects that demonstrate the folder layout and definitions expected by the corresponding build tools.
• Release notes: Changes, fixed issues, deprecated behaviour and known limitations introduced by an SDK update.

The “manual” may be presented as local documentation, shortcuts or documentation opened from the SDK rather than as one PDF. Use the copy associated with the installed SDK release because field names, supported features and build requirements can change between releases.

How to access the MSFS 2024 SDK documentation

Access the MSFS 2024 SDK documentation through Developer Mode and the components supplied by the MSFS 2024 SDK installer.

1. Start Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PC. Let required simulator updates finish before opening a development project.
2. Enable Developer Mode. Turn on Developer Mode in the simulator settings and wait for its toolbar to appear.
3. Open the installer route. Select Help > SDK Installer from the Developer Mode toolbar.
4. Install the documentation component. Include documentation and samples when those options are offered. If the SDK is already installed, use its maintenance or modification option rather than downloading an unrelated copy.
5. Open the matching documentation. Use the documentation option in Developer Mode where provided, or the local documentation shortcut installed with the SDK. Check its heading or release information before following a reference.

Use the 2024 documentation for native MSFS 2024 projects. A 2020 reference can still explain a shared concept, but it cannot confirm that a property, asset type or workflow is valid for a 2024-specific system.

MSFS 2020 SDK documentation

The MSFS 2020 SDK documentation is installed from Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on Windows PC using the same Developer Mode route: enable Developer Mode, then select Help > SDK Installer.

Install the manuals and samples offered by the MSFS 2020 SDK download when building content for that simulator. Do not substitute those references for 2024 documentation when working with revised aircraft, avionics, materials, activities or other 2024-specific systems.

Developers supporting both simulators should retain both toolchains. Keep a working 2020 source branch and build it with the 2020 SDK, then maintain a separate 2024 branch for migrated or native content. Do not point both build configurations at whichever SDK happens to have been installed most recently.

Finding the MSFS 2024 SDK path and install location

The correct MSFS 2024 SDK path is the destination used by its installer, not a universal folder that can safely be copied from somebody else's instructions.

Use these checks to find the actual location:

1. Reopen the matching installer. Launch MSFS 2024, select Help > SDK Installer and inspect the installed destination or maintenance information before making changes.
2. Inspect installed shortcuts. In Windows, view the properties or file location of an SDK documentation or tool shortcut and inspect its target.
3. Check tool configuration. If an editor, script or build process has been configured with an SDK executable, inspect that setting rather than guessing the path.
4. Read the first build log entries. Build tools often identify the executable, working directory or SDK components they are loading. This can expose an old 2020 path being used for a 2024 project.

A mistake we see regularly is treating the Community folder as both the SDK location and the source workspace. Keep all three locations separate. If the SDK itself needs moving, rerun its installer rather than dragging the installed folder elsewhere and breaking shortcuts or tool configuration.

How do I start using the MSFS SDK?

Start with one small project, build it, test the output and fix the first reported error before adding more assets.

1. Create a local source workspace. Use a short path such as C:\MSFS-Dev\MyProject. Avoid cloud-synchronised folders, unusually deep nesting and characters that can confuse older tools or scripts.
2. Open Project Editor. Create a project, add a package and select the asset-group type appropriate to scenery, a SimObject, an instrument or another supported content type.
3. Use a unique package identifier. Reusing an identifier from an existing add-on can cause one package to hide or override the other.
4. Add one test asset. For scenery, place or alter one visible object. For more complex content, begin from the matching SDK sample or documented template rather than extracting an encrypted or stock aircraft.
5. Build the package. Run the package build command and read the console from the first error. Later messages are often only consequences of the first missing file, invalid definition or incorrect path.
6. Test the built output. Developer Mode can mount a project while editing, but the release test should use only the built package in the Community folder. Restart the simulator with unrelated add-ons removed and Developer Mode switched off.

Let the package builder create and update generated output such as manifest.json and layout.json. Editing compiled output may appear to work briefly, but the next build can overwrite it or leave the package index out of date. Keep the editable project as the master copy.

For a practical first exercise, follow our small scenery-project workflow using the Scenery Editor and package builder.

Which SDK project should a beginner choose?

A small airport or scenery edit is usually the clearest first SDK project because it teaches the complete save, build, mount and test cycle without requiring aircraft systems code.

Aircraft and advanced instruments also require authoring software outside the SDK. Our overview of supporting tools for models, textures, instruments and external utilities explains what to add for each project type.

Can one SDK project work in MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024?

No project should be assumed to build or behave unchanged in both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.

A 2020 package may load in 2024 through compatibility support, but that does not make the SDKs interchangeable. Revised aircraft, material, avionics, activity and packaging systems can require migration. Equally, a package using 2024-only features cannot be made compatible with 2020 merely by changing its manifest.

Build the 2020 edition with the 2020 toolchain and its documentation. Build the 2024 edition with the 2024 toolchain and test it in MSFS 2024. If distributing both, preserve separate source branches, outputs and test installations so a successful build for one simulator does not overwrite the other.

Why is the MSFS SDK installer missing or my package not appearing?

A missing installer usually points to the wrong platform, disabled Developer Mode or an incomplete simulator update; a missing add-on is more often an output or folder-structure problem.

For persistent MSFS 2024 SDK download or installation failures, use our checks for clean reinstalls, permissions and SDK version matching.