Installing addons and mods in Microsoft Flight Simulator

This step-by-step guide is designed to walk you through the installation process of mods, addons and liveries for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Written By Flightsim.to

Last updated 3 months ago

This guide will walk you through the process of installing add-ons and mods downloaded from Flightsim.to into your game. This guide covers the installation process for nearly all content available on Flightsim.to, including both freeware and store purchases. However, some addons may come with specific installation instructions. In such cases, it's important to carefully read the addon’s description and follow any provided steps to ensure proper setup.

This guide does not apply to executable applications or add-ons with setups, such as REX Atmos, Flight Panels, Stream Deck profiles, and so on.

Locating Your Community Folder

The Community folder of your Microsoft Flight Simulator installation is the place where scenery add-ons and liveries are installed by extracting the downloaded archives in there. However, locating the Community folder often can be a mess, since the path is different depending which platform you were using to install Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Microsoft Store Version

=> C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_RANDOM\ LocalCache\Packages\Community

Steam Version

=> C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Packages\Community

Quick Tip: You can also find your Community folder location directly in-game:

  1. Launch Microsoft Flight Simulator

  2. Click on “Marketplace”

  3. Go to “My Library”

  4. Click the small gear icon in the upper right corner (not the main settings gear)

  5. Look for the Community Folder location listed there!

There are also various YouTube Tutorials covering this topic. If you still can't find the right path, you should definitely check out these YouTube tutorials to find your Community folder.

Extracting Your Download

Once you have found the proper location, the installation process is straightforward. Basically all you need to do is extract the contents of the downloaded mod into your Microsoft Flight Simulator Community folder. After restarting the game, the content will be available. This applies to most scenery enhancements and liveries, as well as aircraft.

Inside the downloaded archive from Flightsim.to - typically a ZIP or RAR file - you may find one or more folders — the one you're looking for is usually the one that contains the manifest.json file. This is the actual add-on folder that you need to paste into your Community folder.

To extract the downloaded file:

  • Right-click the downloaded file

  • Select “Extract All…” or use a program like WinRAR, 7-Zip.

  • Choose an easy-to-access destination for the extracted files, either your Desktop, or you could simply extract the relevant folder directly into your Community folder.

Each mod folder should directly contain files such as layout.json and manifest.json. Avoid having extra layers of folders as this can prevent Microsoft Flight Simulator from properly reading the mod files.

  • The extracted folder should contain at least a manifest.json file and a layout.json file.

  • If these files are nested inside multiple folders, you need to identify the main addon folder. The correct folder to use is the one containing these JSON files, cut or copy the main addon folder and paste the folder directly into the Community folder.

  • Important: Place each addon in its own separate folder within the Community folder — do not combine multiple addons into one folder

You may now launch Microsoft Flight Simulator to verify the installation. After starting the simulator, the addon should appear in the Content Manager under “Community”. If it’s an aircraft, it will be available in the aircraft selection menu. If it’s a livery, it will appear in the livery options for the corresponding aircraft. If it’s scenery or an airport, it will be visible on the world map.

Because video guides are often much easier to understand, we highly recommend checking out these YouTube tutorials if you are running into any issues.

Troubleshooting Tips

  • Addon not appearing? Verify that the folder structure is correct. The main addon folder should contain the manifest.json and layout.json files.

  • Getting errors? Make sure you have the required dependencies, read the addon description carefully. Some addons require other addons or assets to function properly.

  • Always remember to create a backup of your Community folder before making significant changes

  • Don’t overload your Community folder with too many addons at once as it can impact performance