X-Plane Launcher Documentation

X-Plane Launcher (XLauncher) is a native macOS manager and profile-based launcher for X-Plane 12.

It organizes add-ons in a central folder and creates symbolic links into your X-Plane installation based on your selected profile. This allows you to switch between configurations—such as online airliner flying, offline bush trips, or testing—without moving large folders or duplicating files.

Platform: macOS 14.0+ Simulator: X-Plane 12 License: MIT

Features

Profiles

Save and switch configurations across aircraft, plugins, scenery packs, and FlyWithLua scripts.

Symlink Management

Keep your X-Plane directory tidy. Add-ons remain in a central directory and are linked into X-Plane on demand.

Scenery Ordering & Groups

Reorder scenery_packs.ini with drag-and-drop, group related scenery entries, and toggle packages without moving files.

Add-on Updates

Check and install updates for add-ons that use SkunkCrafts Updater or X-Updater directly from the application.

CSL Packages & Lights

Install and update IVAO/X-CSL model matching packages, and optionally apply native X-Plane 12 lighting presets.

Pre-Launch Scripts

Run shell scripts before X-Plane starts, passing profile-specific and global environment variables (e.g. for Hoppie ACARS).

How It Works

X-Plane Launcher manages your add-ons by separating your source files from your simulator installation:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Central Data Folder                      │
│        (~/Library/Application Support/XPlaneLauncher)       │
├──────────────┬──────────────┬───────────────┬───────────────┤
│   Aircraft/  │   Plugins/   │   Scenery/    │  LuaScripts/  │
└──────┬───────┴──────┬───────┴───────┬───────┴───────┬───────┘
       │              │               │               │
       ▼              ▼               ▼               ▼
  [Symlinks]     [Symlinks]      [Symlinks]      [Symlinks]
       │              │               │               │
┌──────┴──────────────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴───────┐
│                    X-Plane 12 Directory                     │
│  • Aircraft/                                                │
│  • Resources/plugins/                                       │
│  • Custom Scenery/ (with scenery_packs.ini)                 │
│  • Resources/plugins/FlyWithLua/Scripts/                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

When you select a profile, X-Plane Launcher creates or removes filesystem symbolic links (symlinks) inside your X-Plane 12 directory pointing back to your central storage folder. Your original add-on files remain untouched in the central location.

Contents

Getting Started

User Guide

Advanced Features

Reference