Installation

System Requirements

  • Operating System: macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or macOS 15.0+ (Sequoia)

  • Architecture: Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel (x86_64)

  • Simulator: X-Plane 12

Pre-Built Binaries

  1. Download the latest XLauncher.dmg from the GitHub Releases page.

  2. Open XLauncher.dmg.

  3. Drag XLauncher.app into your /Applications folder.

  4. Eject the disk image.

Building from Source

Building from source requires Xcode or the Swift command-line tools:

xcode-select --install

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/jcorbier/x-plane-launcher.git
cd x-plane-launcher

  2. Run the packaging script:

    ./package.sh

  3. The script compiles the executable in release mode, builds the macOS app bundle structure, copies resources, and signs the bundle.

  4. Open XLauncher.app or move it to your /Applications folder:

    open XLauncher.app

Updating

X-Plane Launcher includes built-in in-place self-updating:

  • When a new version is detected, an update banner appears in Settings and About, and you can also check manually from the menu bar (X-Plane Launcher > Check for Updates…).

  • Click Update & Relaunch to automatically download the verified update archive, replace the installed application bundle, and relaunch into the new version.

  • You can also view detailed changelogs and version release notes directly from the UI before applying the update.