Install add-ons in MSFS 2020 | Parallel 42 Documentation

Run the product's installer, use Simstaller, or copy it into your Community folder.

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This article covers the following platforms

MSFS 2020 loads third-party PC add-ons from its Community folder.

How do you want to install it?

Some Parallel 42 products ship their own installer, which finds the simulator and puts everything in place for you.

Close MSFS 2020.
Download the installer for your product from your Downloads.
Run it and let it finish its own update check.
Choose the simulator installation you actually use, if it detects both Steam and Microsoft Store.
Complete the prompts and wait for the success message.
Launch MSFS 2020 and confirm the add-on loads.

Already have the product? The installer detects it and offers a combined Reinstall/Update.

Simstaller is free and installs downloaded add-ons without making you hunt for the Community folder.

Download and install Simstaller.
Open Simstaller and select MSFS 2020.
Confirm Package Destination points to your MSFS 2020 Community folder.
Select Install MSFS add-on(s) and choose the downloaded zip, or drag it into Simstaller.
Let Simstaller extract and install the package.
Launch MSFS 2020 and confirm the add-on loads.

Close MSFS 2020. Do not add or replace packages while the simulator is running.
Extract the download. Unzip the add-on before placing it in the Community folder unless its developer provides an installer with different instructions.
Check the folder structure. Open the extracted package folder and confirm files such as manifest.json and layout.json are inside it. If you must open another identically named folder to reach those files, the package is nested one level too deep.
Move the package folder into the Community folder for your version of the simulator, below.
Launch MSFS 2020 and confirm the add-on loads.

Place the add-on directly in the Community folder rather than using an on/off add-on manager.

Replacing a version you already have? Delete the old package folder first — do not merge the new files into it. Simstaller does this for you.

The location depends on how you installed the simulator.

Microsoft Store or Xbox app

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\Community

Steam

%APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Packages\Community

Paste either path into the File Explorer address bar and press Enter.

Microsoft Store and Xbox app are the same install and share one Community folder; Steam has its own. The location can also be moved.

Confirm which folder the simulator reads: open Options → General → Developers, turn Developer Mode on, then open Tools → Virtual File System and read the path under Watched Bases.
If the add-on is not in that folder, move it there.
Restart the simulator.

Some very large packages sometimes stop other add-ons from loading correctly.

Move the traffic package out of Community, onto your desktop.
Start the simulator and confirm the add-on loads.
Move the traffic package back. Once the add-on has loaded once, the two often coexist.
If it disappears again, leave the traffic package out.

Open Content Manager from the main menu.
Find the add-on in the list.
If it is disabled, enable it and restart the simulator.
If it is not listed at all, the simulator is not reading its folder — check the Community folder above.

Community is read at startup, so anything copied in mid-session is ignored.

InstalledPackagesPath points at Community instead of the folder above it, so the path repeats.

Path repeats Community

Community\Community\addon-name\manifest.json

Community sits beside Official

Community\addon-name\manifest.json

Open UserCfg.opt. Microsoft Store or Xbox app: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\UserCfg.opt. Steam: %APPDATA%\Microsoft Flight Simulator\UserCfg.opt.
Find the InstalledPackagesPath line. It must point at the folder holding both Community and Official, not at Community itself.
Correct it, save, and restart the simulator.

A nested folder hides the add-on’s files, so the simulator starts without loading it.

Nested one level too deep

Community\addon-name\addon-name\manifest.json

Files directly inside

Community\addon-name\manifest.json

Open the add-on’s folder inside the Community folder.
Right-click the nested folder and select Cut.
Go back to the Community folder.
Right-click an empty area — not another folder — and select Paste. If the menu shows Cut or Copy above Paste, you right-clicked a folder; try again on an empty area.
Open the add-on’s folder again. You should see the add-on’s files instead of a second folder with the same name.
Launch the simulator and confirm the add-on loads.

Parallel 42 products support official public releases only, not beta or Preview builds.

Check the build number on the main menu, or press Alt+Enter and read it from the title bar.
Compare it with the current public build in the official release notes.
If yours is higher, you are on a beta build. Revert to the current public release before troubleshooting further.

Installers read the simulator’s configuration to find its active package folder, and that only exists once the simulator has run.

Still stuck? Delete the add-on, download a fresh copy, and reinstall it with the simulator closed, following any installer the developer supplies.

For more detail about Community folders and third-party packages, see Microsoft Flight Simulator Support.