MSFS Painter Toolkit

MSFS Painter Toolkit is a desktop utility to help Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) painters and modders generate thumbnails, create/merge layout.json files for texture packs, and scale/convert aircraft textures.

Table of contents

• About
• Requirements
• Features
• Quick Start
• Tools & Usage with Screenshots
  • Layout Generator
  • Thumbnail Generator
  • Texture Scaler
• Build / Run from source
• Troubleshooting & Tips
• Contributing
• License
• Contact
• Acknowledgements

About

MSFS Painter Toolkit automates common repetitive tasks for livery and scenery creators:

• Generate / merge layout.json manifests for packages
• Produce standardized thumbnails from hanger screenshots
• Scale/convert DDS texture files (2K / 4K / 6K)
• Simple, responsive desktop UI with light/dark theme support

Requirements

• Windows 10 (x64) or Windows 11 (x64)
• .NET 6 Desktop runtime installed: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/thank-you/runtime-desktop-6.0.6-windows-x64-installer

Features

• Fast recursive folder scanning for layout.json generation (handles large file sets)
• Safe merge/replace for existing layout.json
• Built-in camera presets for many aircraft to produce consistent thumbnails
• Texture Scaler supports DDS size conversions with options to replace originals or export converted files
• Lightweight, asynchronous operations (keeps UI responsive)

Screenshots

• Home / Welcome screen
  

• Layout Generator — locate a mod folder and (re)generate layout.json
  

• Thumbnail Generator — preview and generate aircraft thumbnails
  

• Texture Scaler — browse textures and convert/rescale them
  

Quick Start

1. Download the latest release and run the executable for Windows.
2. Or build from source from Visual Studio

Tools & Usage

Layout Generator

• Purpose: Generate a valid layout.json that lists all files in a package so MSFS can find them.
• How to use:
  1. Click "Layout" in the sidebar.
  2. Click "Locate mod Folder" and select the package folder (the dialog opens at the MSFS Community folder by default).
  3. The app scans recursively and shows a preview and file count.
  4. Use "Regenerate layout.json" after making changes to the folder.
  5. Click "Save and merge new layout.json" to replace or merge with the existing file. Back up originals if needed.

Thumbnail Generator

• Purpose: Create consistent thumbnails (large and small) used by MSFS for liveries.
• How to take photos in MSFS:
  • Enable Developer Mode in MSFS (Options → General → Developers).
  • Use the Aircraft Capture Tool in the hangar. Turning off Ambient Occlusion is recommended for cleaner captures.
  • Camera presets for many aircraft are included in the app's Camera Presets folder.
  • If a plane requires a custom preset, use "Load Custom Set" when capturing.
• How to use the tool:
  1. Import or drag-and-drop the hanger screenshot.
  2. Select the aircraft model preset from the dropdown.
  3. (Optional) Tick "Delete source image" to remove the original screenshot after generation (irreversible).
  4. Click "Generate Thumbnail". The app will produce the required thumbnail files and confirm when done.

Texture Scaler (Resizer)

• Purpose: Scale DDS textures between 2K / 4K / 6K to reduce package size and improve performance.
• Important: Scaling up reduces quality. Prefer scaling down.
• How to use:
  1. Click "Resizer" (Texture Scaler) in the sidebar.
  2. Click "Locate Texture Folder" and select the folder containing textures (dialog defaults to MSFS Community).
  3. The left panel lists discovered DDS files and sizes.
  4. Use filters to pick textures by resolution (8K/6K/4K) or convert all.
  5. Choose output resolution and decide whether to "Replace original textures" or export to a Converted folder.
  6. Click "Convert textures". Conversion runs asynchronously; you can continue using other tools while it runs.
  7. The app will report progress and show a confirmation when complete.

Build / Run from source

The project is built with .NET 6 (UI and packaging details in the repository). Typical steps:

• Install .NET 6 SDK / Runtime
• Open the solution in Visual Studio 2022+ or use the dotnet CLI
• Restore and run: dotnet restore && dotnet run (in the project folder)

Troubleshooting & Tips

• Always back up original textures before using "Replace original textures".
• For thumbnails, use the recommended camera presets included with the app for consistent results.
• If layout.json misses files, ensure your package follows MSFS folder conventions (e.g., SimObjects/Airplanes//TEXTURE.*).
• Converting many large DDS files can be CPU/GPU intensive and use significant disk space. Use an SSD if possible.
• If conversions fail or hang, check antivirus or file locks, and ensure the app has permissions to write to the package folder.

Included documentation

A full user guide (Guide : MSFS Painter Toolkit v3) is included in the repo and documents:

• Tool descriptions
• Step-by-step usage for Layout Generator, Thumbnail Generator, and Texture Scaler
• Camera preset notes and creation workflow Refer to that guide for deeper operational details and screenshots.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome:

• Open an issue to report bugs or request features
• Fork the repo, make changes, and open a pull request
• Keep PRs focused, include tests or usage notes where relevant

License

This project is provided under the MIT License. See LICENSE in the repository for details

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the MSFS community, and to the authors of libraries and tools used to build this toolkit.