High-quality satellite imagery for X-Plane, streamed on demand.
X-Plane Earth Layer (XEarthLayer or XEL) delivers photo scenery to X-Plane without massive downloads. Instead of pre-downloading thousands of gigabytes of textures, XEarthLayer:
- Installs smaller regional packages (tens of gigabytes) containing terrain detail
- Streams textures on-demand as you fly, downloading satellite imagery from a variety of providers
The result: complete orthophoto scenery with less overall disk usage implemented in a fast, modern, memory safe language.
Regional Package (base data) XEarthLayer Service (running)
┌────────────────────────┐ ┌────────────────────────┐
│ Terrain definitions │ │ Satellite Providers │
│ (DSF, TER files) │───────→│ (Bing, Google, Apple, │
│ References textures │ │ ArcGIS, MapBox, USGS) │
│ for download │ │ │
└────────────────────────┘ │ Generates DDS textures │
│ on-demand │
└────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌────────────────────────┐
│ X-Plane sees complete │
│ scenery with textures │
└────────────────────────┘
See How It Works for detailed architecture.
- Small regional packages (gigabytes, not terabytes)
- On-demand texture streaming from multiple providers:
- Bing Maps - Free, global coverage (recommended)
- Google Maps - Via GO2 (free) or official API (paid)
- Apple Maps - High quality, auto-acquires tokens
- ArcGIS - Free, global coverage
- MapBox - Requires access token
- USGS - Free, US coverage only
- Adaptive Prefetch System - Self-calibrating tile prediction
- Flight phase detection: Ground (ring pattern) vs Cruise (track-based bands)
- Performance calibration during X-Plane's initial scenery load
- Automatic mode selection: Aggressive, Opportunistic, or Disabled
- Circuit breaker pauses prefetch during X-Plane loading
- Two-tier caching for instant repeat visits
- High-quality BC1/BC3 DDS textures with mipmaps
- Real-time dashboard showing cache, download, and prefetch status
- Works with Ortho4XP-generated scenery
- Linux support
# Build and install
git clone https://github.com/samsoir/xearthlayer.git
cd xearthlayer
make release
make install # Installs to ~/.local/bin (no sudo required)
# Run the setup wizard (first-time configuration)
xearthlayer setup
# Install a regional package
xearthlayer packages install eu
# Start XEarthLayer
xearthlayer # Defaults to 'run' command
# Fly!See Getting Started for the complete guide.
XEarthLayer provides a real-time terminal dashboard showing cache status, download activity, and prefetch progress:
XEarthLayer requires regional scenery packages to be installed in order for it to work. XEarthLayer is creating a regional package library for general public use. It is possible for anyone to create and publish their own package server.
XEarthLayer Scenery Packages are hosted on Github.
XEarthLayer reduces scenery loading stutters by prefetching tiles ahead of your aircraft. The system automatically calibrates itself based on your network and system performance.
-
Performance Calibration: During X-Plane's initial scenery load (~12° × 12° area), XEarthLayer measures tile generation throughput to determine optimal prefetch mode.
-
Flight Phase Detection: The system automatically switches between strategies:
- Ground Strategy: Ring-based prefetch around your position (GS < 40kt)
- Cruise Strategy: Track-based band prefetch ahead of your flight path (GS > 40kt)
-
Circuit Breaker: When X-Plane is actively loading scenery (>50 requests/sec), prefetch pauses to avoid interfering with on-demand requests.
| Mode | Trigger | When Used |
|---|---|---|
| Aggressive | Position-based (0.3° into DSF tile) | Throughput > 30 tiles/sec |
| Opportunistic | Circuit breaker close | Throughput 10-30 tiles/sec |
| Disabled | Never | Throughput < 10 tiles/sec |
Enable ForeFlight telemetry in X-Plane for best results:
- Settings → Network → Enable "Send to ForeFlight"
- XEarthLayer receives position/heading on UDP port 49002
See Configuration and Adaptive Prefetch Design for tuning options.
| Guide | Description |
|---|---|
| How It Works | Architecture and system overview |
| Getting Started | First-time setup and usage |
| Configuration | All configuration options |
| Package Management | Installing, updating, removing packages |
| Running the Service | Streaming service options |
| Content Publishing | Create packages from Ortho4XP |
See Developer Documentation for architecture, design principles, and implementation details.
# Setup & Configuration
xearthlayer setup # Interactive setup wizard (recommended for first-time users)
xearthlayer init # Create config file with defaults
xearthlayer config list # View all settings
xearthlayer config set <key> <value> # Change a setting
# Package Management
xearthlayer packages check # Check available packages
xearthlayer packages install <region> # Install a package
xearthlayer packages list # List installed packages
xearthlayer packages update [region] # Update packages
xearthlayer packages remove <region> # Remove a package
# Running
xearthlayer # Start streaming (defaults to 'run')
xearthlayer run # Mount all packages with real-time dashboard
xearthlayer run --airport KJFK # Pre-warm cache around an airport
# Advanced: Single Package Mode
xearthlayer start --source <path> # Start streaming for a single scenery pack
# Cache Management
xearthlayer cache stats # View cache usage
xearthlayer cache clear # Clear cache
# Content Publishing
xearthlayer publish init # Initialize repository
xearthlayer publish add --source <path> --region <code> # Create package
xearthlayer publish build --region <code> # Build archives
xearthlayer publish release --region <code> # Release to libraryRun xearthlayer --help for all options.
- X-Plane 12
- Linux with FUSE support
- Modern GPU with 8GB VRAM or higher, 16GB+ recommended
- Fast Internet connection for streaming imagery, recommended 800Mbps downstream or better
XEarthLayer is not tested with X-Plane 11, but should work in principle. The scenery packages that are provided by this project are designed for X-Plane 12 only. XEarthLayer using regional scenery packages published for X-Plane 11 should work without issue, your mileage may vary.
# Install Rust via rustup.rs
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/samsoir/xearthlayer.git
cd xearthlayer
make init
make verifySee Developer Documentation for architecture and guidelines.
Architecturally influenced by AutoOrtho by kubilus1. XEarthLayer is an independent Rust implementation focused on performance and memory safety.
XEarthLayer Regional Scenery Packages created using Shred86 fork of Ortho4XP
Developed with assistance from Claude by Anthropic.
Made with ❤️ in California.
Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.