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DataRefTool

DataRefTool (DRT) is a development and debugging tool for X-Plane 12 that allows browsing, watching, and editing datarefs as well as triggering commands.

Background

  • Developer: Lee C. Baker
  • Website: datareftool.com
  • License: v1 was open source (MIT, GitHub); v2 is closed source
  • Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux (native binaries)
  • Compatibility: X-Plane 12.1+ (v2); X-Plane 10/11 (v1)

The plugin has existed since X-Plane 10. Version 2 was released as a closed-source rewrite for X-Plane 12 and uses the dataref enumeration API (XPLM400) introduced in X-Plane 12.04.

Features

  • Dataref browser: Read, write, and search all datarefs (including arrays); detail windows graph the value over time
  • Command browser: Search for and execute commands directly
  • Change detection: Highlight datarefs that have changed recently
  • Watch window and command history: Monitor selected dataref values in a compact panel; a separate command history window logs command events as they are triggered
  • Regex search: Multiple search terms, regular expressions, optional case sensitivity
  • Plugin/scenery reload: Trigger reloads directly from DRT
  • Multi-window: Multiple DRT windows can be open simultaneously
  • Ignore list: drt_ignore.txt in the Resources/plugins/ directory to exclude problematic datarefs

Value in Flight Simulation

DRT is the standard tool for plugin development and troubleshooting in X-Plane. It enables real-time observation of all datarefs, which is invaluable for analyzing plugin conflicts or developing custom FlyWithLua scripts. With windows open, DRT reads the datarefs relevant to those windows every frame, which can reduce FPS — with windows closed, the performance impact is zero.

Installation

Download: datareftool.com/download

Extract the ZIP file to Resources/plugins/. Minimum system requirement on Linux: glibc 2.34 or newer (Debian 12 Bookworm and later). No additional system packages are required. There are no known Linux-specific issues.

Sources