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Xchecklist

Xchecklist is an open-source plugin for X-Plane that provides interactive checklists with text-to-speech support. On Linux, speech output is handled via speech-dispatcher — the same stack used by XLinSpeak.

Background

  • Developer: sparker256 (William Good), uglyDwarf (Michal Navratil)
  • Repository: github.com/sparker256/xchecklist (MIT license)
  • Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux (native lin.xpl)
  • Compatibility: X-Plane 10, 11, 12

Xchecklist is actively maintained and ships pre-built binaries for all three platforms. The plugin uses the XPLM SDK and does not require FlyWithLua or any other scripting framework.

Features

  • Interactive checklists: 2D window and VR overlay that tracks completed items during each flight phase
  • Text-to-speech: Reads checklist items aloud via the sw_remark: command in checklist files
  • Aircraft-specific checklists: Custom clist.txt files per aircraft — community checklists available for Zibo 737, ToLiss, and many others
  • Companion tools: Simon (TTS helper process for Linux/macOS speech output) and Checker (validation tool for custom checklists)

Value in Flight Simulation

On Windows and macOS, X-Plane plugins can use the platform's native speech engines for checklist callouts. On Linux, this integration is missing — Xchecklist fills the gap with native TTS via speech-dispatcher, providing audible readback without any Windows-only dependencies. Combined with interactive item tracking, it brings full checklist workflow to the Linux cockpit.

Installation

Download: Xchecklist — x-plane.org

Extract the ZIP file to Resources/plugins/. This creates the Xchecklist/ folder with the Linux binary at 64/lin.xpl.

No additional system packages are required for basic operation. For TTS support, see the next section.

Build from Source

Building from source is optional — pre-built binaries are included in each release.

sudo apt install build-essential cmake git freeglut3-dev libudev-dev libopenal-dev libspeechd-dev
git clone https://github.com/sparker256/xchecklist.git
cd xchecklist
cmake -S ./src -B ./build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo
cmake --build ./build
cp ./build/lin.xpl ./Xchecklist/64/

Text-to-Speech on Linux

Xchecklist spawns a companion process (simon) that connects to speech-dispatcher via libspeechd. This handles the sw_remark: commands in checklist files — the items that are read aloud as you work through the checklist. The plugin itself does not call XPLMSpeakString() on Linux — all speech is routed through the simon/speech-dispatcher mechanism.

Recommended setup

Install XLinSpeak alongside Xchecklist. While Xchecklist handles its own speech via simon/speech-dispatcher, XLinSpeak catches XPLMSpeakString() calls from other plugins that would otherwise produce only silent text overlays on Linux.

Prerequisites

sudo apt install speech-dispatcher

The default espeak-ng backend works reliably. Verify that speech-dispatcher is running:

spd-say "checklist test"

If no audio is heard, check that the speech-dispatcher service is active and the correct audio output is configured.

Sources