Frequently Asked Questions

Getting started

What is XC Connect?

XC Connect is a cloud sync service built for XCSoar users. It stores your tasks, waypoints, airspaces, profiles, plane files, maps, and IGC logs online and syncs them directly into XCSoar's data directory via the companion Android app - no cables, no manual copying.

Is XC Connect free?

Yes, XC Connect is currently free to use.

Are there storage limits?

Each account can currently store up to 1000 files and 1 GiB total, with a maximum size of 100 MiB per file.

How do I get started?

Create an XC Connect account
Install the XC Connect Android app on the device running XCSoar
Select your XCSoar data folder in the app settings
Upload or sync your files through the cloud

How do I select or change my XCSoar data folder?

On first launch, XC Connect tries to auto-detect installed XCSoar-compatible apps and suggests their data folders. Pick one and tap Use selected, or tap Find manually to browse for it yourself if it is not listed.

To change the folder later, open Settings, tap the folder button, and select a new folder.

Are XCSoar forks supported?

Yes. Besides XCSoar itself, XC Connect supports several compatible forks and variants, including OpenSoar, XCSoar Jet, and Top Hat.

What platforms are supported?

XC Connect has an Android app and a web interface. There is no dedicated iOS app, but you can add the website to your iPhone or iPad Home Screen: open XC Connect in Safari, tap the Share button, then choose Add to Home Screen. It appears with the XC Connect icon and launches as a web app.

Does XC Connect have a dark theme?

Yes. It follows your device's setting by default, and you can force Light or Dark mode in Settings on both the Android app and the web app.

I just installed XCSoar and its data folder does not exist

XCSoar only creates its data folder the first time it actually runs. Open XCSoar once after installing it, then go back to XC Connect and select the folder.

Syncing & files

Which file types are supported?

Files are organized by category:

Tasks: .tsk
Points: .cup, .cupx
Airspaces: .txt
Profiles: .prf, .xci
Plane files: .xcp
Maps: .xcm
IGC flight logs: .igc

Can I upload several files at once on the web?

Yes. On the web interface, select multiple files at once, or drag and drop them - including whole folders - onto the upload dialog. Each file is checked against your cloud storage: files that are already there and unchanged are skipped automatically, and you are asked to confirm before replacing any file whose content is different. Dropping a single briefing photo starts photo-to-task recognition instead of an upload - see below.

Can I create a task by scanning a QR code?

Yes. Choose Scan with Smart Camera from the add-file menu and point the camera at a SeeYou-style task QR code or a QR code with a public SeeYou Cloud task link. You can also choose Paste link to import a public SeeYou Cloud task link directly. XC Connect reads the turnpoints, sectors, and start details and generates an XCSoar task (.tsk) you can review and save. This works on Android and on the web interface.

Can I paste a link instead of scanning it?

Yes. Choose Paste link from the add-file menu. It opens XC Connect share links and upload links, imports public SeeYou Cloud task links, and adds supported files from direct download links.

Can I add a file from a download link?

Yes. Paste a direct download link to a supported file - for example, an airspace or waypoint file from a contest's SoaringSpot downloads page - with Paste link, or scan a QR code containing such a link with Scan with Smart Camera. XC Connect downloads the file and asks you to confirm before uploading it to your cloud storage, or before replacing a file with the same name. The link must lead straight to the file: web pages, cloud drive preview pages, and unsupported file types such as .pdf or .gpx can't be added.

Can I import a task from SeeYou Cloud?

Yes. In SeeYou, use the Show QR code option on the task to get its share QR code, then either scan it with XC Connect's Smart Camera, or copy the share link and paste it into XC Connect instead. Either way, XC Connect fetches the task and converts it into an XCSoar task (.tsk) with the same turnpoints, sectors, and start/finish details, ready to review and save.

How does syncing work?

The Android app reads and writes files directly in XCSoar's data directory on your device, keeping them in sync with your XC Connect cloud storage. Select the correct XCSoar data folder once in the app settings, then use the upload and download actions to keep local and cloud copies aligned. When you upload a new file - from your device, a scanned or photographed task, a shared link, or a download link - the app also saves a copy into your XCSoar folder automatically, unless a file with the same name is already there. New downloads are placed into XCSoar's typed subfolders (waypoints, tasks, profiles, airspace, maps, logs, and so on) to match XCSoar 7.45's data directory layout; files you already have stay right where they are and keep syncing normally.

What are protected files?

Any file, for example a plane file or an airspace file, can be marked as protected so it cannot be accidentally overwritten. This is especially useful for club gliders or shared flight computers where several pilots use the same setup.

Does downloading a profile also download the files it needs?

Yes. When you download a profile (.prf), XC Connect parses it for the map, waypoint, airspace, plane, task, and other files it references. If those files are available in your cloud storage, the app offers to download them all in one tap. Afterward, it checks whether the profile's internal file references still point to the right place - see the next question.

Does uploading a profile also upload the files it needs?

Yes. When you upload a profile (.prf) that is already in your XCSoar folder, XC Connect parses it the same way and offers to upload the map, waypoint, airspace, plane, task, and other linked files it references that are missing from, or different in, your cloud storage. This keeps the cloud copy of a profile usable on another device without you having to upload each linked file separately.

If any of those linked files have diverged - meaning the copy on your device and the copy in your cloud storage have different content - you are asked to confirm each one individually, with the option to view a diff first, before it is overwritten.

What does "Check profile links" do?

A profile (.prf) stores links to the other files it needs - map, waypoints, airspace, plane, task - by their on-device location. If one of those moves, for example after linked files are downloaded to a new folder, the profile's saved links can end up pointing to the wrong place, and XCSoar may fail to load them even though the files themselves are fine. Check profile links, available from a profile's action menu, checks its internal references against your current files and offers to fix any that are broken, in one tap. XC Connect also runs this check automatically right after downloading a profile's linked files, so you usually will not need to run it manually - it is there for when you move files around yourself or want to double-check.

What does it mean when a file's name is shown in red?

Red means the file has diverged: it exists both on your device and in your cloud storage, but the two copies have different content. Use the upload or download button next to it to view a diff and decide which version to keep.

Why does XC Connect show a diff before replacing a file?

Uploading, downloading, or picking a file that would overwrite an existing one first shows a line-by-line comparison of the old and new content. This lets you see exactly what is changing before you confirm.

When I delete a file, does it delete from my phone, the cloud, or both?

You choose. The delete dialog lets you remove the on-device copy, the cloud copy, or both independently. For example, you can clear a file off your phone's storage without losing the copy in your account, or remove a cloud copy while keeping the local file.

Can I rename a file?

Yes. In the Android app, like delete, the rename dialog lets you rename the on-device copy, the cloud copy, or both. Renaming only one copy makes the two appear as separate files. On the website, renaming changes the cloud copy.

Can I act on several files at once?

Yes. Long-press a file in the app, or open its menu on the website, and choose Select. Then tap other files in the same tab to add them, or use Select all. You can download, protect, unprotect, or delete the selected files, and in the app also upload them. On the website, several files download as a single zip file. If some of the files are protected, you are asked for your password once. If a file would overwrite a different version, you are asked to confirm it first, and you can apply your choice to all such files.

Can I upload the files I already have when I start using XC Connect?

Yes. If your XC Connect Cloud account is empty but XC Connect finds files in your XCSoar folder after the first sync, it offers to upload them. Choose which file types to include and tap Upload, or tap Skip to do it later - the offer reappears the next time you open the app as long as the cloud is still empty.

How do I move my files to a new flight computer?

Install XC Connect on the new device, sign in with the same account you already use, and select its XCSoar folder the same way you did the first time. Anything already in your cloud account can then be downloaded - downloading your .prf profile is the fastest way, since the app offers to download the files it links to in one tap. Files that are not yet in the cloud need to be uploaded from wherever they currently are first.

Can IGC flight logs upload automatically?

Yes. Turn on Auto-upload IGC files in Settings and new flight logs are uploaded to the cloud the next time the app syncs.

What do the details shown under my files mean?

XC Connect shows a summary of each file's content. IGC logs read like a logbook: takeoff time, landing time, and duration (??:??/+ when a recording is cut off, e.g. "4h 27m+"). The flight's date is still shown even when the recording is cut off on both ends and neither takeoff nor landing time is known. Tasks show type, distance, and AAT time limit; plane profiles show aircraft type and/or competition ID; settings profiles show the pilot's name; points files show their point count.

Why is my XCSoar default.tsk file not syncing?

By default, XC Connect ignores XCSoar's default.tsk scratch task file so it does not create sync noise or conflicts. This can be changed in Settings if you want it included.

What happens if I am offline in the app?

XC Connect switches to offline mode, shown by a crossed-out cloud icon in the top bar. You can still browse and use local files, but uploading, sharing, protecting or unprotecting files, and creating a task from a photo, pasted SeeYou link, or scanned QR code are disabled until the connection to the server is back.

Open a file and choose Send link or Show QR code. Both generate a link in the form https://xc-connect.com/s/{slug} that the recipient can open to download the file. This works on Android and on the web interface.

Sharing needs the file to already exist in your cloud storage, since the link points at a cloud copy. A file that is only on your device shows an upload button instead. Upload it first, and the share button appears once it is synced.

What is the difference between Send link and Show QR code?

Send link creates a share that stays valid for 24 hours, reused each time you tap it again until it expires.

Show QR code uses the same kind of link with a shorter 10-minute lifetime, meant for an immediate in-person scan. For example, you can push a task to a flight computer before takeoff or pull an IGC log right after landing. Scanning a QR code with Smart Camera, on Android or on the web interface, adds that file directly, without leaving the app.

Tapping Send link or Show QR code again on a file that already has an active share reuses the same link. The expiry is only ever extended, never shortened, so generating a 10-minute QR code for a file that already has a 24-hour link will not cut that link short.

If they have the XC Connect app installed, it opens automatically and offers to Save to Downloads or Upload to Cloud into their own account. If the app is not installed, the link opens as a normal web page with a Download button instead.

Yes. Besides Send link and Show QR code, the share menu offers Send file, which shares the actual file through your device's share sheet instead of a link to the cloud copy (on the web interface, browsers that can't share the file download it instead), and Send to email, which has XC Connect send the file for you (see below).

How does Send to email work?

Choose Send to email on a file, pick one of your previous recipients or add a new address, and confirm that you may send this file to that address and that the recipient may see your email address. XC Connect sends the message with the file attached and your own address as the reply address, so the recipient can answer you directly. Files too large to attach are sent as a link that is valid for 24 hours instead. You need to be signed in, and there is a limit on how many files you can email per hour and per day.

How do I remove an address I emailed before?

Open Send to email and remove the address from the list. Addresses you have used are kept only so you can pick them again; removing one does not recall emails already sent.

Someone sent me a file I did not want

Every file email includes a link to block it. Opening the link and confirming blocks that address from receiving any more files by email through XC Connect — from any sender, not just the one who sent this one. It does not affect the file already sent. Blocked by mistake? The same link offers an "Unblock" option to go back to receiving files.

Can I upload files from another device without logging in there?

Yes. Choose Upload via QR code from the upload menu to get a QR code for a temporary, scoped upload link. Opening it on another device, such as a laptop or club computer, offers a choice of uploading from that device or, if you sign in there, uploading from your own XC Connect cloud — either way, the file is added to your account. If the other device has the XC Connect app installed, scanning the code opens the app with the same choice instead of a web page, including when scanned with Smart Camera on Android or on the web interface.

Account, storage & security

Why does it ask for my password again when I protect, unprotect, rename, or delete a protected file?

Sensitive actions on protected files require re-entering your account password once. This grants a 5-minute window during which you can perform more of these actions without being asked again.

How do I change my password?

Open Settings and use the change-password option. You will be asked to confirm your current password first.

How do I delete my account?

Open Settings and use the delete-account option. It permanently removes your account and all your files after confirming your password. This cannot be undone.

I forgot my password

Use the Forgot password link on the sign-in page to get a password reset email.

Troubleshooting

The app is not syncing my files. What should I check?

Start with these checks:

Make sure you are signed in and the app is not in offline mode.
Make sure XC Connect has access to the correct XCSoar data folder.
If the folder was moved, renamed, or replaced, re-select it in Settings.
If files still look out of date, use Clear cache in Settings to clear the app's internal sync data and force a full resync. No files in your XCSoar folder or in the cloud are deleted.

XC Connect cannot access my XCSoar data folder

On Android 11 and newer, apps can no longer read another app's private per-app storage folder, such as Android/data/<app>. Older versions of XCSoar and forks like OpenSoar may keep files there. If your data still lives there, XC Connect cannot reach it because of an Android platform restriction.

Update XCSoar to a recent version, which moves its data to the accessible Android/media/<app> path:

Back up your existing XCSoar files from the current data folder. They may be deleted during the upgrade.
Uninstall XCSoar, including its app data.
Install the latest version and run it once so it creates its new data folder.
Re-select the new folder in XC Connect's app settings.

XC Connect asks me to select my XCSoar folder again

Android grants folder access to the app, not to the folder path. That grant is not carried over when the app is restored onto a new phone from a backup, and Android can revoke it. When XC Connect notices the grant is gone, it asks you to select the folder again. Nothing is lost - your files stay on the device and in the cloud.

The app update fails to install

This is a known, one-time issue on Android 12 and older, caused by a package signing key rotation. Delete the installed app and install the latest version again. Your files are safe in the cloud and future updates should install normally afterward.

The app says I must update before I can continue

Your installed version is either too old to work with the current server or has a known issue, so the app blocks further use until you update. Tap the update button on that screen, or install the latest version directly. Your files are safe in the cloud in the meantime.

Share links are time-limited by design: 24 hours for Send link and 10 minutes for QR codes. Once a link expires, ask the sender to create a new one.

I get a "file already exists" error when uploading

Filenames must be unique within a file type on your account, and the check is case-insensitive. This only appears for a file whose content is different from what is already there - uploading a file that exactly matches what is already in your cloud storage is skipped automatically instead. Rename the file, delete the existing one, or choose to overwrite it. If the existing file is protected, it must be unprotected first.

I never received my account activation email

Check your spam folder first. If you do not activate a new account within three days, it is automatically removed and you need to register again.

Photo-to-task recognition

What is photo-to-task recognition?

Photo-to-task recognition is a powerful feature that turns a photo of a task briefing into a draft XCSoar task file. It can read waypoint names, coordinates, observation zone geometry, and task parameters such as start and finish heights or PEV timing.

What language does the briefing need to be in?

Any language. Smart recognition matches labels and keywords like start/finish/turnpoint, line/cylinder/sector, and min/max height by meaning, not by exact wording, so briefings in languages such as Dutch, German, French, Spanish, or Polish are recognized the same way as English ones.

Why should I select a points file (.cup) for recognition?

A matching points file helps XC Connect validate recognized turnpoints against known names and coordinates, and gives the official competition elevation for each one. If a turnpoint's elevation is still missing after that — most often because no points file was selected — XC Connect fills it in from public terrain data instead, and warns you that this happened.

If coordinates are not legible in the photo, a points file may be required so XC Connect can place that turnpoint correctly.

Where does the filled-in elevation come from?

From Open-Meteo, which serves the European Union's Copernicus DEM GLO-90 terrain model at about 90 m resolution. It is terrain height, not the official competition elevation, so it can differ — especially in mountain regions.

How do I use photo-to-task recognition?

Choose Scan with Smart Camera from the add-file menu, then take a briefing photo or choose one from Gallery, and optionally select a points file. This works the same way on Android and on the web interface. On the web interface, you can also drag and drop a single briefing photo directly onto the files page. Recognition runs as a background job, and you can have only one active job at a time.

When the job finishes, a draft .tsk file is ready to download or upload. The draft expires after a couple of minutes, and downloading it finalizes the job.

Can I review the recognized task before saving it?

Yes. Once recognition finishes, the app shows a preview with total distance, each turnpoint, and observation zone geometry so you can check it before uploading the generated .tsk file.

What does "coordinates were not recognized and no matching points file was selected" mean?

XC Connect could not read coordinates for that point from the photo, and no points file was selected to look them up. Select the points file used for the briefing and try again, or retake the photo so the coordinates are clearly visible.

What does "no waypoint match" or "ambiguous waypoint match" mean?

These appear when a recognized point is checked against your selected points file. "No waypoint match" means nothing in the file is close enough by name or coordinates. "Ambiguous waypoint match" means two or more entries are equally close, so XC Connect cannot tell which one you meant.

Both usually mean the wrong or incomplete points file was selected.

What does "missing waypoint name" mean?

XC Connect could not read a name for one of the task points in the photo, usually because that part of the image is blurry, cropped, or too small. Retake the photo so all turnpoint rows are sharp and fully in frame.

What does "task points do not contain at least two distinct coordinates" or "fewer than two task points" mean?

A task needs at least two turnpoints at different locations. These errors mean recognition either found too few points in the photo, or the points it did find all resolved to the same location. Make sure the photo covers the full task table, and select a matching points file to help disambiguate points that look similar.