# Epub Creation > Create EPUB ebooks from markdown/text for e-readers. - Skill: `wcpaka-lgtm/epub-creation` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add wcpaka-lgtm/epub-creation` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/wcpaka-lgtm/epub-creation/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: wcpaka-lgtm (https://skillmd.com/u/wcpaka-lgtm) - Updated: 2026-09-21 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/wcpaka-lgtm/epub-creation --- # EPUB Creation Create EPUB ebook files from markdown or plain text content. EPUB is the universal ebook format — opens natively in Apple Books (iPhone/iPad/Mac), Google Play Books, Kobo, and most readers. Kindle uses MOBI/AZW3 but can accept EPUB via Send-to-Kindle. ## When to Use - User asks to "make a book", "save as ebook", "EPUB", "iPhone Books", "도서 앱" - User has long-form content (novel, guide, collection) and wants it readable on a phone/tablet - User asks how to read something on their e-reader - User asks for an **HTML site / converter page** ("html사이트", "변환 사이트", "텍스트를 epub으로") that turns TXT into EPUB → build it client-side, see below - User has an **existing EPUB missing a cover** and wants to add/replace the cover photo ("표지없는 epub에 표지 추가", "표지 교체") → patch the zip in place, see "Replacing/adding a cover in an EXISTING EPUB" in `references/browser-side-epub.md` and `replaceEpubCover()` in the template ## Two routes 1. **Python/ebooklib script** (this SKILL.md) — batch conversion, agent-driven, delivers a .epub file. 2. **Browser-side single-HTML converter** — when the user wants a *site/tool* rather than one converted file: everything runs in the browser (no upload, works offline, WebView-embeddable). Full structure, zip rules, and Korean TXT intake in `references/browser-side-epub.md`; ready-to-adapt generator core (EPUB 3.0 + NCX, cover image, offline ZIP fallback, EUC-KR sniffing, chapter detection) in `templates/browser-epub-builder.js`. Known-good full implementation: `C:/Users/okya1/txt2epub/index.html` ("제본소"). ## Prerequisites ```bash # Use uv on Windows (pip may not be available in Hermes venv) uv pip install ebooklib --python "C:/Users//AppData/Local/Programs/Python/Python312/python.exe" # Or on Linux/macOS: pip install ebooklib ``` ebooklib depends on lxml. If lxml is missing, install it first. ## Workflow 1. **Prepare source text** — markdown with `#`/`##`/`###` headers as chapter boundaries 2. **Run the conversion script** — see `scripts/make_epub.py` in this skill 3. **Deliver the .epub file** — via MEDIA: path, AirDrop, email, or cloud drive ## Chapter Splitting Logic Split on markdown headers: - `# Title` → book title (skip as chapter) - `## Part/Section` → major division - `### Chapter N` → individual chapter Each chapter becomes a separate XHTML file inside the EPUB. The TOC (table of contents) is auto-generated from chapter titles. ## Markdown → HTML Conversion Minimal conversion needed: - `**bold**` → `` - `*italic*` → `` - `---` → `
` - Double newlines → paragraph breaks (`
`) - Single newlines within paragraph → `
` ## CSS for Korean/Japanese text ```css body { font-family: "Apple SD Gothic Neo", "Malgun Gothic", "Noto Sans KR", sans-serif; line-height: 1.8; } p { text-indent: 1em; margin: 0.5em 0; } ``` ## Pitfalls - **Empty chapters crash ebooklib.** If a header is followed by another header with no content between them, the resulting EpubHtml has an empty body. lxml's `document_fromstring` raises `ParserError: Document is empty`. FIX: filter out chapters where `content.strip()` is empty or < 10 chars before adding to the book. - **XML declaration in chapter content.** Do NOT include `` in `chapter.content` — ebooklib adds its own. Including it can cause parse errors. - **Pass `content` as a str wrapped in ``, not as bytes.** Setting `chap.content = html_string.encode("utf-8")` (bytes) or a bare HTML fragment without `...` can trigger `lxml.etree.ParserError: Document is empty` during `write_epub`. The reliable pattern (verified on Windows/lxml): `chap.content = '' + body_html + ''` as a plain `str`. ebooklib handles encoding itself. - **Special characters in titles.** Escape `&`, `<`, `>` in chapter titles before embedding in HTML. - **ebooklib not in Hermes venv.** The Hermes agent venv often lacks pip. Use `uv pip install --python ` to install into the system Python, then run the script with that Python explicitly. - **Spine order matters.** `book.spine = ["nav"] + epub_chapters` — nav must come first or the TOC won't render on some readers. ## Delivery to iPhone Books Tell the user (pick whichever fits their setup): 1. **AirDrop** (easiest): send .epub → tap → opens in Books 2. **KakaoTalk/email to self**: open attachment → share sheet → "Books" 3. **iCloud Drive**: upload → Files app → tap → share → Books 4. **USB (Windows)**: connect iPhone → iTunes/Finder → Books → drag .epub ## Verification After generating, confirm: - File exists and is > 0 bytes - Chapter count matches expected - Open with `epub.EpubBook()` reader to validate structure (optional) ## Related skills `pdf` (PDF creation/manipulation), `docx` (Word documents).