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EPUB Cover Changer (.site)

EPUB Cover Changer (.site) / Add a cover to an EPUB

How to add a cover to an EPUB

Open the EPUB in the cover changer, choose an image or make a text cover, and download. The tool adds the image, tells the book it is the cover, and adds a cover page. Nothing is uploaded.

Last updated: · What changed: Added a Calibre/Sigil comparison, a file-privacy note beside the tool and a not-affiliated statement; site name now EPUB Cover Changer (.site); added an About page.

What a cover needs inside an EPUB

An EPUB has a package file (the .opf file) with a list of everything in the book, called the manifest. A cover is not just a picture file in the book. For readers to treat it as the cover, the package file must say so. A book can contain a picture and still show a blank cover because nothing says “this one is the cover”.

What the tool adds

  • The image. Saved as a JPEG in the images folder next to the package file, for example images/cover-1a2b3c4d5e.jpg.
  • A manifest item. A line in the manifest with a unique id and the image/jpeg type.
  • The cover entry. A metadata line <meta name="cover" content="…"/> that points to that item, used by EPUB 2 readers and still understood by many EPUB 3 readers.
  • The cover-image property (EPUB 3). A flag on that one manifest item, taken off any other item.
  • A cover page. A small XHTML page showing the image full-page, put first in the reading order, and a guide entry for it. If the book already has a cover page, it is updated instead.

Before and after

A simplified EPUB 2 package file, before:

<metadata> <dc:title>My Book</dc:title>
</metadata>
<manifest> <item id="c1" href="chapter1.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
</manifest>
<spine> <itemref idref="c1"/>
</spine>

After:

<metadata> <dc:title>My Book</dc:title> <meta name="cover" content="cover-image"/>
</metadata>
<manifest> <item id="cover-image" href="images/cover-1a2b3c4d5e.jpg" media-type="image/jpeg"/> <item id="cover-page" href="cover.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/> <item id="c1" href="chapter1.xhtml" media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
</manifest>
<spine> <itemref idref="cover-page" linear="yes"/> <itemref idref="c1"/>
</spine>
<guide> <reference type="cover" title="Cover" href="cover.xhtml"/>
</guide>

Open the cover changer

Pick your EPUB and a picture. The book is processed on your device and never uploaded.

Open the cover changer

Step by step

  1. Open the cover changer and choose your EPUB. “No cover found” confirms the book has none.
  2. Upload a picture, or choose “Make a text cover” and edit the title and author.
  3. Pick the screen size and check the preview.
  4. Download “your book (new cover).epub” and copy it to your reader or reading app.

Things we leave alone

The rest of the package file stays as it was: other metadata, namespaces and refinements are kept, and the book’s unique identifier is not changed. Every other file is copied across unchanged. The update-date option (on by default) only refreshes the modified date on EPUB 3 books.

If a book is protected by DRM, we stop and tell you instead of making a broken file.

Questions and answers

How do I add a cover to an EPUB that has none?

Choose the EPUB in the cover changer, add a picture or make a text cover, and download. The tool adds the image, the cover entry and a cover page.

Do I need a special image format?

No. Upload a JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF. The cover is saved as a standard JPEG because that is the safest format for e-readers.

Will the cover show in my reading app?

Reading apps and e-readers use the cover declared in the book. Because the tool writes the cover entry and a cover page, most apps show it. Some keep an old thumbnail until you re-add the book.

Does adding a cover change the text of my book?

No. The chapters, fonts and styles are copied unchanged.

Is the EPUB uploaded anywhere?

No. It is opened and rewritten in your browser.

Why does my EPUB contain a picture but still show no cover?

Because nothing in the book says that the picture is the cover. Readers use the cover entry in the package file, not the picture’s name or position. Adding the entry, as the tool does, fixes it.

How can I tell whether my EPUB already has a cover?

Open it in the cover changer. The “Cover found by” line names how the cover was found, and “No cover found” means the book has none. You can also unzip the EPUB and look for a cover entry in the package (.opf) file.

Ready to change the cover?

Choose your EPUB and a picture. It takes under a minute and the book never leaves your device.

Open the cover changer