Match the report title.
Look for "EPUB cover not showing" or the closest title above. Keep the original EPUBCheck, KDP, or Kindle Previewer wording if it differs.
EPUB error guide
EPUB cover not showing
Use this when the cover is missing in a reader, Kindle Previewer, KDP upload, or EPUBCheck-style report. Scan the EPUB to see whether the OPF cover metadata points to the right image or whether the cover needs manual source-tool work.
Best fit
EPUB internal cover metadata.
Upload when the cover image exists or should exist inside the EPUB, but OPF cover metadata, manifest id, or cover-image wiring may be wrong.
Route elsewhere
Kindle library thumbnail.
If the EPUB cover is wired correctly but a device or library thumbnail is delayed, cached, or store-controlled, use the reader or platform workflow.
Do not upload
KDP marketing cover or cover design.
Paperback cover PDF, listing cover upload, crop, white border, artwork quality, and marketing-cover approval are not EPUB structure repairs.
Scan when the message does not name the affected path. The report shows affected paths and repair decisions, not manuscript text.
Fixed-layout, DRM, or source-workflow issue? Check unsupported or review-first EPUB cases.
Match these report titles
- EPUB cover not showing
- OPF cover metadata target was not found in the manifest
- EPUB 3 cover image is missing the cover-image property
- Cover image asset needs manual review
Use this guide when
Your message matches "EPUB cover not showing" or one of the report titles above.
Upload if
You have the exported reflowable .epub and need the affected path, file, field, or repair decision before editing.
Handle outside this tool
Use the source tool or publishing workflow for DOCX, PDF, KPF, KCB, fixed-layout, comics, image-first books, DRM, visual design, or KDP listing and approval problems.
Read the scan report
Decide if this report item matches.
Use the report label, affected file, and repair decision together. A matching title alone is not enough if the file path or EPUB structure points to a different problem.
Check the affected file first.
Use the Affected area, Source file, Target file, or Problem type rows before editing OPF, nav, XHTML, CSS, or image paths.
Follow the repair decision.
Repairable means one clear structural change. Needs review or Not supported means use the named file, source project, or platform step.
Keep with your repair note.
Copy these fields from the report instead of rebuilding the fix from memory.
Source file
Target path or field
Original error
Repair decision
Next step
1. Example report output
What a cover scan report should show.
A useful cover report should separate OPF wiring from visual cover work.
OPF cover meta
The <meta name="cover" content="..."> value in content.opf, if the EPUB uses it.
Manifest item
The image item id, href, media-type, and any properties="cover-image" token.
Packaged image
Whether the referenced cover image file exists inside the EPUB package.
Repair decision
Repairable only when one existing cover image is clearly the intended OPF target.
Manual review
Needed for multiple cover candidates, missing image files, unreadable images, small dimensions, non-portrait shape, compression, cropping, or redesign.
The report should tell you whether this is an OPF cover wiring issue or a source-cover task. It should not promise to design, crop, upscale, compress, or redraw the cover.
2. Next step
Choose OPF repair or manual cover work.
The next action depends on whether the EPUB already contains one clear cover image.
Upload scan
You only know the cover is missing.
Use the report to find the OPF cover meta value, manifest image item, ZIP image path, and EPUB 3 cover-image property.
Safe repair
One cover image is clearly intended.
The OPF cover metadata or cover-image property can be aligned when the image already exists and there is only one clear target.
Manual review
The image itself or cover choice is the problem.
Return to the source tool or EPUB editor when the image is missing, damaged, too small, square or landscape, oversized, or one of several possible cover files.
3. Concrete path example
A typical missing cover wiring problem.
The image file can be inside the EPUB but not connected as the cover.
Report: OPF cover meta: content="cover" Manifest id "cover": not found Cover image candidate: images/cover.jpg EPUB 3 property: missing cover-image Fix decision: repairable only if images/cover.jpg is the single clear cover image
If the package contains cover.jpg, front-cover.png, and marketing-cover-final.jpg, choose the intended cover manually before editing content.opf.
Quick decision
Decide whether the problem is cover wiring or cover production.
This page can attract broad cover searches, but the scanner only works inside the EPUB package.
Upload fit
EPUB internal cover metadata is probably wrong.
The scanner can check OPF cover metadata, manifest image entries, media type, ZIP paths, and EPUB 3 cover-image property.
Route elsewhere
The Kindle library thumbnail is missing or stale.
If the EPUB cover is wired correctly, a device thumbnail or store thumbnail may be cache, delivery, or platform behavior rather than an EPUB package repair.
Not this tool
You need KDP marketing cover or design work.
Paperback cover PDF, listing image, crop, white border, artwork quality, spine, bleed, barcode, and cover approval are outside this scanner.
Start here
Check OPF cover wiring before redesigning the cover.
A missing EPUB cover is often a package problem, not a design problem. The scan checks whether content.opf names a cover image, whether the image exists in the manifest and ZIP package, and whether EPUB 3 marks the cover image correctly.
What it means
An EPUB cover is not only an image file. The OPF package usually needs metadata and manifest wiring so readers and publishing tools know which image is the cover.
Can it be fixed automatically?
EPUB Fixer can help when the correction is limited to OPF cover metadata or the EPUB 3 cover-image property and one existing cover image is clearly the target.
What to check next
Open content.opf and find the OPF cover metadata or the manifest item with properties="cover-image".
What not to assume
It does not design covers, crop artwork, upscale or sharpen images, compress or transcode cover files, redraw pixels, choose between several possible covers, fix paperback cover PDFs, solve KDP listing images, or guarantee KDP approval.
Common situations
Common EPUB cover not showing cases.
Start from what the EPUB already contains.
content.opf points to a cover id that does not exist.
The metadata says content="cover", but no manifest item uses id="cover".
Repair only when one existing image is clearly the cover target.
EPUB 3 cover image property is missing.
The cover image item exists, but the manifest does not mark it with properties="cover-image".
Add the property only to the clear cover image item.
The OPF cover item points to a missing image file.
The manifest names an image href that is not in the EPUB ZIP package.
Restore or re-export the intended cover image from the source project.
Kindle library thumbnail is missing after upload.
This may be cache, device sync, store processing, or platform thumbnail behavior when OPF cover wiring is already valid.
Do not treat thumbnail delay alone as an EPUB repair unless the scan also finds cover wiring evidence.
KDP listing or paperback cover is the issue.
Marketing cover upload, paperback cover PDF, crop, border, spine, and barcode are separate from the EPUB internal cover image.
Use the KDP cover or source design workflow instead of uploading for structure repair.
The cover image needs visual or file review.
The scan may flag unreadable, unusually small, square or landscape, or very large cover assets.
Use the report path as a checklist, then edit/export the cover outside EPUB Fixer.
Cover-related messages this page can help with
EPUB cover not showing: OPF cover metadata, manifest cover-image property, missing cover image file, or cover image asset issue.
Where EPUB cover problems usually appear
The EPUB opens without a cover, Kindle Previewer does not show the cover, KDP upload or preview looks coverless, a reader app ignores the cover, or EPUBCheck-style output points to OPF cover metadata or image manifest problems.
What it means
The cover can be present as an image file while still not be wired as the EPUB cover.
An EPUB cover is not only an image file. The OPF package usually needs metadata and manifest wiring so readers and publishing tools know which image is the cover.
Common causes include cover metadata pointing to a missing manifest id, an EPUB 3 image item missing the cover-image property, an image file absent from the ZIP package, several possible cover images, unreadable image data, very small dimensions, square or landscape shape, or an oversized asset that needs manual review.
Before you edit
Check the cover metadata, manifest item, and image file together.
Do not crop, replace, or re-export the cover until you know whether the EPUB package simply points to the wrong manifest id or misses the EPUB 3 cover-image property.
- 1Open content.opf and find the OPF cover metadata or the manifest item with properties="cover-image".
- 2Check whether that manifest id points to an image media type and href.
- 3Confirm the cover image file exists inside the EPUB ZIP package at that exact path.
- 4For EPUB 3, check whether the intended cover image manifest item includes the cover-image property.
- 5Use automatic repair only when there is one clear cover image target.
- 6Handle cover design, crop, clarity, compression, conversion, redraw, and KDP marketing cover work outside EPUB Fixer.
Why KDP checks it
Why readers and publishing tools check cover wiring.
EPUB 3.3 package rules
The OPF file is the EPUB's map: metadata, file list, reading order, and navigation wiring. KDP and EPUBCheck use it to decide whether the book package is coherent.
EPUBCheck
EPUBCheck checks EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 files against the official rules and reports package, markup, link, and file-reference problems.
KDP eBook file formats
KDP supports EPUB files that meet Kindle Publishing Guidelines and recommends checking the file with Kindle Previewer before upload.
Can this be fixed safely?
When cover metadata can be repaired here.
When automatic repair is safe
EPUB Fixer can help when the correction is limited to OPF cover metadata or the EPUB 3 cover-image property and one existing cover image is clearly the target.
When you need manual review
It does not design covers, crop artwork, upscale or sharpen images, compress or transcode cover files, redraw pixels, choose between several possible covers, fix paperback cover PDFs, solve KDP listing images, or guarantee KDP approval.
Before / after example
Before: content.opf points to cover but the manifest only has id="cover-image" for images/cover.jpg. After: the OPF cover metadata can point to the existing cover-image id and EPUBCheck runs again. Before: the cover image file is missing or too small; fix the source image and rebuild the EPUB.
Ready to retry?
Scan the EPUB cover wiring before another upload.
Upload the same EPUB you plan to retry. The report can show whether a cover metadata fix is safe, whether the cover image asset needs manual work, or whether the issue belongs in the source or publishing workflow.
Upload EPUB to scanFAQ
Questions authors ask when an EPUB cover is not showing.
Can EPUB Fixer fix an EPUB cover not showing?
Only the OPF wiring part. It can align cover metadata or the EPUB 3 cover-image property when one existing image is clearly the cover. It does not edit the image itself.
Can it detect cover design, crop, clarity, or white-border problems?
It can flag basic asset signals such as missing, unreadable, very small, non-portrait, or large cover files. It cannot judge visual design, crop quality, white borders, marketing appeal, or KDP approval risk.
What if there are several cover images in the EPUB?
The report should stop for manual review. Choosing between several possible covers changes what readers or KDP may show, so the author or formatter should confirm it.
Does this replace KDP cover upload or paperback cover checks?
No. This page is about the cover image wired inside an EPUB manuscript file. KDP listing covers, paperback cover PDFs, spine, bleed, barcode, and marketing image review are outside the scanner.