How to create a package file like package.opf for an EPUB 2.0.1 book?

At least one package file, like package.opf, is required for an EPUB 2.0.1 book in the book ZIP container. It defines required meta data and specifies 2 required content files.

Here is the requirement on a package file:

1. A package file must be named with .opf file extension.

2. A package file must be an XML file and meet the "Open Packaging Format (OPF) 2.0.1" specifications.

3. A package file must specify version="2.0" in the "package" XML element.

4. A package file must specify a unique-identifier and several meta data elements. For example:

    <dc:title>Hello</dc:title>
    <dc:identifier id="id">fyicenter.com.epub.hello</dc:identifier>
    <dc:language>en-US</dc:language>

5. A package file must specify at least files: an XML file to provide navigation information of the book, an XHTML file to provide the content of the book.

6. A package file can be placed in any directory of the EPUB 2.0.1 book ZIP container. But its exact location must be specified correctly in the "container.xml" file.

You can create a package file with any text editor. Here is an example called package.opf:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!-- Hello.opf
  Copyright (c) 2018 FYIcenter.com 
-->
<package xmlns="http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf" version="2.0" 
  unique-identifier="id">
  <metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
    <dc:title>Hello</dc:title>
    <dc:identifier id="id">fyicenter.com.epub.hello</dc:identifier>
    <dc:language>en-US</dc:language>
  </metadata>
  <manifest>
    <item id="navigation" href="/navigation.xml" 
       media-type="application/x-dtbncx+xml"/>
    <item id="content" href="/content.xhtml" 
       media-type="application/xhtml+xml"/>
  </manifest>
  <spine toc="navigation">
    <itemref idref="content"/>
  </spine>  
</package>

Download Hello-2.0.epub, and unzip it. You see an example of "package.opf" in the root directory.

 

⇒ Hello-2.0.epub - Navigation File: navigation.xml

⇐ Hello-2.0.epub - "container.xml" File

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