EPUB
EPUB is an e-book file format that uses the ".epub" file extension. The term is short for electronic publication and is sometimes stylized as ePub. EPUB is supported by many e-readers, and compatible software is available for most smartphones, tablets, and computers. EPUB is a technical standard published by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). It became an official standard of the IDPF in September 2007, superseding the older Open eBook (OEB) standard.
| Filename extension |
.epub |
|---|---|
| Internet media type |
application/epub+zip |
| Magic number | PK\x03\x04 (Zip) |
| Developed by | International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) |
| Initial release | September 2007 |
| Latest release | 3.3 May 25, 2023 |
| Type of format | e-book file format |
| Contained by | OEBPS Container Format (OCF; Zip) |
| Extended from | Open eBook, XHTML, CSS, DTBook |
| Standard | ISO/IEC TS 30135 |
| Open format? | Yes |
| Website | w3.org/epub3 |
The Book Industry Study Group endorses EPUB 3 as the format of choice for packaging content and has stated that the global book publishing industry should rally around a single standard. The EPUB format is implemented as an archive file consisting of XHTML files carrying the content, along with images and other supporting files. EPUB is the most widely supported vendor-independent XML-based e-book format; that is, it is supported by almost all hardware readers.