# EPUBCheck CSS-019: empty @font-face rule, how to fix it

Source: https://epubcc.com/epubcheck/css-019/ (updated 2026-11-04)

EPUBCheck CSS-019 is a warning message: “CSS font-face declaration has no attributes.” An @font-face rule is empty, so it declares no font. EPUBCheck warns because the rule does nothing and usually means a font was removed only halfway.

- Official message (EPUBCheck 5.4.0): CSS font-face declaration has no attributes.
- Default severity: Warning

## Typical causes

- A rule left after its src and font-family were removed.
- A template stylesheet with placeholder @font-face blocks.

## How to fix it

1. Open the file EPUBCheck names (the message gives the path, line and column) in a text or EPUB editor such as Sigil, or unzip the EPUB and open it there.
2. Delete the empty @font-face rule.
3. Or complete it with font-family and a src that points to a font file in the EPUB and the manifest.
4. Rebuild the EPUB and run EPUBCheck again to confirm the message is gone.

## When it's not this

If the rule names a font in an unusual format, that is CSS-007.

## Sources

- EPUBCheck 5.4.0 message texts (MessageBundle.properties, w3c/epubcheck on GitHub): https://github.com/w3c/epubcheck/blob/v5.4.0/src/main/resources/com/adobe/epubcheck/messages/MessageBundle.properties (read 2026-11-04)

Message text and severity: EPUBCheck (W3C, BSD-3-Clause). Explanation: EpubCC.