OPF-089 is reported as error by default. The EPUB breaks a rule of the specification and is invalid. Stores and Send to Kindle may reject it, and EPUBCheck exits with status 1.

EPUBCheck · Package document (OPF)

EPUBCheck OPF-089: alternate link with others

Updated: Nov 4, 2026

EPUBCheck OPF-089 is an error message: “The "alternate" link rel keyword cannot be paired with other keywords.” A metadata link uses rel="alternate" together with other keywords. EPUB says the alternate keyword must stand alone, because it marks a different representation of the whole package document.

The official message

The "alternate" link rel keyword cannot be paired with other keywords.

Default severity: Error. The EPUB breaks a rule of the specification and is invalid. Stores and Send to Kindle may reject it, and EPUBCheck exits with status 1.
EPUBCheck version: 5.4.0

Typical causes

A rel attribute such as rel="alternate record" written to describe one file two ways.
Keywords merged when combining metadata links.
A link copied from HTML, where combining alternate with other keywords is common.

How to fix it

Find the link element EPUBCheck points to.
If the file is an alternate representation of the package (for example a JSON version), keep only rel="alternate".
If it is a metadata record, use rel="record" with its media-type instead.

When it's not this

If a record link lacks its media type, that is OPF-094.

Terms used here

Other OPF messages

OPF-088 Unrecognized epub:type value "…".
OPF-090 It is encouraged to use MIME media type "…" instead of "…".
OPF-091 The item href URL must not have a fragment identifier.
OPF-086 Property "…" is deprecated. Consider using … instead.
OPF-086b epub:type value "…" is deprecated. Consider using … instead.
OPF-086c the "…" reserved prefix is deprecated.

Sources

EPUB 3.3, §D.4.1.1 alternate · read Nov 4, 2026
EPUB 3.3, §5.5.6 The link element · read Nov 4, 2026

Message text and severity from EPUBCheck 5.4.0 (W3C, BSD-3-Clause). Explanation by EpubCC.