# EPUBCheck OPF-099: manifest lists the OPF, how to fix it

Source: https://epubcc.com/epubcheck/opf-099/ (updated 2026-11-04)

EPUBCheck OPF-099 is an error message: “The manifest must not list the package document.” The manifest lists the package document itself, which is not allowed. The package document is found through META-INF/container.xml and describes the publication; it is not a resource of it.

- Official message (EPUBCheck 5.4.0): The manifest must not list the package document.
- Default severity: Error

## Typical causes

- Tools that add every file in the folder to the manifest, the .opf included.
- A manifest generated by a script that walks the whole book folder.
- An item added by hand during troubleshooting.

## How to fix it

1. Find the manifest item whose href points to the .opf file.
2. Delete that item.
3. Check that nothing else (spine, fallbacks) refers to its id.

## When it's not this

If another file is declared twice, that is OPF-074.

## Sources

- EPUB 3.3, §5.6.1 The manifest element: https://www.w3.org/TR/epub-33/#sec-manifest-elem (read 2026-11-04)

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