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EPUBCheck · Resources and references

EPUBCheck RSC-011: link to a non-spine document

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EPUBCheck RSC-011 is an error message: “Found a reference to a resource that is not a spine item.” A hyperlink points to a content document that is in the manifest but not in the spine, so reading apps may not be able to open it. Every document a reader can navigate to must be part of the spine.

The official message

Found a reference to a resource that is not a spine item.

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 note, appendix or answer page linked from the text but never added to the spine.
  • A document removed from the spine to hide it, while links to it remained.

How to fix it

  1. Find the target document named in the message.
  2. Add the document to the spine. If it should not appear when paging through the book, add it with linear="no".
  3. Validate again.

When it's not this

If the target file is missing entirely, that is RSC-007; if it is not a content document, RSC-010.

Terms used here

Other RSC messages

  • RSC-010 Reference to non-standard resource type found.
  • RSC-012 Fragment identifier is not defined.
  • RSC-009 A non-SVG image resource should not be defined with a fragment identifier.
  • RSC-013 Fragment identifier is used in a reference to a stylesheet resource.
  • RSC-008 Referenced resource "…" is not declared in the OPF manifest.
  • RSC-014 Fragment identifier defines an incompatible resource type.

Sources

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

FAQ

What does EPUBCheck RSC-011 mean?

EPUBCheck RSC-011 is an error message: “Found a reference to a resource that is not a spine item.” A hyperlink points to a content document that is in the manifest but not in the spine, so reading apps may not be able to open it. Every document a reader can navigate to must be part of the spine.

Is RSC-011 an error?

RSC-011 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.