1 min read

Fixing EPUBs Exported from Apple Books

I encountered an issue when trying to upload EPUBs to Readwise Reader that I had downloaded from Apple Books. Turns out, it's a known issue that Apple Books exports EPUBs as folders, not files, making imports to other services problematic. To address this, I found a GitHub project that can help. Here's how to use it.

1. Download these two files: pack-epub and Source code(zip)

2. Unzip Source code (if macOS doesn't auto-extract)

3. In a terminal, grant pack-epub write access:

chmod +x /path/to/pack-epub

4. In a terminal, convert your Apple Books EPUB

/path/to/pack-epub --dir-path=/path/to/your.messed.up.apple.epub

5. On the first run, macOS may block the app as it's unverified. Click 'Cancel'.

6. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security, find "pack-epub was blocked..." and click "Allow Anyway".

7. Run the conversion again in a terminal

/path/to/pack-epub --dir-path=/path/to/your.messed.up.apple.epub

8. The fixed EPUB will be in the folder pack-epub-1.0 that was unpacked by Source code