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EPUBCheck · Resources and references

RSC-005

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EPUBCheck RSC-005 is an error message: “Error while parsing file: ….” A file does not follow the schema EPUB requires for it: an element, attribute or value is not allowed where it is, or something required is missing. It is the most common EPUBCheck error.

The official message

Error while parsing file: %1$s

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

%1$s, %2$s… are filled in with the file, value or element EPUBCheck found.

Typical causes

  • Elements nested where the schema forbids them, or attributes that HTML or EPUB do not define ("element … not allowed here", "attribute … not allowed here").
  • Duplicate id values in one document, often from copied footnotes or headings.
  • Missing required metadata, such as the dcterms:modified date of an EPUB 3 package document.

How to fix it

  • Read the text after the colon: EPUBCheck reports the file, the line and column, and the parser's own description of the problem.
  • Fix the element or attribute it names; in package documents, add the missing metadata, for example <meta property="dcterms:modified">2026-11-03T00:00:00Z</meta>.
  • Fix the first errors first: one structural error can cause several later ones.

Terms used here

Other RSC messages

  • RSC-004 File "…" is encrypted, its content will not be checked.
  • RSC-006 Remote resource reference is not allowed in this context; resource "…" must be located in the EPUB container.
  • RSC-003 No rootfile tag with media type "application/oebps-package+xml" was found in the container.
  • RSC-007 Referenced resource "…" could not be found in the EPUB.
  • RSC-007w Referenced resource "…" could not be found in the EPUB.
  • RSC-002 Required META-INF/container.xml resource could not be found.

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

FAQ

What does EPUBCheck RSC-005 mean?

EPUBCheck RSC-005 is an error message: “Error while parsing file: ….” A file does not follow the schema EPUB requires for it: an element, attribute or value is not allowed where it is, or something required is missing. It is the most common EPUBCheck error.

Is RSC-005 an error?

RSC-005 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.