To make a Kindle EPUB with TOC, cover, and colophon, freeze the body files, navigation inclusion, cover, and colophon inputs before the first export. Then stop at a locally inspected EPUB and write down the handoff values. The controlled sample for this article used four novel chapters, one cover, and one dated author colophon source. It produced spine 9, one image, zero missing images, five nav entries, five NCX entries, and valid=true.
The operation record passed, but the intended four-entry navigation did not. The colophon source became a fifth navigation item. A practical preparation workflow therefore continues past export: identify the extra item, return to its navigation-inclusion setting, and rebuild before handing the file to another stage.
Answer: stop the first build at a documented local handoff
The product-independent method is to define four input groups separately: manuscript order, chapters included in navigation, cover image, and publication details. After generation, inspect reading order, navigation targets, packaged images, and metadata. “The EPUB opens” is not enough evidence when a colophon is unintentionally listed in navigation or a cover resource is missing.
STUDIO-407 covers the first complete local build. It is not the same job as STUDIO-377, which revises existing EPUB data and compares two builds, or STUDIO-481, which preserves source and repair destinations through a KDP manuscript revision.
Sample: freeze four chapters, colophon, cover, and metadata
The dedicated copy contained chapters/01.md through 04.md, chapters/99-colophon.md, and images/cover.png. The title was “四章小説 STUDIO-407,” the author was “小峰青,” the publisher was “Evidence Press,” and the file name was studio-407. It used horizontal writing, Japanese language, volume 0, version 1.0, and publication date 2026-08-31.
The title-page position was supplied as 0 and the TOC-page position as 1. The four chapters were followed by the colophon source. The baseline sheet should contain that five-file order, an expected navigation count of four, the cover path, author, publisher, and date. If the observed count differs, preserve the mismatch and assign a repair destination.
Operation: move once from book data to inspection
The test created and opened a disposable workspace, set the series and volume data, assigned the cover, selected the four chapters plus colophon, and checked the planned order. It then exported the EPUB and inspected its internal structure. The title-specific product sequence contained 10 commands.
The public Rune Studio workflow maps to its six-page EPUB Wizard: Series Information, Volume Selection, File Selection, Chapter Order, Metadata, and Review and Export. Chapter Order is where reading order and navigation inclusion are checked separately. Review and Export is where page order, navigation targets, cover, and file name are confirmed. If a value is wrong, return to that input page rather than editing the generated package.
Measured result: spine 9 and five navigation entries
The title-specific Stage 4 record has status=passed and command_count=10. Its spine was cover.xhtml, title.xhtml, nav.xhtml, p001.xhtml through p005.xhtml, and colophon.xhtml, for nine resources. The package had one image, zero missing images, nav and NCX present, and local valid=true status.
The nav targets were p001.xhtml through p005.xhtml; the NCX targets were Text/p001.xhtml through Text/p005.xhtml. Both lists had five entries. The compact result recorded planned_chapters=null, so this article does not fill in a planned chapter count by assumption; it relies on the inspected spine and navigation counts. Those values prove that the four chapters, cover, and colophon were packaged and that navigation files were generated. They do not prove the intended four-entry chapter navigation. For that goal, return to the colophon source’s navigation-inclusion setting, exclude it, and inspect a new export.
A separate common Stage 4 run used five chapters and returned horizontal writing, version 1.7, spine 9, one image, zero missing images, nav and NCX present, and valid=true in nine operations. It is a generic path check and does not replace the title-specific five-entry observation.
Limits and repair destinations
valid=true describes the internal structure of a local EPUB generated from a dedicated copy. It is not KDP acceptance, a successful retail listing, a Kindle Previewer result, a device link test, or proof of identical rendering in every reading system. This revision also adds no screenshots or visual cover inspection.
Map each failure to its source. An extra TOC item returns to navigation inclusion. Incorrect reading order returns to File Selection and Chapter Order. A missing image returns to the cover path. Incorrect author or date returns to Series Information or volume metadata. A retailer-side failure must be investigated at that destination; it cannot be replaced by the local validity flag.
Separate Rune Studio features from the EPUB standard
Current Stage 3 documentation for Rune Studio on macOS describes an EPUB Wizard that sets series data, volume, manuscript order, navigation inclusion, cover, and publication date before generating EPUB 3. Its documented output includes XHTML body content, title, navigation, colophon, cover, nav.xhtml, legacy-compatible NCX, and the metadata, manifest, and spine in content.opf.
The package document, spine, and navigation document are roles defined by the EPUB 3.3 specification. They are not Rune-specific formats. Rune Studio’s role is to generate that structure from the documented workflow. The current Mac feature scope is listed on the Rune Studio product page.
Conclusion: correct the navigation count before handoff
Begin a Kindle EPUB with a baseline sheet for four chapters, the colophon source, the cover, and publication details. This sample reached spine 9, one image, zero missing images, five nav entries, five NCX entries, and local valid=true status. The observed navigation count did not match the intended four chapter entries.
Do not treat that package as a KDP-approved final file. Exclude the colophon from navigation, export again, and hand off only the locally inspected EPUB whose expected and observed values agree. The conclusion for this first-build guide is a clean handoff package, not a two-version revision history.
