When a KDP manuscript changes, preserve separate sources for the body, navigation inclusion, cover, and colophon or publication data. Keep a map from each generated package back to those sources. This article’s controlled sample used four novel chapters, one cover, and one colophon source. One string in chapter three changed from KDP481-03 本文 to KDP481-03 修正版本文, and the same source list was used to generate before and after EPUBs.
Both packages returned local valid=true status. Their sizes changed from 7,211 to 7,224 bytes, and their SHA-256 values differed. This proves that a one-item chapter-three revision reached a different rebuilt package. It does not prove KDP acceptance or reader rendering.
Answer: keep four repair paths from the package to its sources
The product-independent method maps each class of defect to its authority. A body correction returns to the chapter file. A TOC or order defect returns to chapter order and navigation inclusion. A cover defect returns to the cover image and assignment. Incorrect author or publication data returns to series, volume, or colophon inputs. A finished EPUB by itself is not enough to reproduce those decisions later.
For every generated package, keep a source revision, settings revision, output hash, and inspection result together. STUDIO-407 explains the first local build. This guide begins after that point, when a KDP candidate receives a revision. Compared with STUDIO-377’s EPUB data synchronization, the emphasis here is preserving the previous submission candidate and an attributable handoff history.
Sample and baseline: freeze everything except chapter three
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-481,” the author was “海野灯,” the publisher was “Evidence Press,” and the file name was studio-481. It used horizontal writing, Japanese, volume 0, version 1.0, and publication date 2026-08-31. The title position was 0 and the TOC position was 1.
Before editing, record the old chapter-three text, the four-chapter-plus-colophon order, cover path, author, publisher, date, and the before output destination. For the revised build, change only the chapter-three text and the destination to after. That makes the output difference attributable to one accepted revision.
Operation: inspect the before package, then make one revision
The first pass set the series, volume, cover, source list, title position, and TOC position, then planned, exported, and inspected the EPUB. After preserving that package, one replacement was made in chapter three. The same cover and five-file list were applied again. The workflow repeated plan, export, and inspection at the same fixed time and then compared the two EPUBs.
In the public Rune Studio interface, the manuscript change belongs in the editor. File Selection and Chapter Order own the source list and navigation. Metadata owns the cover. Series Information and Volume Selection own publication values. Keeping the before and after EPUBs under separate names is what preserves the KDP manuscript’s repair path.
Measured result: both valid, 7,211 to 7,224 bytes
The title-specific Stage 4 record has status=passed and command_count=17. It reports input_chapters=4, controlled_replacements=1, first_valid=true, second_valid=true, and epub_sha_changed=true. The before package was 7,211 bytes with SHA-256 a25e45f6c454ba19db1117f9154157772e5832a8b1cdd22d63f066b65a178abf. The after package was 7,224 bytes with SHA-256 1e7363617c3e863c8320e9bcb9299c61924c025d16d4af63afd08de5445d992e. The diff reported identical=false.
Individual inspection records for both packages show spine 9: cover.xhtml, title.xhtml, nav.xhtml, p001.xhtml through p005.xhtml, and colophon.xhtml. Each had one image, zero missing images, nav and NCX present, and valid=true. The fixed structure remained while the chapter-three content changed.
A separate common Stage 4 run verified a generic three-chapter path with horizontal writing, version 1.1, spine 7, one image, zero missing images, nav and NCX present, and valid=true in nine operations. It does not replace the 17-operation four-chapter revision comparison.
Return to the source that owns each failure
If the revised chapter does not appear, return to chapters/03.md and the selected source list. If reading order or navigation changed, return to File Selection and Chapter Order. If the cover changed, return to images/cover.png and its assignment. If author or date is wrong, return to the series, volume, and colophon inputs. Do not repair the generated EPUB and leave the sources behind.
An unchanged hash would be a reason to investigate whether the revision reached the build. A changed hash is not proof that the right text changed. Confirm the target passage, spine, missing images, nav, and NCX under the same version identifier before treating the package as a handoff candidate.
Limits: KDP acceptance and rendering are separate checks
The evidence covers two local EPUBs generated from a dedicated copy and a structural diff between them. It does not cover KDP upload, review, retail listing, Kindle Previewer, device viewing, or identical rendering in every reader. Neither valid=true nor identical=false can be promoted to an external acceptance result.
Amazon KDP lists EPUB among its supported manuscript formats and recommends checking files against its publishing guidance and in Kindle Previewer. If this local package proceeds to KDP, attach those destination results to the after-version record instead of overwriting the local evidence.
What Rune Studio can manage
Current Stage 3 documentation for Rune Studio on macOS describes a workspace for managing manuscript files and EPUB settings by project. Its six-page EPUB Wizard sets series data, volume, manuscript order, navigation inclusion, cover, and publication date. 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 and spine are roles defined by the EPUB 3.3 specification, not Rune-specific formats. Rune Studio provides a reproducible generation workflow; it does not conduct KDP review. The current Mac feature scope is listed on the Rune Studio product page.
Conclusion: preserve the before package and a path back to chapter three
This KDP manuscript kept four chapters, a cover, and a colophon fixed while one chapter-three passage changed. Both packages retained spine 9, one image, zero missing images, nav and NCX, and local valid=true status. Their byte sizes and hashes differed, and the previous package remained available.
Start with a source map, not the submission file. For body, navigation, cover, and publication data, connect each input path and revision to the output hash and inspection result. Add KDP-side checks later in separate fields. That separation keeps a revision repairable without pretending that local validation is retailer approval.
