How to repair broken internal links in EPUB
A contents link should open the section its label names. Repair the destination, then check chapter order and any footnote return links separately.
On this page
Check contents and note destinations
- Open the contents and follow each entry.
- Compare the first visible heading with the link label.
- Check one footnote link in both directions.
- Retest the saved EPUB in your reading app.
Repair the destination rather than deleting the link
In Calibre, right-click the backed-up EPUB and choose Edit book. Find the chapter containing the intended heading, then use the table-of-contents editing tool to correct the entry destination. If the problem is a link inside a paragraph, locate that passage in the editor and inspect its target. Give the destination a unique heading or identifier rather than reusing a name from another chapter. Save the book, run its book checks and reopen the saved EPUB.
Test two routes: click the corrected contents entry, then read continuously from the previous section. Correct contents navigation and correct reading order are separate outcomes. If a note has a return link, check that return as well; landing somewhere in the right chapter can still lose the reader’s place. Do not remove all links to make warnings disappear.
Follow Alice’s actual chapter links
Use the contents in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, available from Project Gutenberg. Chapter I is Down the Rabbit-Hole and Chapter II is The Pool of Tears. Follow each entry and compare the landing heading with the label. If a link in your own EPUB lands in the wrong chapter, correct its destination in a saved copy; do not delete the readable label. Check continuous reading across the same chapter boundary afterward. This is a repair procedure using real book structure, not a claimed defect or repair in the Gutenberg edition.
Open the published source.
Keep links aligned with renamed headings
Changing a heading without updating its links can introduce another fault. Work on a copy and keep the source PDF available. A working external web link says nothing about internal chapter navigation.