Free TXT to EPUB Converter – Leafline

Leafline is a free, open-source TXT to EPUB converter designed especially for long-form novels. Convert large TXT files into properly organized EPUB ebooks with automatic Chinese and English chapter detection. Preview chapters, edit book metadata, add covers, and download your EPUB directly in your browser. No registration, no server uploads, and no installation required.

Website · Changelog · Report a Bug

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Overview

Leafline reads a .txt novel, finds where the chapters begin, shows you a calm split preview, and then packages everything into a clean .epub file you can open in any e-reader.

Your text and cover image are processed locally. Nothing is uploaded to a server while the EPUB is assembled.

Tools

Leafline is a growing set of separate tools. Each one has its own page, inputs, actions, and processing logic.

Tool	Status	Address
TXT to EPUB	Available	#/tools/txt-to-epub
EPUB to TXT	Planned	—

TXT to EPUB

Features

• Smart chapter detection — recognizes Chinese headings (第一百二十章, including Chinese numerals) and English headings (Chapter 12).
• Six detection methods — Auto, Chinese chapters, English chapters, Separators, Fixed lines, and Manual.
• Reliability checks — Auto mode looks for a trustworthy numbered heading sequence before falling back to another strategy.
• Preview before you commit — see the chapter count, character count, and where each boundary came from before any book is made.
• Book details — set the title, author, and language (Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, English, Japanese, Korean, or Other).
• Optional cover image — PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP, embedded in the EPUB when provided.
• Structured EPUB output — one file per chapter, a table of contents page, EPUB 3 navigation, and an NCX file for older readers.
• Handles common encodings — reads UTF-8 first, then falls back to GBK/GB18030 and UTF-16, so older Chinese .txt files open correctly.
• Keeps everything — text before the first chapter heading is preserved as a "Front matter" section, and a table of contents at the top of the file is not mistaken for the chapters.
• Private by design — parsing and EPUB creation run in your browser, with no account and no upload.

Quick Start

1. Open the app (or index.html locally), then choose TXT to EPUB on the Home page.
2. Drop your .txt novel onto the page, or choose a file from your device.
3. Pick a detection method and review the chapter preview.
4. Fill in the book title, author, and language, and optionally add a cover image.
5. Click create, then download your EPUB.

Detection Methods

Method	Best for
Auto	Most files. Tries, in order: Chinese headings → English headings → explicit separator lines → Markdown headings → blank-line structure → fixed lines (last resort only).
Chinese chapters	Files using headings like 第12章 or 第十二章.
English chapters	Files using headings like Chapter 12: Title.
Separators	Files divided by separator lines (***, ---, ===) or by runs of blank lines.
Fixed lines	Always splits every set number of lines, even if headings exist.
Manual	Full control: edit the line numbers where chapters start, beginning from Auto's suggestion.

If no reliable pattern is found, Leafline tells you why and shows a fallback split, so you are never left with an empty preview.

Run Locally

This repository contains the production build as a single self-contained page, so there is nothing to install.

# Option 1: open the file directly
open index.html

# Option 2: serve it locally
python3 -m http.server 8000
# then visit http://localhost:8000

Fonts (Manrope, Cormorant Garamond, DM Mono, Noto Sans SC) load from Google Fonts. Conversion itself does not need a network connection.

Deploy

Because the app is a single static page, it works on any static host.

Tech Stack:

Repository Structure

txt-to-epub-converter/
├── index.html       
├── CHANGELOG.md      # Version history
├── README.md
└── assets/
    ├── logo.svg                
    ├── logo.png                
    ├── logo-wordmark.svg       
    ├── logo-wordmark.png
    ├── favicon.svg
    ├── favicon-64.png
    ├── apple-touch-icon.png    
    └── social-preview.png      

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md. The current release is 1.3.9 — Accent colors and Material You.

Contributing

Issues and suggestions are welcome. If you found a book that Leafline split badly, open an issue with a short sample of its chapter headings (no need to share the whole text).

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Made for long-form reading.