# EPUB Accessibility Checker - EAA & Ace by DAISY Report (`that_red_bird/epub-accessibility-checker`) Actor

Is your ebook backlist accessible? Runs Ace by DAISY and EPUBCheck on each EPUB URL and returns a pass, review or fail EAA summary with violations and missing accessibility metadata. Automated checks cover only part of WCAG and need a human review.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/that_red_bird/epub-accessibility-checker.md
- **Developed by:** [mohamed alaya](https://apify.com/that_red_bird) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$10.00 / 1,000 book checkeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## EPUB Accessibility Checker - EAA & Ace by DAISY Report

Runs Ace by DAISY and EPUBCheck on each EPUB and gives you a pass, review or fail summary for the European Accessibility Act (EAA), with the violations and the missing accessibility metadata. Made for publishers, distributors and self-publishing platforms that need to audit a backlist of ebooks.

Ace by DAISY is the standard open-source accessibility checker for EPUB (WCAG 2.x and EPUB Accessibility 1.1 rules, powered by axe-core). EPUBCheck is the W3C reference validator.

### Input examples

Check a list of books:

```json
{ "epubUrls": ["https://example.com/books/title-one.epub", "https://example.com/books/title-two.epub"], "maxBooks": 50 }
```

Check EPUB files stored in a key-value store, EPUBCheck only (fast validity check):

```json
{ "epubUrls": [], "keyValueStoreId": "YOUR_STORE_ID", "runAce": false }
```

Get Ace messages in French:

```json
{ "epubUrls": ["https://example.com/books/livre.epub"], "lang": "fr" }
```

The default input checks one public sample book.

### Input guide

| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| `epubUrls` | Direct links to .epub files. |
| `keyValueStoreId`, `recordKeys` | Check .epub records stored in a key-value store. |
| `runEpubCheck`, `runAce` | Switch either checker off. Ace is the slower one. |
| `saveFullReports` | Save the complete Ace report.json and EPUBCheck JSON and link them in the row. |
| `maxBooks`, `maxEpubMb`, `bookTimeoutSecs`, `lang` | Limits and report language. |

### How the EAA verdict is decided

| Verdict | When |
|---|---|
| **fail** | EPUBCheck reports fatal or error messages, or Ace finds critical or serious violations or WCAG A/AA violations of moderate or higher impact |
| **review** | No such issue, but EPUBCheck warnings, minor Ace violations, a checker that did not run, or missing required accessibility metadata (accessMode, accessModeSufficient, accessibilityFeature, accessibilityHazard, accessibilitySummary, conformsTo) |
| **pass** | No automated issue found. Manual review is still needed for full conformance |

### Output

One row per book.

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `title`, `creators`, `language`, `publisher` | Book details from EPUBCheck |
| `eaaVerdict`, `verdictReasons` | pass, review or fail with the reasons |
| `epubcheckErrors`, `epubcheckWarnings`, `epubcheckMessages` | Validity results |
| `aceViolations`, `criticalOrSerious`, `aceViolationsByImpact`, `topIssues` | Accessibility violations grouped by rule with counts, files and help links |
| `metadataGaps`, `conformsTo`, `accessibilityFeatures` | Accessibility metadata status |
| `aceReportUrl`, `epubcheckReportUrl` | Links to the full JSON reports |

### Use it with

- A publisher's title list or catalogue export -> a list of EPUB URLs -> this Actor: a backlist audit with a sortable verdict per title.
- A scheduled run on newly delivered files from a distributor.
- Your remediation vendor: hand over the `fail` rows and `topIssues`.

### FAQ

**Is a pass the same as EAA compliance?** No. Automated tools cover roughly a third of WCAG success criteria. A pass means no automated issue was found; reading order, meaningful alt text and similar items need a human review.

**Does it need the book to be public?** It needs a URL the Actor can download, or a key-value store record.

### Honest limits

- Ace needs a few minutes for large illustrated books; the default limit is 300 seconds per book.
- Only the checks that EPUBCheck and Ace implement are reported. DRM-protected or encrypted EPUBs cannot be checked.
- The EAA verdict is a triage summary, not a legal opinion.

### Price

Pay per event: **$0.01 per book checked** (`book-checked`). 100 books cost $1.00. Books that cannot be downloaded or that both checkers fail on are not charged.

# Actor input Schema

## `epubUrls` (type: `array`):

Direct links to .epub files. The default is one public sample book so you can try the Actor; replace it with your own list.

## `keyValueStoreId` (type: `string`):

Pick a key-value store that holds .epub records, for example one filled by your own upload job. All records ending in .epub (or the keys below) are checked, in addition to the URLs.

## `recordKeys` (type: `array`):

Only check these records of the selected key-value store. Leave empty to check all records that end in .epub.

## `runEpubCheck` (type: `boolean`):

Validate the EPUB package and content documents with the W3C reference validator (Java). A book with fatal or error messages fails.

## `runAce` (type: `boolean`):

Run the DAISY accessibility checker (axe-core in headless Chromium) against EPUB Accessibility 1.1 and WCAG 2.x. This is the slower part of the check.

## `saveFullReports` (type: `boolean`):

Store the complete Ace report.json and EPUBCheck JSON for each book in the key-value store and add the links to the result row.

## `lang` (type: `string`):

Language code for the Ace messages, for example fr or de. Leave empty for English.

## `maxBooks` (type: `integer`):

Upper limit of EPUB files checked per run. Each book takes about 20 to 90 seconds.

## `maxEpubMb` (type: `integer`):

Books larger than this are skipped with an error row.

## `bookTimeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

Maximum time for Ace on one book. Large illustrated books can need more.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "epubUrls": [
    "https://github.com/IDPF/epub3-samples/releases/download/20230704/childrens-literature.epub"
  ],
  "recordKeys": [],
  "runEpubCheck": true,
  "runAce": true,
  "saveFullReports": true,
  "lang": "",
  "maxBooks": 10,
  "maxEpubMb": 50,
  "bookTimeoutSecs": 300
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `downloadCsv` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (type: `string`):

No description

## `count` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "epubUrls": [
        "https://github.com/IDPF/epub3-samples/releases/download/20230704/childrens-literature.epub"
    ],
    "recordKeys": [],
    "runEpubCheck": true,
    "runAce": true,
    "saveFullReports": true,
    "lang": "",
    "maxBooks": 10,
    "maxEpubMb": 50,
    "bookTimeoutSecs": 300
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("that_red_bird/epub-accessibility-checker").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "epubUrls": ["https://github.com/IDPF/epub3-samples/releases/download/20230704/childrens-literature.epub"],
    "recordKeys": [],
    "runEpubCheck": True,
    "runAce": True,
    "saveFullReports": True,
    "lang": "",
    "maxBooks": 10,
    "maxEpubMb": 50,
    "bookTimeoutSecs": 300,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("that_red_bird/epub-accessibility-checker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "epubUrls": [
    "https://github.com/IDPF/epub3-samples/releases/download/20230704/childrens-literature.epub"
  ],
  "recordKeys": [],
  "runEpubCheck": true,
  "runAce": true,
  "saveFullReports": true,
  "lang": "",
  "maxBooks": 10,
  "maxEpubMb": 50,
  "bookTimeoutSecs": 300
}' |
apify call that_red_bird/epub-accessibility-checker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,that_red_bird/epub-accessibility-checker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/UUd5uzZyhbuwX0qIY/builds/9xzbVJlA8fyu0Hk0y/openapi.json