Sigil
Sigil is a free desktop EPUB editor for creating, editing, and packaging ebook files for publishing and personal ebook workflows.
What is Sigil?
Sigil is a native desktop EPUB editor for creating and editing ebook files on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It is designed for writers, publishers, and ebook creators who need direct control over EPUB content, structure, and metadata. The app combines code editing with preview tools so users can work on XHTML, CSS, images, tables of contents, and book metadata in one place. It supports both EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 workflows, making it useful for preparing ebooks for different readers and publishing platforms. Sigil also includes spell checking, regex-based find and replace, plugin support, and tools for importing and cleaning up book content. Kevin Hendricks is part of the current Sigil development and maintenance team.
Key features
- Create and edit EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 ebooks
- Edit book markup directly in code view
- Preview ebook content while working on layout and structure
- Generate and manage multi-level tables of contents
- Edit metadata for titles, authors, and publication details
- Run spell check and advanced find and replace with regular expressions
- Import HTML files, images, and style sheets into a book project
- Extend the app with plugins for specialized ebook tasks
Review app leftovers with diCleaner
Inspect caches, support files, containers, and login items before cleaning.
Safety overview
Status: Safe
Sigil is a legitimate ebook editing tool. It normally works with the book files you open or create and does not require unusual system-level access for its main purpose. As with any editor, your main risk is accidental changes to working files, so keep backups of important manuscripts or EPUB projects before major edits or plugin use.
Recommendation: Keep Sigil if you create, edit, or review EPUB ebooks. If you no longer work with ebook files, you can remove it like other user-installed apps without affecting macOS itself, though any custom plugins or app settings may also be removed if you clean up related support files.
Common paths
/Applications/Sigil.app
Cache paths
~/Library/Caches/com.sigil-ebook.Sigil
Support paths
~/Library/Application Support/sigil-ebook
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/com.sigil-ebook.Sigil.plist
Share your experience
Be the first to share your experience.