Short answer. What is a KPF file? It is the Kindle Package Format file that Amazon's free Kindle Create app exports for upload to KDP. KDP says it "is only used for publishing". You do not convert it. For other stores, Kindle Create can export an EPUB of a reflowable book, KDP says, or you build one from your Word file.
Key points
- KPF stands for Kindle Package Format. Kindle Create makes it, and you upload it to KDP.
- KDP's own help says the KPF file is only used for publishing.
- You do not turn a KPF into an EPUB. KDP says Kindle Create can export reflowable books as EPUB.
- Exporting also leaves a .kcb project file. Keep it and your Word file: Amazon does not keep a copy.
- KDP recommends the KPF over the EPUB for Kindle itself.
What is a KPF file?
A KPF file is the publishable file Kindle Create produces when you click Export. KDP lists Kindle Package Format among its recommended ebook formats and says KPF files "allow your eBook to easily format and fit all Kindle devices". You never write one by hand; you format the book in Kindle Create, then export.
You start from a Word file. Kindle Create imports DOC or DOCX and turns it into a reflowable ebook, one where the reader can resize the text. Google Docs and Apple Pages work too, as long as you export to DOCX first.
If you are still picking a format, our guide to which ebook file Kindle wants: EPUB, DOCX or KPF compares all three. Our ebook formatting service delivers the EPUB route.
Where can you use a KPF file?
You use a KPF file on KDP, and KDP gives it no other job. Its Kindle Create help says it plainly: "The KPF file is only used for publishing." Upload it on the content page of your Kindle title. Made a print book in Kindle Create? Export it and upload that KPF too.
Before you upload, you can open the KPF in Kindle Previewer, Amazon's free checking tool. Our Kindle Previewer walkthrough shows what to look at on each device view.
Can you turn a KPF file into an EPUB?
You do not convert the KPF itself; you make the EPUB from the same source. KDP says Kindle Create can export reflowable files as EPUB, so the export comes from your Kindle Create project, not from the KPF. The other route skips Kindle Create: build the EPUB from your Word file. That is the route we take.
KDP says EPUB export is available for reflowable books only. A book that is not reflowable, such as a print replica, stays a KPF.
KDP also lists what the Kindle Create EPUB leaves out: images do not bleed to the edge of the screen, drop caps taller than 3 lines do not render correctly, and chapter start images are not available. If your book uses any of those, check the EPUB before you send it anywhere.
The fix we do for this: we build your book as an EPUB with a linked table of contents from your Word file, for $99, up to 80,000 words, in 7 business days. The same file works on KDP. Ask about your ebook.
Why does KDP recommend the KPF over an EPUB?
KDP recommends the KPF for Kindle because it supports every Kindle formatting feature, which the EPUB export does not. Its help says KPF "offers the best reading experience on Kindle apps and devices". So if Kindle is your only store, upload the KPF. The EPUB export matters only when the book also goes elsewhere.
Which files should you keep after you make a KPF?
Keep the .kcb project file and your Word manuscript, because the KPF cannot be edited. When you export, Kindle Create creates two files: the .kcb work file for updates and the .kpf for upload. KDP also says "Amazon does not keep copies of your Kindle Create file", so losing the .kcb means starting over.
Back up the whole project folder, not just the .kcb. Kindle Create saves the book's resources in that folder alongside the project file.
Keep the Word file for the same reason. It is the source for an EPUB built outside Kindle Create and for a paperback interior. It is also where tables and footnotes get fixed, since Kindle Create cannot edit them.
How big is Kindle Create, and what do you need to run it?
Kindle Create is a free download of about 353 MB for Mac. On 13 October 2026 we checked the Mac installer linked from KDP's help page, with no sign-in: it is 352,813,801 bytes, last updated on 5 October 2026. KDP lists macOS 10.15 or later and Windows 10 or later.
KDP recommends 8 GB of memory and names 4 GB as the minimum. If your computer flags the download as harmful, KDP's advice is to check your antivirus settings and allow downloads from kdp.amazon.com.
Every fact above about the KPF file comes from KDP's own help pages.
Should you use a KPF or an EPUB for your book?
Use the KPF if the book sells only on Kindle, and an EPUB if it sells anywhere else. KDP accepts both, and an EPUB made by any tool can go to KDP too. If you want one file for every store, an EPUB built from your Word file covers KDP and the rest with a single build.
What else do authors ask about KPF files?
Kindle Package Format.
Kindle Create makes it, KDP accepts it, and Kindle Previewer opens it so you can check the book before upload.
No. They are separate entries on KDP's formats list, and KDP stopped accepting MOBI for fixed-layout ebooks in March 2025.
Yes, if you made the print book in Kindle Create. KDP calls KPF the preferred format for Kindle ebooks and print books.
$99 up to 80,000 words, in 7 business days. Our post on how much book formatting costs for KDP lays out market rates, and our page on what book formatting costs compares it with doing it yourself.
What should you do next?
If your book will only ever sell on Kindle, the KPF from Kindle Create may be all you need; just back up the .kcb. If you want it on other stores too, ask for an EPUB built from your manuscript on our ebook formatting page.
