Repair a corrupted or damaged PDF
Attempt to rebuild a damaged or corrupted PDF.
To repair PDF files, upload the damaged file and the tool tries to open it, rebuild its internal structure and save a clean copy. If it succeeds, you get the repaired PDF plus a note showing how many pages were recovered and the size change. Success depends on how badly the file is damaged: some files rebuild fully, some lose pages, and some are too broken to read at all.
How to repair a PDF
Choose the PDF, up to 25 MiB, and submit. The tool opens the file with PyMuPDF, which can recover from broken cross-reference tables and some damaged streams, then re-saves it with unused objects removed and data compressed. Download the result, named with -repaired, and open it in a normal viewer to check each page.
Check the recovered page count
After repair the result page lists the pages recovered. Compare that number with what you expect. A file that should have 40 pages but shows 12 has lost data, and repeating the process on the same input will not bring it back. Keep the damaged original in case another program can read parts of it.
Common causes, and what this will not fix
Interrupted downloads, truncated email attachments and bad saves are typical causes, and they are the kind of damage a rebuild can sometimes fix. It cannot restore data that was never written, and it does not unlock a password-protected file; encrypted PDFs are rejected. If the file is not a real PDF, you will get an error that it is too damaged to repair.
What to try next
If the repaired file opens but is too large, run Compress PDF. If only some pages are wanted, Reorder / Delete PDF Pages can keep just the good ones. For a scan that opens but has no selectable text, use Searchable PDF. The best fix is often downloading or exporting the file again from the source.
Frequently asked questions
How do I fix a corrupted PDF?
Upload it to Repair PDF and download the result. The tool re-opens the file, rebuilds what it can and saves a clean copy. If the result still will not open, the damage is probably too severe, so get a fresh copy of the file from its source.
Will repairing recover all my pages?
Not always. The result page reports how many pages were recovered, so compare it with the original page count. Data that is truncated or missing from the file cannot be recreated by the repair.
Why does it say the file is too damaged to repair?
The library could not read it as a PDF at all. This happens with badly truncated downloads or files that are not PDFs under a .pdf name. Try downloading the file again, or open the original source document and re-export it.
Can Repair PDF fix a password-protected file?
No. Encrypted PDFs are rejected. Remove the password first with the PDF Password tool if you know it. If the file is both locked and damaged, you may need to unlock it before you can repair it.
Is a repaired PDF the same as the original?
It should look the same where pages are recovered, but it is a rebuilt file, re-saved with garbage collection and compression. Open it and review important pages, forms and images before you replace the original.
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