Add a Table of Contents to PDF

Auto-detect chapter headings or paste a TOC text - works on scanned PDFs too

Navigating a long paper, ebook, or manual without a table of contents is painful. This tool creates a clickable table of contents (bookmark outline) for any PDF using several strategies: it first reads existing document structure, then parses the printed TOC pages, and finally detects headings from font sizes and numbering patterns like "Chapter 3" or "2.1.4".

For scanned PDFs (image-only files with no text layer), the tool runs an OCR model locally in your browser to read the TOC pages, parses each "title …… page number" line, and derives the physical-page offset from the printed page numbers in the body - so generated entries land exactly on the right pages.

If automatic detection is not perfect, paste the table of contents as plain text instead (with an adjustable page offset): indentation and numbering are parsed into a full bookmark tree that you can fine-tune by hand. Everything is processed locally; your file is never uploaded.

Beyond sidebar bookmarks, you can also insert a **visible table of contents page**: a typeset TOC page ("title …… page number" with dot leaders, clickable links, and multi-level indentation) generated from your bookmarks and inserted anywhere in the document - so the TOC survives printing. Very few online tools can do this.

How to use

Open the PDF you want to add a table of contents to
Click "Auto-generate" in the left panel and wait for heading detection
Or choose "Import from TOC text", paste the contents, and set the page offset
Need a printable TOC? Click "Insert TOC page" to add a typeset, clickable contents page
Review, adjust, and click "Save PDF" to download the file with a clickable TOC

FAQ

Does it work on scanned (image-only) PDFs?

Yes. A local OCR model (PaddleOCR with WebGPU acceleration) reads the TOC pages, extracts titles and page numbers, and even corrects the offset between printed and physical page numbers.

What if the generated page numbers are off?

You can edit any entry’s page number directly in the tree, or use TOC text import and set the offset manually. Offset = physical page − printed page number.

Can it create a TOC page that shows up when printed?

Yes. "Insert TOC page" typesets your bookmarks into real contents pages - titles, dot leaders, page numbers, clickable links - inserted at any position, with page numbers automatically reflecting the final numbering after insertion.

Which numbering styles are recognized?

Common English patterns (Chapter/Section, 1., 1.1, 1.1.1, A., a.), Chinese patterns, and font-size weighting are combined to infer heading levels.

Is a PDF table of contents the same as bookmarks?

Yes. The clickable navigation in the PDF standard is called Outlines (bookmarks). This tool writes standard outlines that every reader shows in its TOC/bookmark panel - and "Insert TOC page" adds an in-document contents page when you need one.