Repair a Corrupted PDF Online

Rebuild the cross-reference table and fix files that fail to open - all local

An interrupted download, an unplugged USB drive, a broken email attachment - all can corrupt a PDF so readers refuse to open it or report "file is damaged". This free tool attempts to fix such files: it rebuilds the damaged cross-reference table (xref), restores missing trailer structures, and rewrites the whole document. A large share of seemingly dead PDFs can be recovered in place.

The repair engine is qpdf compiled to WebAssembly - an industry-standard tool for PDF internals - running locally in your browser. Damaged files are often important ones, and they never leave your device.

On success you download the repaired file directly. If too much of the content is actually missing (e.g. only half the bytes were ever downloaded), no tool can conjure it back - in that case the tool reports failure clearly instead of producing a broken result.

How to use

Click "Repair PDF" to open the tool
Choose the damaged PDF file
Click "Start repair" and wait for the local rebuild
Download the repaired file and verify it in your reader

FAQ

What kinds of damage can be repaired?

Structural damage: broken cross-reference tables, missing trailers, shifted object offsets - the majority of everyday corruption. Files with large chunks of missing bytes (like half-finished downloads) cannot be recovered.

Can password-protected PDFs be repaired?

Remove the password first with the Unlock tool, then repair. Structural repair of encrypted files requires the correct password.

Does repairing change the content?

No. Only the file’s organizational structure is rebuilt. The repaired file may be slightly larger or smaller than the original - that is normal.

What if the repair fails?

Try opening the file in Chrome - its tolerant parser sometimes still renders the content, and you can print it to a new PDF from there.