About Repair PDF
Repair PDF attempts to recover PDF files that have been damaged — whether by interrupted downloads, disk errors, or corrupted exports. The tool rebuilds the PDF structure (cross-reference table, object streams, document catalog) from whatever readable content remains, producing an output file that opens correctly in standard viewers.
Not every damaged PDF can be saved — if the file has lost its content streams entirely, nothing can recover them. But for the common cases (truncated download, broken xref table, invalid metadata), Repair PDF often fixes the file in one pass.
How it works
- Upload your broken PDFEven if other PDF viewers refuse to open it, our tool will try to read as much as possible.
- Click RepairThe tool scans the file for valid PDF objects, rebuilds the cross-reference table, and writes a repaired output PDF.
- Download the recovered fileOpen it in your normal PDF viewer to check — if it works, you're saved.
When to use Repair PDF
Resurrecting a PDF after an interrupted download
A download aborted partway through, leaving a file that other viewers see as corrupt. Repair PDF often recovers the content that was successfully downloaded.
Opening a file flagged as damaged by Acrobat
Acrobat sometimes refuses to open files that technically have valid content. Our tool is more permissive and can often rebuild them.
Fixing output from misbehaving PDF exporters
Some PDF generators (especially older ones) produce technically invalid PDFs that strict viewers reject. Repair PDF rebuilds them to the spec.
Frequently asked questions
Can it repair any broken PDF?
Unfortunately, no. If the content streams themselves are missing or overwritten, no tool can recover them. But for the most common corruption types (bad xref, truncated downloads, malformed metadata), Repair PDF succeeds in the majority of cases.
Will I lose any content during repair?
Possibly — if parts of the original file are unreadable, they will be dropped from the output. What does come through is intact. In practice, text usually survives even when the file is badly broken.
Does it work on password-protected files?
No. Unlock first (with the password), then repair.
Is the repaired file smaller than the original?
Often yes — rebuilding the PDF structure can eliminate duplicate objects and dead references, so the repaired file may be slightly smaller.