Guide
Rewrite a PDF that will not open cleanly
Load the file with encryption ignored where possible, then save a fresh PDF that many viewers will accept.
How to repair a PDF
Some exporters write PDFs that one app opens and another refuses. This tool loads the bytes with pdf-lib (including an ignore-encryption option used across our PDF readers) and saves a new document. That often fixes missing cross-reference tables from a sloppy save.
It cannot invent pages that were never in the file. A download that stopped at 40% is not repairable. A Word file renamed to .pdf is not a PDF.
Repair runs on your device. If the file is password-locked and you do not have the password, this is not a cracker. Use Unlock PDF only with a password you are allowed to use.
- Open Repair PDF and add the damaged or picky file.
- Click Repair PDF. The browser tries to parse the structure and write a new file.
- Open the download in a second viewer. If it still fails, the original may be truncated or not a PDF at all.
- If repair succeeds but pages are blank, the file may have been a wrapper with missing streams; you will need the source export again.
What repair can fix
If repair works, compress or merge afterward on the new file. If it fails, export again from the original app rather than stacking more converters.
- Rewrites a parseable PDF into a cleaner file.
- Often helps files that one viewer opens and another rejects.
- Cannot restore a truncated download or a non-PDF.
- Is not a password-removal attack.
- Stays in the browser.
Privacy when you repair a PDF
The bytes are parsed locally. We do not host a recovery queue.
A repaired file still contains whatever was in the original. Treat it with the same care. See the Privacy Policy.
Frequently asked questions
The structure may have been readable while the page streams were missing or external. You need a complete export from the source program.
No. It only rewrites a file you still have.
No. It is a lightweight rewrite with pdf-lib, aimed at files that almost open.