Repair a damaged PDF
A PDF that refuses to open, or opens with a warning that it is damaged, is usually not missing anything. At the end of every PDF sits an index that says where each piece of the document begins, and that index is the part most easily broken: a download cut short, a program that saved an edit carelessly, or a transfer that changed a few bytes can leave every page intact and the index pointing at the wrong places. Repair reads the whole file, finds each piece where it actually is, and writes a new copy with an index that tells the truth. Nothing is redrawn, so text stays searchable and images keep their quality. If the part that says where the pages are is itself gone, we tell you so rather than returning an empty file. Your file is processed in an isolated sandbox with no network access and deleted within two hours.
This tool runs on our servers. Your file is uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed in an isolated sandbox with no internet access, and deleted within two hours.
Drag your files here
How it works
Upload the damaged PDF
Drag it onto the page or use the file picker. A file that other programs will not open is exactly what this is for.
Press Repair
The file is read from start to finish and its index is rebuilt from what is actually there. There is nothing to choose.
Download the repaired copy
Open it in any PDF reader. The original is not changed, so you can always try something else.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of damage can this fix?
- The common kind: a file whose index no longer matches its contents, which is what most 'damaged' or 'cannot be opened' errors mean. A file with pages physically missing from it, for example one cut off halfway through a download, can only be repaired as far as the part that arrived.
- Will the repaired file look different?
- No. The pages are not redrawn. The same text, fonts and images are written into a new file with a correct structure, so the text stays selectable and searchable.
- Can it remove a password?
- No. A password-protected PDF is not damaged, and this tool does not open protected files.
- How long do you keep my file?
- Both your upload and the repaired copy are deleted within two hours of the job finishing.