Can every damaged PDF be repaired?

No. If the file was cut off partway or is not a PDF, it may fail and you see “Couldn’t repair it”. Then you need to download or export the PDF again from the original.

It says “Healthy” but the PDF will not open. Will repairing help?

Writing it again may change nothing. If qpdf read it without errors, the reason it will not open may not be the file structure.

Does it change my original PDF?

No. The repaired PDF is saved as a new file, and the original stays as it is.

Repair · Pegmo

Repair PDF

Drop a file here

Read a damaged PDF and write it again. We tell you plainly whether it could be fixed. The file never leaves this device.

PDF

How to use Repair

What it does

Reads a damaged PDF and writes it again as a new PDF. It first reads the file with qpdf and writes it again; if that fails, it looks for the contents inside the file one by one and tries to rebuild the structure. It tells you plainly whether it worked.

Step by step

Drop a PDF onto the screen, or click to choose one.
Look at “Check result” on the “File” tab. It shows “Healthy”, “N problems” or “Damaged”. If problems were found, they are listed on the “Problems found” tab.
Click “Repair PDF”.
Read the result title. It is “Wrote it again”, “Repaired” or “Rebuilt the structure”.
Click “Save”. The file name is the original name with “-repaired” added.

Good to know

“Wrote it again” means qpdf found no problems and only wrote the same content again. “Repaired” means qpdf corrected the problems it found.
“Rebuilt the structure” means qpdf could not read the file directly, so the contents were found and a new structure was built. The content of damaged parts may be lost, so check each page.
The repaired file is checked to see whether it opens in pdf-lib and pdf.js. If it does not, you see an error instead of a claim that it was repaired.
A file that was cut off partway, or is not a PDF, may not be repairable. A PDF with no structure problems that still will not open may have another cause. A PDF with a password needs Unlock first.
The repaired PDF can go to another tool with “Keep going”. The file is processed in your browser and is not uploaded to a server.

Frequently asked questions

Can every damaged PDF be repaired?: No. If the file was cut off partway or is not a PDF, it may fail and you see “Couldn’t repair it”. Then you need to download or export the PDF again from the original.
It says “Healthy” but the PDF will not open. Will repairing help?: Writing it again may change nothing. If qpdf read it without errors, the reason it will not open may not be the file structure.
Does it change my original PDF?: No. The repaired PDF is saved as a new file, and the original stays as it is.