Repair PDF
Fix a damaged or unopenable PDF by rebuilding its structure with qpdf, privately in your browser.
How to repair a PDF
- 1
Add your PDF
Drop or select the damaged PDF. Nothing is uploaded.
- 2
Repair
qpdf rewrites the file on your device, rebuilding the cross-reference table and structure.
- 3
Download
Get a clean, rebuilt PDF that opens normally.
Why repair a PDF in your browser?
A corrupt PDF is often a sensitive document you still need to open. Repairing locally with qpdf keeps it on your device instead of uploading it to an online recovery service.
PDF won’t open? How to fix an unopenable or corrupted PDF
When a PDF won't open, the content is usually still inside the file. What breaks is the structure around it: the cross-reference table that tells a viewer where each page lives, offsets that shifted during a failed download or transfer, or junk bytes that ended up before the file header. The viewer gives up before it ever reaches your pages.
Repair rebuilds that structure. qpdf reads every object it can find in the damaged file and writes a clean, consistent PDF around them, so the document opens normally again. It runs as WebAssembly in your browser, which means the broken file is repaired on your device and is never uploaded.
Drop the unopenable file into the repair tool above and you will either get back a rebuilt PDF or a clear answer that the file is beyond automatic repair.
Frequently asked questions
Why won’t my PDF open?+
The usual causes are a damaged or shifted cross-reference table, a download that was cut off partway, junk bytes before the file header, or a file that was renamed to .pdf without being one. The first three are structural problems that repair can often fix.
Can a corrupted PDF be fixed?+
Often, yes. If the page content is still inside the file and only the structure around it is broken, qpdf can rebuild the file from the objects it can read. If the content itself is missing or truncated, no tool can recover what is not there.
What can it fix?+
Many "cannot be opened" PDFs: a damaged or shifted cross-reference table, junk bytes before the header, and assorted structural inconsistencies. qpdf rebuilds the file from the objects it can read.
What can it not fix?+
A file that is genuinely truncated or missing its content has nothing left to recover. If qpdf cannot rebuild it, the tool tells you instead of producing a broken file.
Is my file uploaded when I repair it?+
No. qpdf runs as WebAssembly in your browser, so your PDF never leaves your device.
Does it work offline?+
Yes. After the first visit it keeps working with no connection, because all processing is local.
Common uses
Task-specific guides for the situations people reach for this tool for.