Repair PDF

Rebuild damaged PDFs that refuse to open — broken cross-reference tables and truncated trailers are the classic fixable cases. Free in your browser — no sign-up, no watermarks.

Drop your PDF files here

or click to browse — Select multiple files for batch conversion

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⚡ Instant — conversion starts the moment you add files. No sign-up, no watermarks. Why FileHugger

🔍 How your file is processed

Runs: In your browser on this page
Engine: pdf-lib re-parse first; if that fails, our own cross-reference rebuild scans the raw bytes — every result is sanity-checked by rendering its first page before it is returned
Max input: 512 MB per file
Your file: Processed in this browser tab — the file is not uploaded. Converted results are kept in this browser's local storage for up to two hours so their matching download page can show them; expired results are removed on the next site visit. Nothing is stored on our servers.
Good to know: Recovery depends on the damage; some files are beyond repair and we say so rather than returning a broken file.

Full security & file-privacy details →

Related converters

How to repair a damaged PDF

Click Choose files (or drag & drop) and select one or more PDF files. You can also paste them from your file manager.
No settings needed — the file structure is re-parsed, rebuilt and then verified by actually rendering the result.
Press Repair PDF. Processing runs with a live progress indicator.
Open the download page to save your files individually or grab everything as a single ZIP.

What kinds of damage can be fixed?

Interrupted downloads, crashed exports and buggy generators leave PDFs with structural damage: viewers complain the file is corrupted even though the actual content is still inside. This tool re-parses whatever object structure survives, rebuilds the file with a fresh cross-reference table and trailer, and then verifies the result by actually rendering it. If the content itself was destroyed, no tool can conjure it back — you get an honest error instead of a broken download.

What this tool preserves — and what it changes

✓ Preserved

Whatever survived the damage — pages are recovered from the object structure still present in the file, never re-rendered
Your trust: every candidate repair is verified by actually rendering its first page before it is returned — a file that still will not render is refused, not delivered

↺ Changed

The file structure is rebuilt in two escalating steps: a tolerant re-parse and clean re-save first; if that route fails or its result will not render, a raw byte scan reconstructs a fresh cross-reference table and trailer around the surviving objects
The download gets a -repaired suffix and its size can differ noticeably from the damaged original

Known limits & edge cases

The classic fixable case is the interrupted download: the file tail (xref, trailer, EOF marker) is missing but the object bodies survive
Password-protected files are refused — remove the protection first, then repair
If no readable PDF structure exists in the bytes at all, you get an honest "too damaged" error instead of a broken download

Engine: pdf-lib re-parse first; if that fails, our own cross-reference rebuild scans the raw bytes — every result is sanity-checked by rendering its first page before it is returned. These statements describe the engine as shipped on 2026-10-02 — behaviour changes are recorded in the changelog.

About the formats

What is a PDF file?

PDF is the universal document format: it locks layout, fonts and images so a file looks identical on every device and printer. Scans, invoices, forms, e-books and reports all travel as PDF. Because a PDF is a container rather than an image, turning its pages into JPG or PNG pictures — or bundling pictures into a PDF — are among the most common file tasks there are.

When a PDF won’t open, the data is usually still there

“The file is damaged and cannot be repaired” rarely means the content is gone — it usually means the file’s internal bookkeeping (its cross-reference tables and object offsets) no longer matches reality after a truncated download, an interrupted save, a full disk or an overzealous email gateway. Repair re-parses whatever structure survives, rebuilds the file from its recoverable objects, and then proves the result by actually rendering it.

That render-verification step is the honest part: you get a file demonstrated to open, not a hopeful guess. Recovery depends on the damage — a truncated file can only yield the pages it still physically contains — so results range from complete restoration to a partial save of what remained. Before re-downloading, re-scanning or giving up on an archive: run repair; it costs a minute.

Guides for this task

Frequently asked questions

Is this Repair PDF tool free?

Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermarks and no daily quota. Processing happens in this browser, so the practical limit is the memory available on your device.

Can I process multiple PDF files at once?

Yes. Add as many files as you like — each one is processed in sequence with its own progress status, and you can download the results individually or all together as a ZIP archive.

Does editing re-compress my PDF or reduce its quality?

No. Pages are copied at the object level — text, fonts, images and vector content are carried over as-is, without re-rendering. The output keeps the same sharpness and searchable text as the original.

What damage can and cannot be repaired?

Fixable: broken or truncated cross-reference tables, bad object offsets, missing end-of-file markers — the classic "file is damaged" cases where the content still exists. Not fixable: encrypted files, and files whose actual page content bytes were destroyed or never downloaded. The tool verifies the repaired file renders before giving it to you.