Repair PDF - Fix Corrupted Files

Fix corrupted PDFs that won't open. Uses Ghostscript's rebuild path to reconstruct the file structure and recover as much content as possible.

Fix a corrupted PDF that won't open — Ghostscript's `pdfwrite` engine rebuilds the file structure (xref table, header, trailer) around your recoverable content and emits a clean, spec-compliant output. Best for truncated downloads, damaged cross-reference tables, and files from buggy generators that strict viewers reject. Not magic: genuinely destroyed content streams (corrupted page bodies) are unrecoverable.

Privacy-first processing — secure, isolated, and auto-purged

Related guides

Related Tools

Compress PDF Flatten PDF Merge PDF Unlock PDF

How to Repair PDF

1

Upload the damaged PDF

Drag and drop the broken PDF up to 100 MB, or click to browse. The preview will show whichever pages are currently renderable — blank if the file is completely corrupt.

2

Run the repair

Click Repair PDF. Your file is uploaded to our server, where Ghostscript attempts to parse what's there and rewrite a clean PDF with the recoverable content.

3

Download the repaired PDF

When the repair finishes, the cleaned PDF downloads automatically. Your upload is deleted as part of the response.

On this page

What Repair PDF does

PDFGrover's Repair PDF tool takes a corrupted or broken PDF and rebuilds a clean, spec-compliant replacement that recovers as much of the original content as possible. It reconstructs the file's structure (header, cross-reference table, trailer) around whatever content is still intact — the same kind of rebuild many PDF toolkits do internally when they hit a malformed file.

When to repair a PDF

  • "The file is damaged and could not be repaired" when opening it.
  • A download that got cut off partway through.
  • A file a strict viewer rejects but you suspect is mostly fine.
  • A PDF from a buggy generator (some scanners, legacy/enterprise tools) that's technically invalid.

How to repair a PDF

  1. Upload the broken PDF (up to 100 MB). The preview shows whatever currently renders — blank if it's badly corrupt.
  2. Click Repair PDF — the file is rebuilt on our secure server.
  3. Download the cleaned PDF and check it before relying on it.

What it fixes well

  • Truncated downloads — rebuilds the structure and recovers what was actually downloaded.
  • Broken cross-reference tables — when the content is intact but the index at the end is damaged.
  • Invalid header/trailer — missing %PDF line or EOF marker.
  • Buggy-generator output — technically-invalid PDFs that strict viewers refuse.

What it can't fix

  • Destroyed content streams — if the compressed page data itself is gone, that content can't come back; the rebuilt PDF will be valid but those pages may be missing or wrong.
  • Encrypted files without the password — repair doesn't bypass protection; use Unlock PDF first (you need the password).
  • Files that aren't really PDFs — a non-PDF with a .pdf extension can't be turned into one.

Repair, or a different tool?

Symptom Tool
"Can't open / damaged" Repair PDF (this tool)
"Password required" Unlock PDF
Opens but renders oddly Repair, then Flatten PDF
Opens but huge Compress PDF

Limits & privacy

  • One file per repair, up to 100 MB
  • Uploaded over HTTPS, processed on our secure server, and the source deleted as soon as your download is ready. Close the tab mid-repair and the job is cancelled and temporary files cleared automatically. No sign-up, no watermark.

Troubleshooting

  • Output still won't open — the corruption is in the content itself, which a structural rebuild can't recover.
  • Some pages blank/garbled — those pages' data was damaged; the rest was salvaged.
  • "Password required" — unlock it first with Unlock PDF, then repair.

Frequently Asked Questions