Repair a damaged PDF

How to Repair a PDF

1

Add your damaged PDF

Click “Select file” or drag and drop the corrupted PDF. The file is read locally in your browser.

2

Run repair

Click “Repair”. The tool rebuilds the PDF structure (cross-reference table, object streams) and recovers readable content. This may take a moment for large files.

3

Download the repaired file

If repair succeeds, the rebuilt PDF saves to your Downloads. If only some content is recoverable, you’ll get a partial PDF with a summary of what was recovered.

Every step runs in your browser. No server uploads, no waiting.

Why use this tool

DukPdf’s Repair PDF tool fixes corrupted or damaged PDF files — in your browser. It detects structural issues, rebuilds the cross-reference table, and recovers as much readable content as possible. All repair runs locally, so the damaged file (which may contain sensitive or irreplaceable content) never leaves your device. If only some pages are recoverable, use Extract Pages to save them as a new file. For a step-by-step guide, see our repair PDF guide.

When you'd use this

Fix a download that won’t open

Repair a PDF that downloads incorrectly, has a truncated file, or gives “file is damaged” errors in your PDF reader.

Recover a file from a failing drive

Rescue a PDF from a corrupted hard drive, USB stick, or cloud sync that saved an incomplete file.

Fix a corrupted email attachment

Repair a PDF that was corrupted by an email server stripping or truncating the file during transmission.

Open an old archived PDF

Repair a PDF from an old backup, CD-ROM, or archive that no longer opens in modern PDF readers.

Why this matters for your privacy

☁️ CLOUD PDF TOOLS
📄 your-file.pdf
↓ uploaded over the internet
☁️ their server

A copy of your document sits on someone else’s infrastructure — deleted on their schedule, not yours.

✗ OUT OF YOUR HANDS
DukPdf
📄 your-file.pdf
⟳ stays right where it is
💻 your device

Processed by your own browser, start to finish — on your machine, under your control.

✓ STAYS ON YOUR DEVICE

We send the software to your file — not your file to our servers.

Repair PDF — questions

Is the damaged file uploaded to a server?

No. The repair runs entirely in your browser. The damaged file (which may contain sensitive or irreplaceable content) never leaves your device. Open DevTools → Network tab while repairing — zero upload requests.

Can DukPdf repair any corrupted PDF?

DukPdf can fix structural corruption (broken cross-reference tables, missing object streams, truncated files) that prevent the PDF from opening. It cannot recover content that was never in the file or pages that are completely unreadable.

What if only some pages are recoverable?

The tool extracts the pages it can read and saves them as a new PDF. You’ll get a partial file with the recoverable pages. Use Extract Pages to save specific pages from a multi-page recovered file.

Will the repaired file look the same as the original?

If repair succeeds, the visual content is identical. The tool rebuilds the internal structure (cross-reference table, object pointers) without changing the visible pages, text, images, or formatting.

Can I repair a password-protected PDF?

Yes. You’ll be prompted for the password before repair. The repaired file is saved without the password — re-protect it with Protect PDF if needed.

Is there a file size limit?

No hard limit — the tool is constrained only by your device’s available memory. Very large damaged files may take longer to process.

Tools that pair with repair pdf

→ Extract PagesSave recoverable pages as a new file→ Merge PDFCombine recovered pages with other PDFs→ OCR PDFMake a recovered scanned PDF searchable→ Compress PDFShrink the repaired file→ Rotate PDFFix orientation on recovered pages→ Edit MetadataSet title and author on the repaired file
🔒 DukPdf — YOUR FILES NEVER LEAVE YOUR DEVICE

Ready to repair a pdf? Your files stay yours.

No server uploads. No watermark. Just open a tool, drop your files, and download the result. Your original files are never modified.

↑ Back to upload