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PPDF123

Decompress a PDF for Inspection

Decompress PDF expands a PDF's compressed streams into readable QDF form with qpdf, so you can inspect or hand-edit the file. The result is usually larger and is not an archive extractor.

Drag and drop files here, or click to choose

Accepts PDF · up to 500.0 MB per file · up to 20 files at once

You can also paste a file with Ctrl/Cmd+V, or from the clipboard menu.

Decompress PDF runs `compress_pdf(..., false)`: qpdf `--qdf --object-streams=disable`. The result is a QDF-style, more readable PDF, not a zip extractor and not a decoder of attached files.

Streams are expanded for inspection. The file usually gets larger. Password-protected files are unlocked for you on this page once you enter the password; API callers run Unlock first.

This is the inverse family of Compress (which uses `--compress-streams=y --recompress-flate --object-streams=generate`). Linearize PDF is a separate qpdf operation, not this QDF path.

If you meant to unpack EmbeddedFiles, that is a different attachment op, not this button.

Features

  • qpdf QDF rewrite; object streams disabled
  • Larger, more inspectable PDF
  • Not attachment extraction
  • Anonymous API at /api/v1/misc/decompress-pdf

When to use this tool

  • Make a PDF easier to grep as QDF
  • Disable object streams before a picky downstream parser
  • Inspect content streams without a binary dump

How do I decompress a PDF?

  1. Upload a PDF you want to inspect as QDF.
  2. Click Process. There are no options.
  3. Download the larger PDF.
  4. Open it in a text-aware tool if you are debugging objects.

Limits and edge cases

  • Usually larger
  • Not a general decompressor of payloads
  • Password-protected files need the password; API callers run Unlock first
  • Upload limit on this website: 500 MB per file, sent in chunks above about 95 MB. A single direct API request body is capped at 100 MB.

Examples

  • A compressed office PDF often becomes a much larger QDF file
  • Attachment names still require an attachments panel, not this rewrite

Privacy for this tool

Files are uploaded over HTTPS, processed in memory or a short-lived temporary directory on our servers, and deleted when your result is ready. We do not keep copies for later browsing, training, or advertising profiles. See the Privacy Policy for retention details and AdSense cookie disclosures.

Frequently asked questions

Will my embedded ZIP attachments extract?
No. QDF rewrites the PDF. Attachments stay inside unless you use an attachment tool.
Why is the file bigger?
Streams are uncompressed and object streams are disabled. That is the point of QDF.
Is this the opposite of Linearize?
No. Linearize reorders the file for fast web view. This path is QDF, which is closer to the opposite of Compress.
Does text stay selectable?
Yes when it was text objects. QDF does not rasterize.

Last updated:

Call this from code

Every tool on this site is a plain REST endpoint - no account or API key needed for anonymous use. Built for AI agents and developers as much as for browsers.

curl -X POST "https://pdf123.xyz/api/v1/misc/decompress-pdf" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -o output.pdf

Also available as an MCP tool for agent clients that speak Model Context Protocol (JSON-RPC 2.0 over POST /mcp). Full API reference

Use it from an AI agent

Skill

Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other AI agents can run Decompress PDF for you with this skill: /skills/pdf123-decompress-pdf.md

All agent skills

Files are used only for this processing job and deleted automatically afterward.