---
name: "rewritepdf"
section: "1p"
platform: "linux"
package: "libcam-pdf-perl"
version: "1.60-5"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/rewritepdf"
---

# rewritepdf(1p)

Rebuild a PDF file

## NAME

rewritepdf - Rebuild a PDF file

## SYNOPSIS

```
 rewritepdf [options] infile.pdf [outfile.pdf] [password(s)]\n";
 Options:
   -c --cleanse        seek and destroy unreferenced metadata in the document
   -C --clearannots    remove all annotations (including forms)
   -d --decode         uncompress any encoded elements
   -f --filter=name    compress all elements with this filter (can use more than once)
   -X --decrypt        remove encryption from the document
   -o --order          preserve the internal PDF ordering for output
   -v --verbose        print diagnostic messages
   -h --help           verbose help message
   -V --version        print CAM::PDF version
   -p --pass opass upass              set a new owner and user password
   -P --prefs print modify copy add   set boolean permissions for the document
```

The optional password arguments are needed to open password-protected PDF files.  Here's an example of password-protecting and then unprotecting it in sequence:

```
  rewritepdf --pass SecretPass SecretPass orig.pdf passworded.pdf
  rewritepdf --decrypt passworded.pdf unprotected.pdf SecretPass
```

If you want to prevent people from being able to perform the latter step, then tighten your permissions:

```
  rewritepdf -p Secret Secret -P 1 0 0 0 orig.pdf passworded.pdf
```

which means that users can print the passworded PDF, but not change it, copy-and-paste from it, or append to it.

## DESCRIPTION

Read and write a PDF document, and possibly modify it along the way.

The `"--cleanse"` option could possibly break some PDFs which use undocumented or poorly documented PDF features.  Namely, some PDFs implicitly store their `"FontDescriptor"` objects just before their Font objects, without explicitly referring to the former.  Cleansing removes the former, causing Acrobat Reader to choke.

We recommend that you avoid the `"--decode"` and `"--filter"` options, as we're not sure they work right any longer.

## SEE ALSO

CAM::PDF

## AUTHOR

See CAM::PDF