---
id: pdfrw2
version: "0.5.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# pdfrw2 — PDF file reader/writer library

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 266.8K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pdfrw2 is a pure-Python PDF reader and writer library that lets you programmatically manipulate PDF files. It supports operations like extracting and rearranging pages, merging multiple PDFs, rotating pages, modifying metadata, adding watermarks, and embedding portions of one PDF into another using Form XObjects. The library is designed to work standalone or alongside reportlab for creating new PDFs that reuse content from existing ones.

This is a maintained fork of the original pdfrw that fixes bugs including corrupted PDF forms. It has been used in production pre-press workflows and can faithfully reproduce vector images without rasterization. The package has no runtime dependencies, making it lightweight to install. However, the fork itself has not been updated since November 2022, so it may not handle newer PDF features or edge cases introduced after that time.

Use it for:

- Automate PDF page rearrangement for printing (e.g., creating booklets or n-up layouts from existing PDFs)
- Extract images and embedded pages from PDFs to reuse in new documents created with reportlab or rst2pdf
- Batch-modify PDF metadata (title, author, subject) across multiple files without altering document structure
- Split, merge, or rotate pages in PDFs programmatically as part of document processing pipelines
- Add watermarks or overlay graphics to existing PDFs while preserving original navigation and structure

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

pdfrw2 reads, writes, and manipulates PDF files with operations including page subsetting, merging, rotating, metadata modification, and watermarking.

Yes, if you need pure-Python PDF manipulation without external dependencies and your PDFs conform to standard formats. The library is stable and has proven track record in production. However, be cautious: the package is abandoned (last commit 2022-11-09), so it may not handle modern PDF features or newly discovered edge cases. Use it for established workflows on well-formed PDFs; avoid it if you need active maintenance or support for cutting-edge PDF specifications.

## Install

pip install pdfrw2
uv add pdfrw2
poetry add pdfrw2

## Installing pdfrw2

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is marked as abandoned with the last commit on 2022-11-09, and has not been actively maintained since its November 2021 release.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive, allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions. No licensing concerns for adoption.

Quickstart:

pip install pdfrw2

from pdfrw import PdfReader, PdfWriter

reader = PdfReader('input.pdf')
writer = PdfWriter()
writer.addpages(reader.pages)
writer.write('output.pdf')

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably on Python versions beyond 3.9 despite no recent updates
- Current state of bug fixes claimed in the fork description and whether all reported issues remain resolved
- Compatibility with modern PDF specifications and recently-generated PDFs

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 266.8K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

pdf read write library, pdf page manipulation, pdf merge split rotate, pdf metadata editing, pure python pdf parser, pdf watermark extract, pdf form xobject, pdf-processing, no-dependencies

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/pdfrw2) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/pdfrw2/)