Manatee

Repair damaged video, PDFs, archives and documents on Mac

#5 in Utilities
Utilities
Productivity
One-time, from $9
Launched 1 Nov 2026

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About

Manatee is a file repair tool for Mac that recovers readable data from damaged video files, PDFs, archives, photos and documents. Drop a file onto the app window or menu-bar icon, and Manatee reads what survived, rebuilding broken structures without touching your original. It tells you exactly how much came back: for example, 34 of 41 PDF pages, or 212 of 240 archive entries.

The app handles four operations on files you already have. Repair rebuilds the index a video needs to play, fixes PDF cross-reference tables, or reconstructs archives from entries still on disk. Convert changes format after repair, remuxing video without re-encoding when codecs allow, or converting images, documents and spreadsheets between formats. Reduce compresses files to fit upload limits like WhatsApp's 16 MB or email's 20 MB, finding the best quality that fits. Clean strips metadata like GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers and edit history from photos and documents while keeping the image exactly as you see it.

Matches macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Preview the repair free before paying to save the result.

Manatee shows exactly how much of each file it recovered, rather than guessing. It rebuilds file structures instead of attempting recovery from raw bytes. The app never touches your original file, writing a new one beside it. You can preview the repair free before paying.

Problem: Damaged files often refuse to open or play, even though most of the data is still there. Metadata in photos and documents reveals location, identity and edit history you did not mean to share.
Solution: Manatee rebuilds broken file structures and extracts what survived, telling you exactly how much came back. It converts formats, compresses to fit upload limits, and strips metadata while preserving image quality.

Updated today