diff --git a/internal/services/media_scanner.go b/internal/services/media_scanner.go
index f32677f..607cf8b 100644
--- a/internal/services/media_scanner.go
+++ b/internal/services/media_scanner.go
@@ -2147,7 +2147,11 @@ func (s *MediaScanner) renderPDFCoverPage(pdfPath string) string {
 	}()
 
 	outPrefix := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "cover")
-	cmd := exec.Command("pdftoppm", "-jpeg", "-f", "1", "-l", "1", "-singlefile", "-r", "150", pdfPath, outPrefix)
+	// -cropbox renders the CropBox (the viewer-visible region, matching pdf.js)
+	// rather than the MediaBox; poppler falls back to the MediaBox when no
+	// CropBox is defined. This matters for PDFs whose page 1 is a full print
+	// cover wrap (back + spine + front) with a CropBox covering just the front.
+	cmd := exec.Command("pdftoppm", "-jpeg", "-f", "1", "-l", "1", "-singlefile", "-cropbox", "-r", "150", pdfPath, outPrefix)
 	if output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("Warning: failed to render PDF cover from %s: %v, output: %s\n", pdfPath, err, string(output))
 		return ""