diff --git a/pageserver/src/metrics.rs b/pageserver/src/metrics.rs
index f7afaae068..f3307ed5a9 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/metrics.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/metrics.rs
@@ -1206,6 +1206,7 @@ pub(crate) enum StorageIoOperation {
     Seek,
     Fsync,
     Metadata,
+    SetLen,
 }
 
 impl StorageIoOperation {
@@ -1220,6 +1221,7 @@ impl StorageIoOperation {
             StorageIoOperation::Seek => "seek",
             StorageIoOperation::Fsync => "fsync",
             StorageIoOperation::Metadata => "metadata",
+            StorageIoOperation::SetLen => "set_len",
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs
index c7de87e355..c59081c40e 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/tenant/remote_timeline_client/download.rs
@@ -32,12 +32,14 @@ use super::{
     remote_tenant_manifest_prefix, remote_tenant_path,
 };
 use crate::TEMP_FILE_SUFFIX;
+use crate::assert_u64_eq_usize::UsizeIsU64;
 use crate::config::PageServerConf;
 use crate::context::RequestContext;
 use crate::span::{
     debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_and_timeline_id, debug_assert_current_span_has_tenant_id,
 };
 use crate::tenant::Generation;
+use crate::tenant::disk_btree::PAGE_SZ;
 use crate::tenant::remote_timeline_client::{remote_layer_path, remote_timelines_path};
 use crate::tenant::storage_layer::LayerName;
 use crate::virtual_file::{MaybeFatalIo, VirtualFile, on_fatal_io_error};
@@ -241,12 +243,47 @@ async fn download_object(
                     {
                         let chunk = match res {
                             Ok(chunk) => chunk,
-                            Err(e) => return Err(e),
+                            Err(e) => return Err(DownloadError::Other(anyhow::Error::new(e).context("download next chunk"))),
                         };
-                        buffered.write_buffered_borrowed(&chunk, ctx).await?;
+                        buffered.write_buffered_borrowed(&chunk, ctx)
+                            .await
+                            .context("write_buffered_borrowed")
+                            .map_err(DownloadError::Other)?;
                     }
-                    let inner = buffered.shutdown(|_| None).await?; // TODO: if we leave handle_tail=None here, it means we'll cut off layers that aren't a tail sz multiple
-                    Ok(inner)
+                    let mut pad_amount = None;
+                    let (bytes_amount, destination_file) = buffered
+                        .shutdown(|mut buf| {
+                            use crate::virtual_file::owned_buffers_io::write::Buffer;
+
+                            let len = buf.pending();
+                            let cap = buf.cap();
+
+                            // pad zeros to the next io alignment requirement.
+                            // TODO: this is actually padding to next PAGE_SZ multiple, but only if the buffer capacity is larger than that.
+                            // We can't let the fact that we do direct IO, or the buffer capacity, dictate the on-disk format we write here.
+                            // Need to find a better API that allows writing the format we intend to.
+                            let count = len.next_multiple_of(PAGE_SZ).min(cap) - len;
+                            pad_amount = Some(count);
+                            buf.extend_with(0, count);
+
+                            Some(buf)
+                        })
+                        .await
+                        .context("buffered writer shutdown")
+                        .map_err(DownloadError::Other)?;
+
+                    let pad_amount = pad_amount.expect("shutdown always invokes the closure").into_u64();
+                    let set_len_arg = bytes_amount - pad_amount;
+                    destination_file
+                        .set_len(set_len_arg)
+                        .await
+                        .maybe_fatal_err("download_object set_len")
+                        .with_context(|| {
+                            format!("set len for file at {dst_path}: 0x{set_len_arg:x} = 0x{bytes_amount:x} - 0x{pad_amount:x}")
+                        })
+                        .map_err(DownloadError::Other)?;
+
+                    Ok((set_len_arg, destination_file))
                 }
                 .await?;
 
diff --git a/pageserver/src/virtual_file.rs b/pageserver/src/virtual_file.rs
index 63b1fa2189..63c1ccd4c8 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/virtual_file.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/virtual_file.rs
@@ -185,6 +185,10 @@ impl VirtualFile {
         self.inner.sync_data().await
     }
 
+    pub async fn set_len(&self, len: u64) -> Result<(), Error> {
+        self.inner.set_len(len).await
+    }
+
     pub async fn metadata(&self) -> Result<Metadata, Error> {
         self.inner.metadata().await
     }
@@ -669,6 +673,13 @@ impl VirtualFileInner {
         })
     }
 
+    pub async fn set_len(&self, len: u64) -> Result<(), Error> {
+        with_file!(self, StorageIoOperation::SetLen, |file_guard| {
+            let (_file_guard, res) = io_engine::get().set_len(file_guard, len).await;
+            res.maybe_fatal_err("set_len")
+        })
+    }
+
     /// Helper function internal to `VirtualFile` that looks up the underlying File,
     /// opens it and evicts some other File if necessary. The passed parameter is
     /// assumed to be a function available for the physical `File`.
diff --git a/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs b/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs
index 758dd6e377..b7be243357 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/virtual_file/io_engine.rs
@@ -209,6 +209,22 @@ impl IoEngine {
             }
         }
     }
+
+    pub(super) async fn set_len(
+        &self,
+        file_guard: FileGuard,
+        len: u64,
+    ) -> (FileGuard, std::io::Result<()>) {
+        match self {
+            IoEngine::NotSet => panic!("not initialized"),
+            // TODO: ftruncate op for tokio-epoll-uring
+            IoEngine::StdFs | IoEngine::TokioEpollUring => {
+                let res = file_guard.with_std_file(|std_file| std_file.set_len(len));
+                (file_guard, res)
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     pub(super) async fn write_at<B: IoBuf + Send>(
         &self,
         file_guard: FileGuard,