Try to invoke main class org.jetbrains.java.decompiler.main.decompiler.ConsoleDecompiler manually

java -cp java-decompiler.jar org.jetbrains.java.decompiler.main.decompiler.ConsoleDecompiler myclassfile.class .

Also you can find more about internal usage of Fernflower inside IDEA by query in source code https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-community/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Fernflower

Answer from qwazer on Stack Overflow
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GitHub
github.com › JetBrains › fernflower
GitHub - JetBrains/fernflower: Decompiler from Java bytecode to Java, used in IntelliJ IDEA.
Decompiler from Java bytecode to Java, used in IntelliJ IDEA. - JetBrains/fernflower
Starred by 4.1K users
Forked by 714 users
Languages   Java
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Bytecode
the.bytecode.club › showthread.php
FernFlower - CLI Java Decompiler
July 17, 2014 - java -jar fernflower.jar jarToDecompile.jar decomp/ With that fernflower will decompile jarToDecompile.jar and put the Java files into decomp/jarToDecompile.jar (Remember, jar is simply a .zip archive, so open it with any zip reader) If you run into the issue with people obfuscating as aa aA and you can't reobfuscate for some reason, fernflower has a neat ability that allows you to rename all of the classes/fields/methods to class1, class2, etc.
Discussions

New open source Java decompiler
Why didn't you just contribute these changes to Fernflower rather than forking? More on reddit.com
🌐 r/java
40
219
April 29, 2022
Fernflower Java Decompiler
That really deserves a link. What is an “analytical” decompiler · https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2024/11/in-memory-of-stiver/ More on news.ycombinator.com
🌐 news.ycombinator.com
39
136
September 30, 2025
[Tool][Decompiler] Fernflower
Hello, I would like to share this java decompiler with the community. FernFlower is the first analytic decompiler for java. It will decompile class files and jar files to human readable java code. Unlike JD-GUI it does not decompile to byte code... More on xdaforums.com
🌐 xdaforums.com
2
November 19, 2012
Looking for a Java decompiler
I've had a good experience with this one: http://jd.benow.ca/ EDIT: You decompile the .class file, which is a compiled .java file. A .jar file may contain .java files as well. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/java
49
28
June 13, 2017
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/java › new open source java decompiler
r/java on Reddit: New open source Java decompiler
April 29, 2022 -

Hello! Today I'm happy to announce the release of a project that me and my friends have been working on over the course of the last year, Quiltflower! Originally intended just for use with the QuiltMC toolchain with Minecraft, Quiltflower quickly expanded to be a general purpose java decompiler aiming to create code that is as accurate and clean as possible. If the name sounds familiar it's because Quiltflower is a fork of Fernflower, the (in)famous decompiler that was developed by Stiver, maintained by Jetbrains, and became the default decompiler in Intellij IDEA. Fernflower also quickly found its way into many other tools. After many frustrations with it myself with its decompiled code structuring and quality I decided to do something about it, and here we are! Over the past year, Quiltflower has added support for features such as modern string concatenation, a code formatter, sealed classes, pattern matching, switch expressions, try-with-resources, and more. Quiltflower also focuses on the code quality of the decompiled output, and takes readability very seriously. We'd greatly appreciate it if you'd give it a try, with our Intellij Plugin, as a standalone jar, or on our maven. While it has come a long way it's still a work in progress, and feedback can be reported on our issue tracker.

Here's a comparison of Fernflower and Quiltflower's output.

I'd also like to thank the MinecraftForge Team for creating ForgeFlower, the fork that QuiltFlower was based on, and Lee Benfield for creating CFR and it's truly incredible test suite.

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Hacker News
news.ycombinator.com › item
Fernflower Java Decompiler | Hacker News
September 30, 2025 - That really deserves a link. What is an “analytical” decompiler · https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2024/11/in-memory-of-stiver/
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Maven Repository
mvnrepository.com › artifact › org.jboss.windup.decompiler › decompiler-fernflower › 2.3.0.Final
Maven Repository: org.jboss.windup.decompiler » decompiler-fernflower » 2.3.0.Final
Home » org.jboss.windup.decompiler » decompiler-fernflower » 2.3.0.Final · Windup Engine Decompiler Fernflower · Note: There is a new version for this artifact · Maven · Gradle · SBT · Mill · Ivy · Grape · Leiningen · Buildr · Scope: compile · test · provided ·
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SoftTeco
softteco.com › home › java development › fernflower java decompiler
Fernflower Java Decompiler
July 3, 2025 - Fernflower is a really nice Java decompiler. It’s pretty convenient since you can decompile the whole JAR file.
Find elsewhere
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Eclipse Marketplace
marketplace.eclipse.org › free-tagging › fernflower
fernflower | Eclipse Plugins, Bundles and Products - Eclipse Marketplace | Eclipse Foundation
Enhanced Class Decompiler integrates CFR, FernFlower, JD, Procyon, Vineflower seamlessly with Eclipse and allows Java developers to debug class files without source code directly...
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JetBrains
plugins.jetbrains.com › plugin › 8047-decompile-and-attach
Decompile and Attach - IntelliJ IDEs Plugin | Marketplace
GitHub | Issues | decompiles jar package using Intellij's build in Fernflower decompiler and attaches decompiled sources to project. the purpose is to have a...
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JetBrains
youtrack.jetbrains.com › issue › IDEA-175638 › Please-release-fernflower-decompiler-as-a-standalone-jar
Please release fernflower decompiler as a standalone jar
{{ (>_<) }} This version of your browser is not supported. Try upgrading to the latest stable version. Something went seriously wrong
🌐
GitHub
github.com › 6168218c › FernflowerUI
GitHub - 6168218c/FernflowerUI: The fernflower decompiler with GUI.
November 16, 2021 - The fernflower decompiler with GUI. Contribute to 6168218c/FernflowerUI development by creating an account on GitHub.
Starred by 109 users
Forked by 21 users
Languages   C++ 82.6% | C 17.4%
🌐
GitHub
github.com › fesh0r › fernflower
GitHub - fesh0r/fernflower: Unofficial mirror of FernFlower Java decompiler (All pulls should be submitted upstream)
A decompiler from Java bytecode to Java. Fernflower is the first actually working analytical decompiler for Java and probably for a high-level programming language in general. Naturally, it is still under development.
Starred by 3.8K users
Forked by 699 users
Languages   Java
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Fedora
packages.fedoraproject.org › pkgs › java-runtime-decompiler › java-runtime-decompiler-fernflower-plugin
java-runtime-decompiler-fernflower-plugin - Fedora Packages
View java-runtime-decompiler-fernflower-plugin in the Fedora package repositories. java-runtime-decompiler-fernflower-plugin: fernflower decompiler plugin for java-runtime-decompiler
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X
x.com › gf_256 › status › 1855132650618380385
cts🌸 on X: "The author of the Fernflower decompiler, Stiver, has passed away. This is truly sad. Fernflower was important for Minecraft MCP, and that’s how I originally learned how to code—making Minecraft hacks. It also was what inspired me and my friend to deeply study compilers and SSA" / X
The author of the Fernflower decompiler, Stiver, has passed away. This is truly sad. Fernflower was important for Minecraft MCP, and that’s how I originally learned how to code—making Minecraft hacks. It also was what inspired me and my friend to deeply study compilers and SSA one summer to write deobfuscators and lifters…which opened so many doors for me, including my time at Vector 35.
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Lobsters
lobste.rs › s › vuhrm2 › original_author_fernflower_java
The Original Author of the Fernflower Java Decompiler, Stiver, has Passed Away | Lobsters
November 3, 2024 - The Original Author of the Fernflower Java Decompiler, Stiver, has Passed Away java person blog.jetbrains.com
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XDA Forums
xdaforums.com › home › asus › asus transformer tf700
[Tool][Decompiler] Fernflower | XDA Forums
November 19, 2012 - Hello, I would like to share this java decompiler with the community. FernFlower is the first analytic decompiler for java. It will decompile class files and jar files to human readable java code.
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Microsoft
devblogs.microsoft.com › dev blogs › microsoft for java developers › java on visual studio code – july 2023
Java on Visual Studio Code - July 2023 - Microsoft for Java Developers
July 26, 2023 - Previously, users have reported that our extensions did not have good support of proper decompiling and debugging code. In our latest release, we have embedded a powerful Java decompiler called Fernflower (Currently an open-source project and used in IntelliJ IDEA) in our extension pack.
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Jamie Tanna
jvt.me › posts › 2021 › 12 › 20 › java-decompile-command-line
Decompiling Java Class Files On the Command-Line · Jamie Tanna | Software Engineer
December 20, 2021 - It's incredibly convenient when ... decompiler that IntelliJ uses under the hood is Open Source and has a powerful command-line interface that can be used to decompile classes....
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Mkyong
mkyong.com › home › java › how to decompile class in java
How to decompile class in Java - Mkyong.com
July 1, 2021 - # decompile JAR or Class files # java -jar fernflower.jar /path/asm-analysis-3.2.jar /path/unknown.class /path/decompile/ $ java -jar fernflower.jar /path/asm-analysis-3.2.jar /path/decompile/ INFO: Decompiling class org/objectweb/asm/tree/...