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
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Languages   Java
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GitHub
github.com › FabricMC › intellij-fernflower
GitHub - FabricMC/intellij-fernflower: Fabric fork of fernflower, includes javadoc application, multithreading and a handful of fixes.
java -jar fernflower.jar [-<option>=<value>]* [<source>]+ <destination> ... <source>: file or directory with files to be decompiled. Directories are recursively scanned. Allowed file extensions are class, zip and jar. Sources prefixed with -e= mean "library" files that won't be decompiled, but taken into account when analysing relationships between classes or methods.
Starred by 44 users
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Languages   Java
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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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Bytecode
the.bytecode.club › showthread.php
FernFlower - CLI Java Decompiler
Fernflower is an easy to use yet advanced cli Java decompiler. Download, READ THIS! FernFlower has recently become open sourced, you can view the repo at https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-co...decompiler If you're looking for GUI FernFlower, download Bytecode Viewer - https://github.co...
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GitHub
github.com › fesh0r › fernflower
GitHub - fesh0r/fernflower: Unofficial mirror of FernFlower Java decompiler (All pulls should be submitted upstream)
Sincere appreciation is extended to the maintainers of ForgeFlower for their valuable contributions and enhancements. Fernflower is licensed under the Apache License Version 2.0. The Fernflower IDE plugin is bundled in IntelliJ IDEA.
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Languages   Java
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GitHub
github.com › JetBrains › intellij-community › tree › master › plugins › java-decompiler › engine
intellij-community/plugins/java-decompiler/engine at master · JetBrains/intellij-community
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.
Author   JetBrains
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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
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Find elsewhere
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GitHub
github.com › JetBrains › fernflower › blob › master › README.md
fernflower/README.md at master · JetBrains/fernflower
Decompiler from Java bytecode to Java, used in IntelliJ IDEA. - JetBrains/fernflower
Author   JetBrains
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GitHub
github.com › JetBrains › intellij-community › blob › master › plugins › java-decompiler › engine › src › org › jetbrains › java › decompiler › main › Fernflower.java
intellij-community/plugins/java-decompiler/engine/src/org/jetbrains/java/decompiler/main/Fernflower.java at master · JetBrains/intellij-community
DecompilerContext context = new DecompilerContext(properties, logger, structContext, classProcessor, interceptor, cancellationManager, renamerFactory); ... public Fernflower(IBytecodeProvider provider, IResultSaver saver, Map<String, Object> customProperties, IFernflowerLogger logger) {
Author   JetBrains
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GitHub
github.com › sanzibb › fernflower
GitHub - sanzibb/fernflower: The unofficial mirror of Intellij Community Java Decompiler
Fernflower is the first actually working analytical decompiler for Java and probably for a high-level programming language in general. It contains the source code that is originally hosted at intellij-community/plugins/java-decompiler/engine/. ...
Starred by 2 users
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Languages   Java
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JetBrains
blog.jetbrains.com › idea › 2024 › 11 › in-memory-of-stiver
In Memory of Stiver | The IntelliJ IDEA Blog
September 16, 2025 - Another big challenge was integrating the decompiler with the IntelliJ IDEA debugger. Line numbers in decompiled code differ from line numbers in the original source, and Stiver helped provide a transparent mapping between them so you can seamlessly debug decompiled code. As Fernflower became open source, many other tools in the Java world used it – you can find a number of forks on GitHub.
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YouTube
youtube.com › wernerware
Fernflower Decompiler for Java - YouTube
Use Fernflower to decompile java code from .class and .jar files. This video shows you how to do it without IntelliJ Video notes: https://github.com/wernerwa...
Published   June 16, 2018
Views   5K
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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 - Fortunately, the Fernflower 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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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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JetBrains
youtrack.jetbrains.com › issue › IDEA-331720
Fernflower decompiler issue with Java bytecode source
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GitHub
github.com › MinecraftForge › FernFlower
GitHub - MinecraftForge/FernFlower: Unofficial mirror of FernFlower Java decompiler, Subtree split of: https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-community/tree/master/plugins/java-decompiler/engine
Unofficial mirror of FernFlower Java decompiler, Subtree split of: https://github.com/JetBrains/intellij-community/tree/master/plugins/java-decompiler/engine - MinecraftForge/FernFlower
Starred by 96 users
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Languages   Java
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Baeldung
baeldung.com › home › java › decompiling classes in java
Decompiling Classes in Java | Baeldung
August 14, 2025 - Finally, we can use the decompiler by pressing Ctrl+Left-Click on a class name. We see the decompiler used on the file tab in brackets. ... In contrast to Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA provides the FernFlower decompiler as a default.