---
title: query decompile
versions:
  fpt: '*'
  ghae: '*'
  ghec: '*'
  ghes: '*'
topics:
  - Advanced Security
  - Code scanning
  - CodeQL
type: reference
product: '{% data reusables.gated-features.codeql %}'
autogenerated: codeql-cli
intro: |-
  [Plumbing] Read an intermediate representation of a compiled query
  from a .qlo file.
redirect_from:
  - /code-security/codeql-cli/manual/query-decompile
---


<!-- Content after this section is automatically generated -->

{% data reusables.codeql-cli.man-pages-version-note %}

## Synopsis

```shell copy
codeql query decompile [--output=<file>] <options>... -- <file>
```

## Description

\[Plumbing] Read an intermediate representation of a compiled query
from a .qlo file.

The code will be written to standard output, unless the `--output`
option is specified.

## Primary options

#### `<file>`

\[Mandatory] QLO file to read from.

#### `-o, --output=<file>`

The file to write the desired output to.

#### `--kind=<kind>`

The kind of the intermediate representation to read. The options are:

`dil`: A Datalog intermediate representation.

`ra`: A relational algebra intermediate representation. This is used by
the query evaluation phase.

`bytecode`: Show the raw (uncompressed) bytecode from the .qlo file.
Mostly useful for debugging the compiler/evaluator.

The default is `dil` if the query was compiled with
`--include-dil-in-qlo` and `ra` otherwise

### Common options

#### `-h, --help`

Show this help text.

#### `-J=<opt>`

\[Advanced] Give option to the JVM running the command.

(Beware that options containing spaces will not be handled correctly.)

#### `-v, --verbose`

Incrementally increase the number of progress messages printed.

#### `-q, --quiet`

Incrementally decrease the number of progress messages printed.

#### `--verbosity=<level>`

\[Advanced] Explicitly set the verbosity level to one of errors,
warnings, progress, progress+, progress++, progress+++. Overrides `-v`
and `-q`.

#### `--logdir=<dir>`

\[Advanced] Write detailed logs to one or more files in the given
directory, with generated names that include timestamps and the name of
the running subcommand.

(To write a log file with a name you have full control over, instead
give `--log-to-stderr` and redirect stderr as desired.)