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javassist throws ClassNotFoundException when loading external classes from jar

I'm trying load an external jar file with javassist & call its main method at runtime, however when i try to do this with the below code:
File file = new File("C:\\Users\\MainPC\\Desktop\\test.jar");
ClassPool cp = ClassPool.getDefault();
cp.insertClassPath(file.getAbsolutePath());
Class<?> MainClass = cp.get("TestPackage.MainClass").toClass();
MainClass.getMethod("main", String[].class).invoke(null, new Object[] {args});
It throws the following exception:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:564)
at ReflectionTests.main(ReflectionTests.java:99)
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: TestPackage/OtherClass
at TestPackage.MainClass.main(Unknown Source)
... 5 more
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: TestPackage.OtherClass
at java.base/jdk.internal.loader.BuiltinClassLoader.loadClass(BuiltinClassLoader.java:602)
at java.base/jdk.internal.loader.ClassLoaders$AppClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoaders.java:178)
at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:522)
... 6 more
When i attempt the same thing only using the built in java reflection api it works with no problems:
File file = new File("C:\\Users\\MainPC\\Desktop\\test.jar");
URLClassLoader cl = new URLClassLoader(new URL[] {new URL("jar:file:"+file.getAbsoluteFile()+"!/")});
Class<?> clazz = cl.loadClass("TestPackage.MainClass");
clazz.getMethod("main", String[].class).invoke(null, new Object[] {args});
(the above throws no exceptions & calls the main method of the jar file as expected)
This leaves me to believe i'm doing something wrong in javassist (specifically with the loading of the jar file classes). Can someone explain to me what it is?
I should mention the jar file only contains 2 classes: MainClass.class & OtherClass.Class. Both reside in a package called TestPackage. It seems the error has something to do with the MainClass class not being able to find the OtherClass class, when javassist loads it.

The problem was that when i call ct.toClass() it only exposes the class itself to my runtimes classloader (not the entire classpool's classpath). When i then later attempt to invoke the main method of this class, my runtimes classloader tries to execute the part that loads the other class which it obviously doesn't know about and so throws a ClassNotFoundException.
The solution is to use the javassist provided classloader (javassist.Loader) which takes a classpool as argument in the constructor and then is able to load & resolve classes from the classpools classpath properly.
Here's a working code example of what i was trying to achieve:
File file = new File("C:\\Users\\MainPC\\Desktop\\test.jar");
ClassPool cp = ClassPool.getDefault();
cp.insertClassPath(file.getAbsolutePath());
Loader loader = new Loader(cp);
Class<?> MainClass = loader.loadClass("TestPackage.MainClass");
MainClass.getMethod("main", String[].class).invoke(null, new Object[] {args});

dynamic loading class error NoClassDefFoundError

I'm writing program witch loads .class files in run time and calls main method. Code below.
File classDir = new File(pathToClass);
URL pathTo = classDir.toURL();
URL[] urls = new URL[]{pathTo};
URLClassLoader cl = new URLClassLoader(urls);
_class = cl.loadClass(className);
Method m = _class.getMethod("main", String[].class);
It builds and in execution I get this error :
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: [LComplex;
at java.lang.Class.getDeclaredMethods0(Native Method)
at java.lang.Class.privateGetDeclaredMethods(Class.java:2693)
at java.lang.Class.privateGetMethodRecursive(Class.java:3040)
at java.lang.Class.getMethod0(Class.java:3010)
at java.lang.Class.getMethod(Class.java:1776)
What I'm doing wrong
Files are placed in this pattern:
C:/dir/a/ccc.class
C:/dir/a/ccc.java
C:/dir/b/ccc.class
C:/dir/b/ccc.java

Like isnot2bad told, Complex class was missing. After loading it error vanished

Java class is not found when loading jar file

I am working on a API system for a program. This system goes to a 'plugin' folder and loads every jar there. I am trying to load the main class of the jar file that is in the 'plugin' folder, but while doing so, I get a ClassNotFoundException.
Here is my code:
private static void loadClassFromJar(String PluginJar) throws MalformedURLException, ClassNotFoundException, InstantiationException, IllegalAccessException, NoSuchMethodException, SecurityException, IllegalArgumentException, InvocationTargetException {
logger.debug("jar:file:" + "./debug/plugins/DiamondCorePlugin.jar!/");
URL[] urls = { new URL("jar:file:" + FileList.PluginFolder.getAbsolutePath() + PluginJar +"!/") };
URLClassLoader ClassLoader = URLClassLoader.newInstance(urls);
Class<?> Class = ClassLoader.loadClass("net.trenterprises.diamondcore.plugin.Main");
Object Object = Class.newInstance();
Method EventMethod = Object.getClass().getMethod("onEnable");
EventMethod.invoke(Object);
}
If the question is vague or unclear, please let me know (I am new around here, so I try my best to word any question I ask).
EDIT:
Forgot to include the stack trace. Here it is!
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: net.trenterprises.diamondcore.plugin.Main
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:372)
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:361)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:360)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:424)
at java.net.FactoryURLClassLoader.loadClass(URLClassLoader.java:798)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:357)
at net.trenterprises.diamondcore.cross.api.PluginLoader.loadClassFromJar(PluginLoader.java:53)
at net.trenterprises.diamondcore.cross.api.PluginLoader.loadAllPlugins(PluginLoader.java:25)
at net.trenterprises.diamondcore.DiamondCoreServer.<init>(DiamondCoreServer.java:47)
at net.trenterprises.diamondcore.run.main(run.java:15)

Either the jar does not contain the requested class (check with a zip-tool or jar -tf DiamondCorePlugin.jar, or the jar-URL is not correct (it seems to point to a resource inside the jar, not the jar itself). You can create it a little easier like:
File file = new File("debug/plugins/DiamondCorePlugin.jar");
URL[] urls = { file.getAbsoluteFile().toURI().toURL() };

Load jar dynamically at runtime?

My current java project is using methods and variables from another project (same package). Right now the other project's jar has to be in the classpath to work correctly. My problem here is that the name of the jar can and will change because of increasing versions, and because you cannot use wildcards in the manifest classpath, it's impossible to add it to the classpath. So currently the only option of starting my application is using the -cp argument from the command line, manually adding the other jar my project depends on.
To improve this, I wanted to load the jar dynamically and read about using the ClassLoader. I read a lot of examples for it, however I still don't understand how to use it in my case.
What I want is it to load a jar file, lets say, myDependency-2.4.1-SNAPSHOT.jar, but it should be able to just search for a jar file starting with myDependency- because as I already said the version number can change at anytime. Then I should just be able to use it's methods and variables in my Code just like I do now (like ClassInMyDependency.exampleMethod()).
Can anyone help me with this, as I've been searching the web for a few hours now and still don't get how to use the ClassLoader to do what I just explained.
Many thanks in advance

(Applies to Java version 8 and earlier).
Indeed this is occasionally necessary. This is how I do this in production. It uses reflection to circumvent the encapsulation of addURL in the system class loader.
/*
* Adds the supplied Java Archive library to java.class.path. This is benign
* if the library is already loaded.
*/
public static synchronized void loadLibrary(java.io.File jar) throws MyException
{
try {
/*We are using reflection here to circumvent encapsulation; addURL is not public*/
java.net.URLClassLoader loader = (java.net.URLClassLoader)ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader();
java.net.URL url = jar.toURI().toURL();
/*Disallow if already loaded*/
for (java.net.URL it : java.util.Arrays.asList(loader.getURLs())){
if (it.equals(url)){
return;
}
}
java.lang.reflect.Method method = java.net.URLClassLoader.class.getDeclaredMethod("addURL", new Class[]{java.net.URL.class});
method.setAccessible(true); /*promote the method to public access*/
method.invoke(loader, new Object[]{url});
} catch (final java.lang.NoSuchMethodException |
java.lang.IllegalAccessException |
java.net.MalformedURLException |
java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException e){
throw new MyException(e);
}
}

I needed to load a jar file at runtime for both java 8 and java 9+. Here is the method to do it (using Spring Boot 1.5.2 if it may relate).
public static synchronized void loadLibrary(java.io.File jar) {
try {
java.net.URL url = jar.toURI().toURL();
java.lang.reflect.Method method = java.net.URLClassLoader.class.getDeclaredMethod("addURL", new Class[]{java.net.URL.class});
method.setAccessible(true); /*promote the method to public access*/
method.invoke(Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader(), new Object[]{url});
} catch (Exception ex) {
throw new RuntimeException("Cannot load library from jar file '" + jar.getAbsolutePath() + "'. Reason: " + ex.getMessage());
}
}

Loading a jar at runtime causes a NoClassDefFoundError/ClassNotFoundException

Summary: Loading a jar from a running Java program causes a NoClassDefFoundError caused by a ClassNotFoundException caused by inter-class dependencies (e.g. import statements). How can I get around it?
The problem in more detail:
I am attempting to programmatically load a jar file -- let's call it "Server" -- into the Java Virtual Machine through my own Java program -- let's call it "ServerAPI" -- and use extension and some other tricks to modify the behavior of and interact with Server. ServerAPI depends on Server, but if Server is not present, ServerAPI still has to be able to run and download Server from a website.
To avoid errors caused by ServerAPI loading without satisfying its dependencies from Server, I have made a launcher -- let's call it "Launcher" -- that is intended to download Server and set up ServerAPI as necessary, then load Server and ServerAPI, then run ServerAPI.
However, when I attempt to load jars from Launcher, I get errors caused because the ClassLoaders are unable to resolve the other classes in the file that the class it's loading depends on. In short, if I try to load Class A, it will throw an error if A imports B because I haven't loaded B yet. However, if B also imports A, I'm stuck because I can't figure out how to load two classes at once or how to load a class without the JVM running its validation.
Why all the restrictions have led me to this problem:
I am attempting to modify and add to the behavior of Server, but for complicated legal reasons, I cannot modify the program directly, so I have created ServerAPI that depends on and can tweak the behavior of Server from the outside.
However, for more complicated legal reasons, Server and ServerAPI cannot simply be downloaded together. Launcher (see above) has to be downloaded with ServerAPI, then Launcher needs to download Server. Finally, ServerAPI can be run using Server as a dependency. That's why this problem is so complex.
This problem will also apply to a later part of the project, which will involve a plugin-based API interface that needs to be able to load and unload plugins from jar files while running.
Research I have already done on this problem:
I have read through and failed to be helped by:
this question, which only addresses the issue of a single method and does not address inter-class dependency errors;
this question, which will not work because I cannot shut down and restart the program every time a jar is loaded or unloaded (mainly for the plugin part I briefly mentioned);
this question, which only works for situations where the dependencies are present when the program starts;
this question, which has the same problem as #2;
this question, which has the same problem as #3;
this article, from which I learned about the hidden loadClass(String, boolean) method, but trying with true and false values did not help;
this question, which has the same problem as #1;
and more. Nothing has worked.
//EDIT:
Attempts I have made so far:
I have tried using URLClassLoaders to load the jar using the JarEntries from the JarFile similar to this question. I tried this both by using and calling a URLClassLoader's loadClass(String) method and by making a class that extends URLClassLoader so that I could utilize loadClass(String, boolean resolve) to try to force the ClassLoader to resolve all the classes it loads. Both ways, I got this same error:
I couldn't find the class in the JarEntry!
entry name="org/apache/logging/log4j/core/appender/db/jpa/converter/ContextMapAttributeConverter.class"
class name="org.apache.logging.log4j.core.appender.db.jpa.converter.ContextMapAttributeConverter"
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/persistence/AttributeConverter
at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass1(Native Method)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(ClassLoader.java:760)
at java.security.SecureClassLoader.defineClass(SecureClassLoader.java:142)
at java.net.URLClassLoader.defineClass(URLClassLoader.java:455)
at java.net.URLClassLoader.access$100(URLClassLoader.java:73)
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:367)
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:361)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:360)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:424)
at Corundum.launcher.CorundumClassLoader.load(CorundumClassLoader.java:52)
at Corundum.launcher.CorundumLauncher.main(CorundumLauncher.java:47)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: javax.persistence.AttributeConverter
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:372)
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:361)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:360)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:424)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:357)
... 12 more
//END EDIT
//EDIT 2:
Here is a sample of the code that I used to load a class while trying to resolve it. This was inside a class that I made that extends URLClassLoader. On the line beginning with Class<?> clazz = loadClass(, I have tried using true and false as the boolean argument; both attempts resulted in the same error above.
public boolean load(ClassLoadAction class_action, FinishLoadAction end_action) {
// establish the jar associated with this ClassLoader as a JarFile
JarFile jar;
try {
jar = new JarFile(jar_path);
} catch (IOException exception) {
System.out.println("There was a problem loading the " + jar_path + "!");
exception.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
// load each class in the JarFile through its JarEntries
Enumeration<JarEntry> entries = jar.entries();
if (entries.hasMoreElements())
for (JarEntry entry = entries.nextElement(); entries.hasMoreElements(); entry = entries.nextElement())
if (!entry.isDirectory() && entry.getName().endsWith(".class"))
try {
/* this "true" in the line below is the whole reason this class is necessary; it makes the URLClassLoader this class extends "resolve" the class,
* meaning it also loads all the classes this class refers to */
Class<?> clazz = loadClass(entry.getName().substring(0, entry.getName().length() - 6).replaceAll("/", "."), true);
class_action.onClassLoad(this, jar, clazz, end_action);
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | NoClassDefFoundError exception) {
try {
close();
} catch (IOException exception2) {
System.out.println("There was a problem closing the URLClassLoader after the following " + exception2.getClass().getSimpleName() + "!");
exception.printStackTrace();
}
try {
jar.close();
} catch (IOException exception2) {
System.out.println("There was a problem closing the JarFile after the following ClassNotFoundException!");
exception.printStackTrace();
}
System.out.println("I couldn't find the class in the JarEntry!\nentry name=\"" + entry.getName() + "\"\nclass name=\""
+ entry.getName().substring(0, entry.getName().length() - 6).replaceAll("/", ".") + "\"");
exception.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
// once all the classes are loaded, close the ClassLoader and run the plugin's main class(es) load() method(s)
try {
jar.close();
} catch (IOException exception) {
System.out.println("I couldn't close the URLClassLoader used to load this jar file!\njar file=\"" + jar.getName() + "\"");
exception.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
end_action.onFinishLoad(this, null, class_action);
System.out.println("loaded " + jar_path);
// TODO TEST
try {
close();
} catch (IOException exception) {
System.out.println("I couldn't close the URLClassLoader used to load this jar file!\njar file=\"" + jar_path + "\"");
exception.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
return true;
}
//END EDIT 2
I realize that there must be a simple solution to this, but for the life of me I cannot seem to find it. Any help would make me eternally grateful. Thank you.

Embarassingly, I found that the answer was that the error message was telling the truth. javax.persistence.AttributeConverter, the class that the loader was claiming was not present, was not in the jar.
I fixed the issue by loading only the main class and the ClassLoader all references classes, essentially loading all the classes in the jar that are used in the program, which is all I need.
Now, I could have sworn that I checked for this before and found that class; I figure I must have actually checked the Apache open source repository for the class rather than the actual Server when I checked that. I can't remember.
In any case, AttributeConverter is missing. I don't know how or why they managed to compile a jar with missing dependencies, but I guess their main processes never use that part of the code, so it never threw errors.
I'm sorry to have wasted everyone's time...including my own. I have been stuck on this problem for a while now.
Moral of this story:
If you're trying to load an executable jar, don't bother loading all the classes in a jar unless you actually have to. Just load the main class; that will load everything the program needs to run.
//EDIT:
I have now started having the same error, but it does not appear until I attempt to call a method from a loaded class. The question is apparently still open. Please downvote and disregard this answer.