Before we dive into this, I want to emphasize that decoding ionCube-encoded files without proper authorization or ownership may be against the terms of service or even illegal. Ensure you have the right to work with the files you're attempting to decode.

You're looking for a comprehensive guide on decoding ionCube-encoded PHP files, specifically for version 11.x (ic11x) on PHP 7.4.

ionCube is a PHP encoder that protects PHP source code by compiling and encoding it into a proprietary format. This makes it difficult for humans to read or reverse-engineer the code.