diff --git a/compiler/cli/cli-common/gen/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArgumentsCopyGenerated.kt b/compiler/cli/cli-common/gen/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArgumentsCopyGenerated.kt
index 34ef3ee3503..9fcb5308036 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/cli-common/gen/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArgumentsCopyGenerated.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/cli-common/gen/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArgumentsCopyGenerated.kt
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ fun copyK2JVMCompilerArguments(from: K2JVMCompilerArguments, to: K2JVMCompilerAr
     to.assertionsMode = from.assertionsMode
     to.backendThreads = from.backendThreads
     to.buildFile = from.buildFile
-    to.classpath = from.classpath?.copyOf()
+    to.classpath = from.classpath
     to.compileJava = from.compileJava
     to.declarationsOutputPath = from.declarationsOutputPath
     to.defaultScriptExtension = from.defaultScriptExtension
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ fun copyK2JVMCompilerArguments(from: K2JVMCompilerArguments, to: K2JVMCompilerAr
     to.friendPaths = from.friendPaths?.copyOf()
     to.includeRuntime = from.includeRuntime
     to.inheritMultifileParts = from.inheritMultifileParts
-    to.javaModulePath = from.javaModulePath?.copyOf()
+    to.javaModulePath = from.javaModulePath
     to.javaPackagePrefix = from.javaPackagePrefix
     to.javaParameters = from.javaParameters
     to.javaSourceRoots = from.javaSourceRoots?.copyOf()
diff --git a/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.kt b/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.kt
index 2eac672943c..6eec916e764 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/cli-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/arguments/K2JVMCompilerArguments.kt
@@ -26,10 +26,9 @@ class K2JVMCompilerArguments : CommonCompilerArguments() {
         value = "-classpath",
         shortName = "-cp",
         valueDescription = "<path>",
-        description = "List of directories and JAR/ZIP archives to search for user class files",
-        delimiter = Argument.Delimiters.pathSeparator
+        description = "List of directories and JAR/ZIP archives to search for user class files"
     )
-    var classpath: Array<String>? = null
+    var classpath: String? = null
         set(value) {
             checkFrozen()
             field = if (value.isNullOrEmpty()) null else value
@@ -210,13 +209,8 @@ class K2JVMCompilerArguments : CommonCompilerArguments() {
             field = value
         }
 
-    @Argument(
-        value = "-Xmodule-path",
-        valueDescription = "<path>",
-        description = "Paths where to find Java 9+ modules",
-        delimiter = Argument.Delimiters.pathSeparator
-    )
-    var javaModulePath: Array<String>? = null
+    @Argument(value = "-Xmodule-path", valueDescription = "<path>", description = "Paths where to find Java 9+ modules")
+    var javaModulePath: String? = null
         set(value) {
             checkFrozen()
             field = if (value.isNullOrEmpty()) null else value
diff --git a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/cliCompilerUtils.kt b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/cliCompilerUtils.kt
index c7de0dea25e..bcdfa4924ca 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/cliCompilerUtils.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/compiler/cliCompilerUtils.kt
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ fun writeOutputsIfNeeded(
 
 fun ModuleBuilder.configureFromArgs(args: K2JVMCompilerArguments) {
     args.friendPaths?.forEach { addFriendDir(it) }
-    args.classpath?.forEach { addClasspathEntry(it) }
+    args.classpath?.split(File.pathSeparator)?.forEach { addClasspathEntry(it) }
     args.javaSourceRoots?.forEach {
         addJavaSourceRoot(JavaRootPath(it, args.javaPackagePrefix))
     }
diff --git a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/jvmArguments.kt b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/jvmArguments.kt
index 27ac7f59b1a..8147c172343 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/jvmArguments.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/jvmArguments.kt
@@ -177,13 +177,13 @@ fun CompilerConfiguration.configureJdkHomeFromSystemProperty() {
 }
 
 fun CompilerConfiguration.configureJavaModulesContentRoots(arguments: K2JVMCompilerArguments) {
-    for (modularRoot in arguments.javaModulePath.orEmpty()) {
+    for (modularRoot in arguments.javaModulePath?.split(File.pathSeparatorChar).orEmpty()) {
         add(CLIConfigurationKeys.CONTENT_ROOTS, JvmModulePathRoot(File(modularRoot)))
     }
 }
 
 fun CompilerConfiguration.configureContentRootsFromClassPath(arguments: K2JVMCompilerArguments) {
-    for (path in arguments.classpath.orEmpty()) {
+    for (path in arguments.classpath?.split(File.pathSeparatorChar).orEmpty()) {
         add(CLIConfigurationKeys.CONTENT_ROOTS, JvmClasspathRoot(File(path)))
     }
 }
diff --git a/compiler/fir/modularized-tests/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/fir/AbstractFrontendModularizedTest.kt b/compiler/fir/modularized-tests/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/fir/AbstractFrontendModularizedTest.kt
index f5d8fd94eaf..5397dd8e6f1 100644
--- a/compiler/fir/modularized-tests/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/fir/AbstractFrontendModularizedTest.kt
+++ b/compiler/fir/modularized-tests/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/fir/AbstractFrontendModularizedTest.kt
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ abstract class AbstractFrontendModularizedTest : AbstractModularizedTest() {
         if (originalArguments != null) {
             configuration.put(JVMConfigurationKeys.NO_JDK, originalArguments.noJdk)
 
-            for (modularRoot in originalArguments.javaModulePath.orEmpty()) {
+            for (modularRoot in originalArguments.javaModulePath?.split(File.pathSeparatorChar).orEmpty()) {
                 configuration.add(CLIConfigurationKeys.CONTENT_ROOTS, JvmModulePathRoot(modularRoot.fixPath()))
             }
 
diff --git a/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunner.kt b/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunner.kt
index e27d6978eaf..9953d88ea9c 100644
--- a/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunner.kt
+++ b/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunner.kt
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ fun CompilerConfiguration.configureBaseRoots(args: K2JVMCompilerArguments) {
         }
     }
 
-    args.classpath?.forEach { classpathRoot ->
+    args.classpath?.split(File.pathSeparator)?.forEach { classpathRoot ->
         add(
             CLIConfigurationKeys.CONTENT_ROOTS,
             if (isJava9Module) JvmModulePathRoot(File(classpathRoot)) else JvmClasspathRoot(File(classpathRoot))
diff --git a/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalJvmCompilerRunner.kt b/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalJvmCompilerRunner.kt
index a04f7ee898f..9545de3cee6 100644
--- a/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalJvmCompilerRunner.kt
+++ b/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/IncrementalJvmCompilerRunner.kt
@@ -550,7 +550,7 @@ var K2JVMCompilerArguments.destinationAsFile: File
     }
 
 var K2JVMCompilerArguments.classpathAsList: List<File>
-    get() = classpath.orEmpty().map(::File)
+    get() = classpath.orEmpty().split(File.pathSeparator).map(::File)
     set(value) {
-        classpath = value.map { it.path }.toTypedArray()
+        classpath = value.joinToString(separator = File.pathSeparator, transform = { it.path })
     }
diff --git a/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt b/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt
index 4f3f02314da..b93cda46c1f 100644
--- a/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt
+++ b/compiler/incremental-compilation-impl/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt
@@ -48,14 +48,14 @@ abstract class AbstractIncrementalJvmCompilerRunnerTest : AbstractIncrementalCom
         }
         if (javaSources.isEmpty()) return TestCompilationResult(ExitCode.OK, emptyList(), emptyList())
 
-        val javaClasspath = compileClasspath + kotlinClassesPath
+        val javaClasspath = compileClasspath + File.pathSeparator + kotlinClassesPath
         val javaDestinationDir = File(workingDir, "java-classes").apply {
             if (exists()) {
                 deleteRecursively()
             }
             mkdirs()
         }
-        val args = arrayOf("-cp", javaClasspath.joinToString(File.pathSeparator),
+        val args = arrayOf("-cp", javaClasspath,
                            "-d", javaDestinationDir.canonicalPath,
                            *javaSources.map { it.canonicalPath }.toTypedArray()
         )
@@ -73,12 +73,12 @@ abstract class AbstractIncrementalJvmCompilerRunnerTest : AbstractIncrementalCom
         K2JVMCompilerArguments().apply {
             moduleName = testDir.name
             destination = destinationDir.path
-            classpath = compileClasspath.toTypedArray()
+            classpath = compileClasspath
         }
 
     private val compileClasspath =
         listOf(
             kotlinStdlibJvm,
             KtTestUtil.getAnnotationsJar()
-        ).map { it.canonicalPath }
+        ).joinToString(File.pathSeparator) { it.canonicalPath }
 }
diff --git a/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/KotlinFacetSettings.kt b/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/KotlinFacetSettings.kt
index e2ec4cbc1b8..8fa5d30940d 100644
--- a/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/KotlinFacetSettings.kt
+++ b/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/KotlinFacetSettings.kt
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ class KotlinFacetSettings {
                 if (compilerSettings != null) {
                     parseCommandLineArguments(compilerSettings.additionalArgumentsAsList, this)
                 }
-                if (this is K2JVMCompilerArguments) this.classpath = null
+                if (this is K2JVMCompilerArguments) this.classpath = ""
             }
         } else null
     }
diff --git a/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/facetSerialization.kt b/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/facetSerialization.kt
index 0cf68c50015..f49de73af15 100644
--- a/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/facetSerialization.kt
+++ b/jps/jps-common/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/facetSerialization.kt
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ fun CommonCompilerArguments.convertPathsToSystemIndependent() {
     when (this) {
         is K2JVMCompilerArguments -> {
             destination = destination?.let(FileUtilRt::toSystemIndependentName)
-            classpath?.forEachIndexed { index, s -> classpath!![index] = FileUtilRt.toSystemIndependentName(s) }
+            classpath = classpath?.let(FileUtilRt::toSystemIndependentName)
             jdkHome = jdkHome?.let(FileUtilRt::toSystemIndependentName)
             kotlinHome = kotlinHome?.let(FileUtilRt::toSystemIndependentName)
             friendPaths?.forEachIndexed { index, s -> friendPaths!![index] = FileUtilRt.toSystemIndependentName(s) }
diff --git a/jps/jps-common/test/CompilerArgumentsSerializationTest.kt b/jps/jps-common/test/CompilerArgumentsSerializationTest.kt
index 7a88a5034ce..84e970ff112 100644
--- a/jps/jps-common/test/CompilerArgumentsSerializationTest.kt
+++ b/jps/jps-common/test/CompilerArgumentsSerializationTest.kt
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class CompilerArgumentsSerializationTest {
     @Test
     fun testLongClasspathArgumentJVM() {
         doSerializeDeserializeAndCompareTest<K2JVMCompilerArguments> {
-            classpath = generateSequence { generateRandomString(50) }.take(10).toList().toTypedArray()
+            classpath = generateSequence { generateRandomString(50) }.take(10).toList().joinToString(File.pathSeparator)
         }
     }
 
@@ -184,4 +184,4 @@ class CompilerArgumentsSerializationTest {
             .map(charPool::get)
             .joinToString("")
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/jps/jps-plugin/jps-tests/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jps/build/KotlinJpsBuildTest.kt b/jps/jps-plugin/jps-tests/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jps/build/KotlinJpsBuildTest.kt
index 2d26715b33e..b1ec159d09e 100644
--- a/jps/jps-plugin/jps-tests/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jps/build/KotlinJpsBuildTest.kt
+++ b/jps/jps-plugin/jps-tests/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jps/build/KotlinJpsBuildTest.kt
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtil
 import com.intellij.openapi.vfs.StandardFileSystems
 import com.intellij.testFramework.LightVirtualFile
 import com.intellij.testFramework.UsefulTestCase
-import com.intellij.util.io.Decompressor
 import com.intellij.util.io.URLUtil
 import com.intellij.util.io.ZipUtil
 import org.jetbrains.jps.ModuleChunk
@@ -958,7 +957,7 @@ open class KotlinJpsBuildTest : KotlinJpsBuildTestBase() {
             Files.copy(libraryJar.toPath(), module1Lib.toPath(), StandardCopyOption.REPLACE_EXISTING)
 
             assert(module1Lib.exists())
-            (facet.compilerArguments as K2JVMCompilerArguments).classpath = arrayOf(module1Lib.path)
+            (facet.compilerArguments as K2JVMCompilerArguments).classpath = module1Lib.path
 
             it.container.setChild(
                 JpsKotlinFacetModuleExtension.KIND,
diff --git a/libraries/tools/kotlin-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/jetbrains/kotlin/maven/K2JVMCompileMojo.java b/libraries/tools/kotlin-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/jetbrains/kotlin/maven/K2JVMCompileMojo.java
index 653ff91a951..80d6abdb5f6 100644
--- a/libraries/tools/kotlin-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/jetbrains/kotlin/maven/K2JVMCompileMojo.java
+++ b/libraries/tools/kotlin-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/jetbrains/kotlin/maven/K2JVMCompileMojo.java
@@ -165,14 +165,13 @@ public class K2JVMCompileMojo extends KotlinCompileMojoBase<K2JVMCompilerArgumen
 
         if (!classpathList.isEmpty()) {
             String classPathString = join(classpathList, File.pathSeparator);
-            String[] classPath = classpathList.toArray(new String[0]);
             if (isJava9Module(sourceRoots)) {
                 getLog().debug("Module path: " + classPathString);
-                arguments.setJavaModulePath(classPath);
+                arguments.setJavaModulePath(classPathString);
             }
             else {
                 getLog().debug("Classpath: " + classPathString);
-                arguments.setClasspath(classPath);
+                arguments.setClasspath(classPathString);
             }
         }
 
@@ -256,19 +255,19 @@ public class K2JVMCompileMojo extends KotlinCompileMojoBase<K2JVMCompilerArgumen
         File classesDir = new File(destination);
         File kotlinClassesDir = new File(cachesDir, "classes");
         File snapshotsFile = new File(cachesDir, "snapshots.bin");
-        String[] classpath = arguments.getClasspath();
+        String classpath = arguments.getClasspath();
         MavenICReporter icReporter = new MavenICReporter(getLog());
 
         try {
             arguments.setDestination(kotlinClassesDir.getAbsolutePath());
             if (classpath != null) {
                 List<String> filteredClasspath = new ArrayList<>();
-                for (String path : classpath) {
+                for (String path : classpath.split(File.pathSeparator)) {
                     if (!classesDir.equals(new File(path))) {
                         filteredClasspath.add(path);
                     }
                 }
-                arguments.setClasspath(filteredClasspath.toArray(new String[0]));
+                arguments.setClasspath(StringUtil.join(filteredClasspath, File.pathSeparator));
             }
 
             IncrementalJvmCompilerRunnerKt.makeIncrementally(cachesDir, sourceRoots, arguments, messageCollector, icReporter);
diff --git a/plugins/fir-plugin-prototype/fir-plugin-ic-test/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt b/plugins/fir-plugin-prototype/fir-plugin-ic-test/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt
index 160a4f1e720..e2d5dd8f0c6 100644
--- a/plugins/fir-plugin-prototype/fir-plugin-ic-test/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt
+++ b/plugins/fir-plugin-prototype/fir-plugin-ic-test/tests/org/jetbrains/kotlin/incremental/AbstractIncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunnerTest.kt
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import org.jetbrains.kotlin.cli.common.arguments.K2JVMCompilerArguments
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.incremental.testingUtils.BuildLogFinder
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.fail
 import java.io.File
-import java.io.FilenameFilter
 
 abstract class AbstractIncrementalFirJvmWithPluginCompilerRunnerTest : AbstractIncrementalFirJvmCompilerRunnerTest() {
     companion object {
@@ -35,7 +34,7 @@ abstract class AbstractIncrementalFirJvmWithPluginCompilerRunnerTest : AbstractI
             val annotationsJar = findJar(ANNOTATIONS_JAR_DIR, ANNOTATIONS_JAR_NAME, ":plugins:fir-plugin-prototype:plugin-annotations:jar")
             val pluginJar = findJar(PLUGIN_JAR_DIR, PLUGIN_JAR_NAME, ":plugins:fir-plugin-prototype:jar")
 
-            classpath = classpath?.plus(annotationsJar)
+            classpath += "${File.pathSeparator}$annotationsJar"
             pluginClasspaths = arrayOf(pluginJar)
         }
 
diff --git a/plugins/jvm-abi-gen/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jvm/abi/BaseJvmAbiTest.kt b/plugins/jvm-abi-gen/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jvm/abi/BaseJvmAbiTest.kt
index 59b7ca0b942..f25f4750b34 100644
--- a/plugins/jvm-abi-gen/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jvm/abi/BaseJvmAbiTest.kt
+++ b/plugins/jvm-abi-gen/test/org/jetbrains/kotlin/jvm/abi/BaseJvmAbiTest.kt
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ abstract class BaseJvmAbiTest : TestCase() {
         val compiler = K2JVMCompiler()
         val args = compiler.createArguments().apply {
             freeArgs = listOf(compilation.srcDir.canonicalPath)
-            classpath = (abiDependencies + kotlinJvmStdlib).map { it.canonicalPath }.toTypedArray()
+            classpath = (abiDependencies + kotlinJvmStdlib).joinToString(File.pathSeparator) { it.canonicalPath }
             pluginClasspaths = arrayOf(abiPluginJar.canonicalPath)
             pluginOptions = listOfNotNull(
                 abiOption(JvmAbiCommandLineProcessor.OUTPUT_PATH_OPTION.optionName, compilation.abiDir.canonicalPath),