Question

I am running a program and want to see what its return code is (since it returns different codes based on different errors).

I know in Bash I can do this by running

echo $?

What do I do when using cmd.exe on Windows?

Answer 1

The "exit code" is stored in a shell variable named errorlevel.

The errorlevel is set at the end of a console application. Windows applications behave a little differently; see @gary‘s answer below.

Use the if command keyword errorlevel for comparison:

if errorlevel <n> (<statements>) 

Which will execute statements when the errorlevel is greater than or equal to n. Execute if /? for details.

A shell variable named errorlevel contains the value as a string and can be dereferenced by wrapping with %’s.

Example script:

my_nifty_exe.exe  rem Give resolution instructions for known exit codes. rem Ignore exit code 1. rem Otherwise give a generic error message.  if %errorlevel%==7 (    echo "Replace magnetic tape." ) else if %errorlevel%==3 (    echo "Extinguish the printer." ) else if errorlevel 2 (    echo Unknown Error: %errorlevel% refer to Run Book documentation. ) else (    echo "Success!" ) 

Warning: An environment variable named errorlevel, if it exists, will override the shell variable named errorlevel. if errorlevel tests are not affected.