How to Implement Error Handling in Batch Script

Every scripting and programming language contains an error handler like Java contains try-catch for error handling. In a Batch script, there is no direct way to do this, but we can create an error handler in the Batch script using a built-in variable of the Batch script name %ERRORLEVEL%.

This article will show how we can create a Batch script to handle errors and failures. Also, we are going to some examples that make the topic easier.

Error Handling in Batch Script

When a command successfully executes, it always returns an EXIT CODE that indicates whether the command successfully executed or failed to execute. So, to create an error handling in a Batch file, we can use that EXIT CODE in our program.

You can follow below general format to create an error handler:

@Echo off
SomeCommand && (
  ECHO Message for Success
) || (
  ECHO Message for Failure or Error
)

We can also do that by checking the variable named %ERRORLEVEL%. If the variable contains a value not equal to 0, then there might be a problem or error when executing the command. To test the %ERRORLEVEL% variable, you can follow the below example codes:

@ECHO off
Some Command Here !!!
IF %ERRORLEVEL% NEQ 0 (Echo Error found when running the command &Exit /b 1)

You must note that the keyword NEQ means Not Equal. And the variable %ERRORLEVEL% will only contain a non-zero value if there is a problem or error in the code.

An Example That Contains Errors

Below, we shared an example. We will run a Batch file named Your_file.bat from a location.

We intentionally removed that file from the directory. So it’s an error command.

The code for our example will be:

@echo off
ECHO Running a Batch file
CD G:\BATCH\
CALL Your_file.bat
IF  errorlevel 1 GOTO ERROR
ECHO The file run successfully.
GOTO EOF

:ERROR
ECHO The file didn't run successfully.
CMD /k
EXIT /b 1

:EOF

Now, as the file doesn’t exist in the directory, it will show an error, and you will get the below output when you run the code shared above.

Output:

Running a Batch file
The system cannot find the path specified.
'Your_file.bat' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
The file didn't run successfully.

An Error-Free Code Example That Runs Successfully

In the example above, we made a mistake on the code intentionally to understand how the code works. If we correct it like below:

@echo off
ECHO Running a Batch file
CALL "G:\BATCH\Yourfile.bat"
IF  errorlevel 1 GOTO ERROR
ECHO The file runs successfully.
GOTO EOF

:ERROR
ECHO The file didn't run successfully.
CMD /k
EXIT /b 1

:EOF

Then we will get an output like this:

Running a Batch file
This is from the first file
The file runs successfully.

Remember, all commands we discussed here are only for the Windows Command Prompt or CMD environment.