How do I get the application exit code from a Windows command line?

Use the built-in ERRORLEVEL Variable:

echo %ERRORLEVEL%

But beware if an application has defined an environment variable named ERRORLEVEL!

Testing ErrorLevel works for console applications, but as hinted at by dmihailescu, this won't work if you're trying to run a windowed application (e.g. Win32-based) from a command prompt. A windowed application will run in the background, and control will return immediately to the command prompt (most likely with an ErrorLevel of zero to indicate that the process was created successfully). When a windowed application eventually exits, its exit status is lost.

Instead of using the console-based C++ launcher mentioned elsewhere, though, a simpler alternative is to start a windowed application using the command prompt's START /WAIT command. This will start the windowed application, wait for it to exit, and then return control to the command prompt with the exit status of the process set in ErrorLevel.

It might not work correctly when using a program that is not attached to the console, because that app might still be running while you think you have the exit code. A solution to do it in C++ looks like below:

#include "stdafx.h"
#include "windows.h"
#include "stdio.h"
#include "tchar.h"
#include "stdio.h"
#include "shellapi.h"

int _tmain( int argc, TCHAR *argv[] )
{

    CString cmdline(GetCommandLineW());
    cmdline.TrimLeft('\"');
    CString self(argv[0]);
    self.Trim('\"');
    CString args = cmdline.Mid(self.GetLength()+1);
    args.TrimLeft(_T("\" "));
    printf("Arguments passed: '%ws'\n",args);
    STARTUPINFO si;
    PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;

    ZeroMemory( &si, sizeof(si) );
    si.cb = sizeof(si);
    ZeroMemory( &pi, sizeof(pi) );

    if( argc < 2 )
    {
        printf("Usage: %s arg1,arg2....\n", argv[0]);
        return -1;
    }

    CString strCmd(args);
    // Start the child process. 
    if( !CreateProcess( NULL,   // No module name (use command line)
        (LPTSTR)(strCmd.GetString()),        // Command line
        NULL,           // Process handle not inheritable
        NULL,           // Thread handle not inheritable
        FALSE,          // Set handle inheritance to FALSE
        0,              // No creation flags
        NULL,           // Use parent's environment block
        NULL,           // Use parent's starting directory 
        &si,            // Pointer to STARTUPINFO structure
        &pi )           // Pointer to PROCESS_INFORMATION structure
    ) 
    {
        printf( "CreateProcess failed (%d)\n", GetLastError() );
        return GetLastError();
    }
    else
        printf( "Waiting for \"%ws\" to exit.....\n", strCmd );

    // Wait until child process exits.
    WaitForSingleObject( pi.hProcess, INFINITE );
    int result = -1;
    if(!GetExitCodeProcess(pi.hProcess,(LPDWORD)&result))
    { 
        printf("GetExitCodeProcess() failed (%d)\n", GetLastError() );
    }
    else
        printf("The exit code for '%ws' is %d\n",(LPTSTR)(strCmd.GetString()), result );
    // Close process and thread handles. 
    CloseHandle( pi.hProcess );
    CloseHandle( pi.hThread );
    return result;
}