Git Stash

• git stash - Stash your changes
• git stash push -m "message" - Stash with a message
• git stash list - List all stashes
• git stash branch <branchname> - Create a branch from a stash

Sometimes you need to quickly switch tasks or fix a bug, but you're not ready to commit your work.

git stash lets you save your uncommitted changes and return to a clean working directory.

You can come back and restore your changes later.

Save your current changes (both staged and unstaged tracked files) with:

• Tracked files (both staged and unstaged) are stashed by default.
• Untracked files (new files not yet added to Git) are not stashed by default.
• To stash untracked files too, use git stash -u (or --include-untracked ).

This command saves your changes and cleans your working directory so you can safely switch tasks or branches.

Your changes are now saved in a stack.

What is a stash stack?

Each time you run git stash , your changes are saved on top of a "stack".

The most recent stash is on top, and you can apply or drop stashes from the top down, or pick a specific one from the list.

Your working directory is clean, and you can switch branches or pull updates safely.

Add a message to remember what you stashed:

This command lets you add a descriptive message to your stash so you can remember what you were working on.

This command shows all the stashes you have saved so far, with their names and messages.

See what was changed in the latest stash:

This command gives a summary of what files and changes are in your most recent stash.

This command shows the exact lines that were changed in your most recent stash.

Restore your most recent stashed changes (keeps the stash in the stack):

This command restores your most recent stashed changes, but keeps the stash in the list so you can use it again if needed.

Restore a specific stash from the list:

This command lets you restore a specific stash from your list, not just the most recent one.

Apply the latest stash and remove it from the stack :

This command restores your most recent stash and removes it from the list at the same time.

Delete a specific stash when you no longer need it:

This command deletes a specific stash from your list when you no longer need it.

• Clear All Stashes ( git stash clear )

This command deletes all your stashes at once. Be careful! This cannot be undone!

Create a new branch and apply a stash to it.

Useful if your stashed work should become its own feature branch:

This command creates a new branch and applies your stashed changes to it.

This is useful if you decide your work should become its own feature branch.

• Use clear messages when stashing: git stash push -m "WIP: feature name"
• Don't use stashes as long-term storage-commit your work when possible.
• Check your stash list regularly and clean up old stashes you no longer need.

• Did you lose your changes? Try git stash list and git stash apply to recover stashed work.
• Stash didn't apply cleanly? You may need to resolve conflicts, just like a merge. Git will mark the conflicts in your files for you to resolve.
• Untracked files missing? By default, untracked files are not stashed. If you need to stash them, use git stash -u next time.
• Accidentally cleared all stashes? Unfortunately, git stash clear is permanent. Always double-check before running it!