Git Stash Complete Guide

Learning Objectives

Understand what Git stash is and when to use it
Learn basic and advanced stashing operations
Master stash management and organization
Discover best practices for working with stashes

Understanding Git Stash

Git stash is a powerful feature that temporarily stores modified tracked files, allowing you to switch contexts without committing incomplete work. It's like a clipboard for your changes.

Quick Save

Save work in progress without creating a commit, perfect for switching tasks quickly.

Clean Workspace

Keep your working directory clean while preserving incomplete changes.

Context Switch

Easily switch between different tasks or branches without losing work.

Basic Stashing Operations

Let's look at the essential stashing commands you'll use most frequently:

Creating Stashes

# Basic stash
$  git stash
 
# Stash with a message
$  git stash save "Work in progress on login feature"
 
# Stash including untracked files
$  git stash -u
 
# Stash including ignored files
$  git stash -a

Applying Stashes

# Apply most recent stash
$  git stash apply
 
# Apply specific stash
$  git stash apply stash@{2}
 
# Apply and remove stash
$  git stash pop
 
# Apply with index
$  git stash apply --index

Advanced Stashing Techniques

Git stash offers advanced features for more complex scenarios:

Partial Stashing

# Stash specific files
$  git stash push -m "Update config" config.json
 
# Interactive stashing
$  git stash -p
 
# Stash single file
$  git stash -- path/to/file.txt

Stash Branch Operations

Branch Operations

# Create branch from stash
$  git stash branch new-branch
 
# Apply stash to branch
$  git checkout feature-branch
$  git stash apply

Managing Stashes

Proper stash management is crucial for maintaining organized work:

Viewing Stashes

# List all stashes
$  git stash list
 
# Show stash contents
$  git stash show
 
# Show detailed stash diff
$  git stash show -p
 
# Show specific stash
$  git stash show stash@{1}

Cleaning Up Stashes

Cleaning Up

# Remove single stash
$  git stash drop stash@{0}
 
# Remove all stashes
$  git stash clear
 
# Remove applied stash
$  git stash pop

Common Stashing Scenarios

Here are some typical situations where stashing is particularly useful:

Quick Branch Switch

Branch Switching

# Save current work
$  git stash save "WIP: Feature implementation"
 
# Switch branches
$  git checkout hotfix-branch
 
# Work on hotfix...
 
# Return to feature
$  git checkout feature-branch
$  git stash pop

Pull with Local Changes

Pulling Updates

# Stash changes
$  git stash
 
# Pull updates
$  git pull origin main
 
# Reapply changes
$  git stash pop

Stashing Best Practices

Use descriptive messages:
Always include meaningful messages with your stashes
Clean up regularly:
Don't let stashes accumulate; remove them when no longer needed
Verify before popping:
Check stash contents before applying to avoid conflicts

What's Next?

Now that you understand stashing, in the next lesson you'll learn about:

Advanced branch operations like cherry-picking
Interactive rebasing and commit squashing
Managing complex branch operations