Stashing Changes

Git stash temporarily shelves your changes so you can work on something else, then come back and reapply them later.

What is Stashing?

Stashing is like putting your work-in-progress in a drawer:

Working Directory                 Stash
┌────────────────┐               ┌────────────────┐
│  Modified      │               │                │
│  files         │ ──git stash──→│  Saved for     │
│  (WIP)         │               │  later         │
└────────────────┘               └────────────────┘
       ↓                                ↓
  (clean state)                   (retrieve when ready)

When to Use Stash

Scenario	Why Stash?
Switch branches mid-work	Can't switch with uncommitted conflicts
Quick hotfix needed	Save WIP, fix bug, return
Pull with local changes	Stash, pull, pop
Test without your changes	Temporarily remove WIP
Experiment	Save current state before trying something

Basic Stashing

Stash Changes

# Stash tracked, modified files
git stash

# Stash with a message
git stash save "WIP: user authentication"
# or
git stash push -m "WIP: user authentication"

What Gets Stashed

By default, stash saves:

• Modified tracked files
• Staged changes

NOT stashed by default:

• Untracked files
• Ignored files

Include Untracked Files

# Include untracked files
git stash -u
git stash --include-untracked

# Include untracked AND ignored files
git stash -a
git stash --all

Viewing Stashes

# List all stashes
git stash list

Output:

stash@{0}: WIP on main: abc1234 Latest commit
stash@{1}: On feature: def5678 Working on login
stash@{2}: WIP on main: 789abcd Fix bug

The most recent stash is stash@{0}.

View Stash Contents

# Show summary of latest stash
git stash show

# Show full diff
git stash show -p

# Show specific stash
git stash show stash@{2}
git stash show -p stash@{2}

Retrieving Stashed Changes

Pop (Apply and Remove)

# Apply latest stash and remove it from stash list
git stash pop

# Pop specific stash
git stash pop stash@{2}

Apply (Keep in Stash)

# Apply latest stash but keep it in stash list
git stash apply

# Apply specific stash
git stash apply stash@{1}

Difference Between Pop and Apply

Command	Action
pop	Apply + delete stash
apply	Apply, keep stash

Use apply when you might need the stash again.

Stash Operations

Create Branch from Stash

# Create new branch and apply stash
git stash branch my-feature stash@{0}

This:

1. Creates branch from commit where you stashed
2. Applies the stash
3. Drops the stash if successful

Drop a Stash

# Delete specific stash
git stash drop stash@{0}

# Delete all stashes
git stash clear

Partial Stashing

Stash Only Specific Files

# Stash only specific files
git stash push -m "stash readme" README.md

# Stash multiple files
git stash push -m "stash configs" config.js settings.json

Interactive Stashing

git stash -p
# or
git stash push -p

Git asks about each change:

Stash this hunk [y,n,q,a,d,s,e,?]?

• y: Stash this hunk
• n: Don't stash this hunk
• s: Split into smaller hunks
• q: Quit (stash selected hunks)

Stash and Stage

Keep Staged Changes

# Stash only unstaged changes (keep staged)
git stash --keep-index

Recreate Staging

# Apply stash and recreate staged/unstaged distinction
git stash apply --index

Common Workflows

Quick Context Switch

# Working on feature...
# Boss: "Fix production bug NOW!"

git stash push -m "WIP: feature work"
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b hotfix
# ... fix bug ...
git checkout feature-branch
git stash pop
# Continue feature work

Pull with Local Changes

# You have local changes, need to pull
git stash
git pull
git stash pop
# Resolve conflicts if any

Test Without Changes

# Temporarily remove your changes
git stash

# Run tests with clean code
npm test

# Restore your changes
git stash pop

Exercise: Stash Practice

Practice stashing and retrieving changes:

Stash Conflicts

If applying a stash causes conflicts:

git stash pop
# CONFLICT!

# Resolve conflicts
# Edit conflicted files
git add resolved-file.js

# The stash is NOT automatically dropped
# Drop it manually if resolved
git stash drop

Best Practices

Use Descriptive Messages

# Bad
git stash

# Good
git stash push -m "WIP: user form validation, needs testing"

Don't Let Stashes Pile Up

Stashes are temporary. Use them, don't hoard them:

# Check your stash list regularly
git stash list

# Clean old stashes
git stash drop stash@{5}

Consider Committing Instead

For longer interruptions, commit your WIP:

# Create WIP commit
git commit -am "WIP: work in progress"

# Later, undo the commit but keep changes
git reset --soft HEAD~1

Summary

• Stash temporarily saves uncommitted changes
• Use git stash to stash, git stash pop to retrieve
• Include untracked files with -u
• Use messages with -m "description"
• View stashes with git stash list
• Use apply to keep stash after applying
• Use stash -p for interactive, partial stashing
• Don't let stashes accumulate—use them or commit

In the next module, we'll explore GitHub-specific features.