Save and restore work with `git stash`

git stash saves selected uncommitted changes in a local snapshot and returns the working tree to a clean state. This is useful when you need to change branches, pull an update, or temporarily investigate another task.

Save changes

# Save tracked modifications and staged changes.
git stash push -m "Describe the unfinished work"

# Include untracked files as well.
git stash push --include-untracked -m "Describe the unfinished work"

The short -u option is equivalent to --include-untracked:

git stash push -u -m "Add initial documentation"

Ignored files are not included. Use --all only when ignored files must also be stashed.

Prefer stash push

git stash save is older syntax. Use git stash push -m "message" because it makes the operation and message explicit.

Inspect stashes

# List stashes from newest to oldest.
git stash list

# Show a summary of the latest stash.
git stash show

# Show the complete patch stored in the latest stash.
git stash show --patch

Restore changes

# Apply the latest stash and keep it in the stash list.
git stash apply

# Apply a specific stash and keep it in the stash list.
git stash apply 'stash@{2}'

# Apply the latest stash and remove it if applying succeeds.
git stash pop

Use apply when you want a safety copy. Use pop when you are confident that the snapshot is no longer needed.

Remove stashes

# Delete the latest stash.
git stash drop 'stash@{0}'

# Delete every stash after checking the list carefully.
git stash clear

Create a branch from a stash

When the stashed work belongs on a new branch, create and switch to that branch while applying the snapshot:

git stash branch <branch-name> 'stash@{0}'

Git drops the stash if it applies successfully.

clear is destructive

git stash clear permanently removes all local stash entries. Inspect or export important work before using it.

A common update workflow

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flowchart TD
    A[Uncommitted work] --> B[git stash push -u]
    B --> C[git pull --ff-only]
    C --> D[git stash apply]
    D --> E{Conflicts?}
    E -->|No| F[Continue working]
    E -->|Yes| G[Resolve and test]
    G --> F

If applying a stash produces conflicts, resolve the files, inspect the result with git status, and test before committing. Applying a stash does not automatically create a commit.

Save and restore work with git stash