Stashing

Stash temporarily saves your uncommitted changes, allowing you to switch contexts without committing incomplete work.

What is Stash?

Stash takes your modified tracked files and staged changes, saves them on a stack, and reverts your working directory to match HEAD.

Before stash:
Working directory has uncommitted changes

After stash:
Working directory is clean (matches HEAD)
Changes saved in stash stack

Key points:

• Saves both staged and unstaged changes
• Can include or exclude untracked files
• Works like a stack (last in, first out)
• Changes can be restored later

Quick Reference

Stashes panel in sidebar shows all stashes

When to Use Stash

Quick Context Switch

Need to switch branches but have uncommitted work:

1. Stash your changes
2. Switch to the other branch
3. Do your work there
4. Switch back
5. Pop your stash

Pulling with Local Changes

Your local changes conflict with incoming changes:

1. Stash your changes
2. Pull the latest
3. Pop your stash
4. Resolve any conflicts

Experimenting

Want to try something different without losing current work:

1. Stash current changes
2. Experiment freely
3. If experiment fails, pop your stash
4. If experiment succeeds, drop the stash

Moving Changes to Another Branch

Started work on the wrong branch:

1. Stash your changes
2. Checkout the correct branch
3. Pop your stash

Stash Use Cases

Scenario	Action
Need to switch branches quickly	Stash, switch, work, switch back, pop
Pull would conflict	Stash, pull, pop, resolve conflicts
Wrong branch	Stash, checkout correct branch, pop
Want to test something	Stash, experiment, pop or drop
Clean working directory needed	Stash, do clean operation, pop

Creating a Stash

Basic Stash

1. Click Stash in the toolbar (or use keyboard shortcut)
2. Enter an optional message to identify the stash
3. Click Create Stash

TIP

Always add a descriptive message. "WIP" doesn't help when you have multiple stashes.

Stash Options

Option	Description
Include untracked files	Also stash new files not yet tracked by Git
Keep staged changes	Only stash unstaged changes, leave staged alone
Include ignored files	Also stash files matching .gitignore

Select options in the Stash dialog before creating

Stash Specific Files

1. Stage only the files you want to stash
2. Create stash with Keep staged changes disabled
3. Or right-click specific files and select Stash

Viewing Stashes

Click Stashes in the sidebar to see all stashes Click a stash to preview its contents before applying

Each stash shows:

• Message - Your description (or auto-generated)
• Branch - Where the stash was created
• Date - When it was stashed
• Changes - Files modified

Applying Stashes

Apply

Restores the stashed changes but keeps the stash for future use.

1. Select the stash in the Stashes panel
2. Click Apply
3. Changes are restored to working directory

Use when you might need the same changes again.

Pop

Restores the stashed changes and deletes the stash.

1. Select the stash
2. Click Pop
3. Changes restored, stash removed

Use when you're done with the stash.

Apply to Different Branch

Stashes aren't tied to branches:

1. Checkout any branch
2. Apply or Pop the stash
3. Changes appear in current branch

Conflicts

If stashed changes conflict with current state, you'll need to resolve conflicts manually.

Managing Stashes

Renaming

Right-click a stash and select Rename to update its message

Creating Branch from Stash

If stashed changes are significant:

1. Right-click the stash
2. Select Create Branch
3. Enter branch name
4. Stash is applied to new branch

Dropping a Stash

To delete a stash without applying:

1. Right-click the stash
2. Select Drop
3. Confirm deletion

Cannot Undo

Dropped stashes cannot be easily recovered. The changes are lost unless you can find them in reflog.

Clear All Stashes

1. Click the menu in stash panel
2. Select Clear All
3. Confirm deletion

Stash Conflicts

When applying a stash conflicts with current changes:

1. Conflicting files are marked
2. Open conflict resolver
3. Choose which changes to keep
4. Mark as resolved
5. Stash remains (wasn't popped due to conflict)

After resolving, manually drop the stash if no longer needed.

Best Practices

Use Descriptive Messages

Bad:  "WIP"
Good: "WIP: user authentication - login form validation"

Don't Hoard Stashes

Review and clean up stashes regularly. Old stashes become confusing and may no longer apply cleanly.

Consider Commits Instead

For longer interruptions, consider committing with a "WIP" message instead:

• Commits are more permanent
• Easier to track in history
• Can be amended or squashed later

Stash Before Risky Operations

Before rebasing, resetting, or other potentially destructive operations:

1. Stash any uncommitted changes
2. Perform the operation
3. Pop your stash

Comparison: Stash vs Commit

Aspect	Stash	Commit
Permanence	Temporary	Permanent
History	Not in branch history	Part of history
Visibility	Local only	Can be pushed
Use case	Quick context switch	Checkpoint or milestone
Recovery	Can be lost	Always recoverable