Git's stashing feature allows you to save your local changes temporarily and switch to another branch or commit. It is useful when you want to work on a different task without committing your current changes. Let's explore how to use Git stashing effectively.

Stashing changes

In order to stash your changes, you can use the git stash push command. This command saves the current state of the working directory and index into a new stash. You can optionally provide a message for the stash, and include untracked files using the -u option.

# Usage: git stash push [-u] [<message>]

git stash push
# Creates a new stash

git stash push -u
# Creates a new stash, including untracked files

git stash push "Bugfix WIP"
# Creates a new stash with the message "Bugfix WIP"

NOTE

You can omit the push subcommand when using git stash. Additionally, you might have seen git stash save being used in older versions of Git. This command is now deprecated in favor of git stash push.

Listing stashes

Stashes are stored as a stack, with the most recent stash at the top. You can view a list of all stashes using the git stash list command. This command displays the stash reference, the branch or commit the stash was created on, and the message associated with the stash.

# Usage: git stash list

git stash list
# stash@{0}: WIP on patch-1: ee52eda Fix network bug
# stash@{1}: WIP on master: 2b1e8a7 Add new feature

Viewing stash changes

To view the changes stored in a stash, you can use the git stash show command. This command displays the changes introduced by the stash relative to the parent commit. You can provide the stash reference to view a specific stash, or omit it to view the latest stash.

# Usage: git stash show [<stash>]

git stash show
# Displays the changes in the latest stash

git stash show stash@{1}
# Displays the changes in the stash with the reference stash@{1}

Applying a stash

To apply a specific stash, you can use the git stash apply command. This command applies the changes from the specified stash to the working directory. You can provide the stash reference to apply a specific stash, or omit it to apply the latest stash.

# Usage: git stash apply [<stash>]

git stash apply
# Applies the latest stash

git stash apply stash@{1}
# Applies the stash with the reference stash@{1}

Similarly, you can use the git stash pop command to apply the changes from the specified stash and remove it from the stash list.

# Usage: git stash pop [<stash>]

git stash pop
# Applies the latest stash and removes it from the stash list

git stash pop stash@{1}
# Applies the stash with the reference stash@{1} and
#  removes it from the stash list

Deleting stashes

You can delete stashes using the git stash drop command. This command removes the specified stash from the stash list.

# Usage: git stash drop <stash>

git stash drop
# Deletes the latest stash

git stash drop stash@{1}
# Deletes the stash with the reference stash@{1}

Moreover, you can delete all stashes using the git stash clear command.

# Usage: git stash clear

git stash clear
# Deletes all stashes