What stash is for

git stash shelves your uncommitted changes so you can return your working tree to a clean state, then bring them back later. It is the right tool when you need to switch context briefly - someone needs a hotfix, you want to pull main, you want to test a clean tree - without committing half-baked work.

The basics

git stash                       # stash tracked files
git stash -u                    # include untracked files
git stash -a                    # include untracked AND ignored files
git stash push -m "WIP login"   # stash with a message

Listing and inspecting stashes:

git stash list
git stash show stash@{0}
git stash show -p stash@{0}     # full diff

Restoring

git stash pop                   # apply most recent stash and drop it
git stash apply stash@{2}       # apply specific stash, keep it
git stash drop stash@{0}        # delete a stash
git stash clear                 # delete all stashes

pop applies and removes; apply applies and keeps. If the stash applies cleanly, prefer pop. If you might need to apply elsewhere, apply.

Partial stashing

Patch mode lets you stash only some hunks:

git stash push -p
# Walks each hunk: y/n/q/a/d/s/e

Stashing onto a different branch

git stash branch new-branch stash@{0}

This creates a new branch from the commit the stash was made on, applies the stash, and drops it. Indispensable when you realise mid-stash that the work belongs on a different branch.

Common pitfalls

• Untracked files are not stashed by default - use -u.
• Stashes survive across branches; popping a stash from branch A onto branch B can produce conflicts.
• Stashes are local. They do not push, do not back up, and disappear if you delete the repo.
• git stash clear is irreversible (though dropped stashes survive in reflog briefly).

When commits beat stashes

For anything beyond a few minutes, prefer a WIP commit over a stash. Commits are easier to track, can be pushed for backup, and survive merges and rebases more cleanly.

git add -A && git commit -m "WIP"
# later:
git reset --soft HEAD^

Recovering lost stashes

If you dropped a stash by accident, the reflog still has it for ~30 days:

git fsck --no-reflog | awk '/dangling commit/ {print $3}'
git stash apply <sha>

Naming discipline

Always pass -m with a description. Three days later, stash@{0}: WIP on main: a1b2c3d tells you nothing; stash@{0}: experimenting with retry logic tells you everything.