How to Stash Changes in Git

You have half-finished changes in your working tree and need to switch branches or pull without committing them. Stash the changes, do the other work, then bring them back.

Stash your changes

git stash

Git saves your modified tracked files and staged changes, then resets the working tree to match the last commit. Untracked files (new files you have not added) are left alone by default. To include them:

git stash -u

To label the stash so you can recognize it later:

git stash push -m "wip: login form validation"

List what you have stashed

git stash list

stash@{0}: On main: wip: login form validation
stash@{1}: WIP on feature/search: 3f2a1c9 Add search endpoint

The newest stash is always stash@{0}.

Do the other work

Switch branches, pull, or make an unrelated fix. Your working tree is clean, so nothing blocks you.

git switch main
git pull
git switch -

Bring the changes back

git stash pop

This reapplies the newest stash and deletes it from the list. To reapply a specific one, name it:

git stash pop stash@{1}

If you want the stash to stay in the list after applying (for example, to apply the same changes on two branches), use apply instead:

git stash apply

Inspect a stash before applying it

git stash show -p stash@{0}

This prints the full diff so you can confirm it is the one you want.

If you no longer need a stash. git stash drop stash@{0} removes one entry, and git stash clear removes all of them. Both are permanent, so check git stash list first.

If pop reports a conflict. A stash reapplies like a merge, so if the branch changed the same lines, Git marks the conflicts in the files and leaves the stash in the list. Fix the markers, git add the files, then run git stash drop to remove the stash by hand.