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en/tutorials/git/13git-stash

# Stashing Changes

Stashing lets you temporarily shelve changes so you can work on something else, then come back to them later. It's like putting your work in a drawer.

## Creating a Stash

```bash
git stash
```

This saves your staged and unstaged changes and reverts your working directory to the last commit.

You can add a descriptive message:

```bash
git stash save "WIP: login form styling"
```

Without a message, Git generates a default one based on the branch and commit.

## Managing Stashes

```bash
git stash list          # See all stashed changes
git stash pop           # Apply most recent stash and remove it
git stash apply         # Apply without removing from list
git stash drop          # Delete most recent stash
git stash clear         # Remove all stashes
```

Stashes are stored in a stack. `pop` and `apply` work on the most recent one by default.

## Viewing Stash Contents

```bash
git stash show          # Quick summary of changed files
git stash show -p       # Full diff of changes in the stash
git stash show stash@{2} # Show a specific stash
```

This helps you identify which stash contains the changes you need.

## Stashing Specific Files

```bash
git stash push -m "only package.json changes" -- package.json
```

This stashes only the specified files, leaving everything else intact.

## When to Use Stash

- Switching branches with uncommitted work
- Pulling changes when you have local modifications
- Quick context switches during debugging
- Experimenting without creating a commit
- Cleaning your working directory temporarily

## Best Practices

- Use descriptive messages: `git stash save "add user avatar upload"`
- Don't stash too many times — commit or discard instead
- Pop stashes promptly to avoid losing track of them
- Test after applying a stash to ensure nothing broke
- Keep your stash list small by using it as a temporary holding area

## Common Mistakes

- Forgetting that `stash pop` can cause merge conflicts
- Leaving stashes unattended for too long
- Using `git stash` without checking `git stash list` first
- Assuming stash is a substitute for committing
- Not using `-m` and ending up with hard-to-identify stashes

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