git stash

If you have changes in your working directory that you're not ready to commit — for example, you need to switch to a different branch to fix a bug — git stash lets you save that uncommitted work without making a commit. Think of it as a clipboard for your in-progress changes.

Saving for later

$ git stash
Saved working directory and index state WIP on main: 0dda643 Add edam

Any uncommitted changes (both staged and unstaged) will be saved and your working directory will be reset to match the last commit. You can now safely switch branches with git checkout or git branch.

Stashing with a message

By default, stashes are labelled "WIP on branchname", which isn't very descriptive when you have several. You can add your own message:

$ git stash push -m "half-finished login form styling"
Saved working directory and index state On main: half-finished login form styling

This makes it much easier to identify stashes later.

Stashing untracked files

By default, git stash only saves tracked files. If you also want to stash new files that haven't been added to Git yet, use the -u flag:

$ git stash -u

This is useful when you've created new files as part of your work-in-progress that you don't want to leave behind.

Restoring your work

When you're ready to pick up where you left off, you have two options:

Stash apply

$ git stash apply

This restores the most recent stash but keeps it in the stash list, so you can apply it again elsewhere if needed.

Stash pop

$ git stash pop

This restores the most recent stash and removes it from the list. Use pop when you're done with the stash and don't need it any more.

Viewing stash contents

To see what's in a stash before applying it, use git stash show:

$ git stash show
 assets/css/login.css | 12 +++++++++---
 templates/login.html |  4 ++--
 2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

Add the -p flag to see the full diff:

$ git stash show -p stash@{0}

Managing multiple stashes

If you've stashed more than once, you can list everything:

$ git stash list
stash@{0}: On main: half-finished login form styling
stash@{1}: WIP on my-new-branch: 56aedbe remove old folder

Apply a specific stash by referencing its identifier:

$ git stash apply stash@{1}

Dropping stashes

To remove a stash you no longer need:

$ git stash drop stash@{0}

Or clear all stashes at once:

$ git stash clear

You can check the current state of your working directory at any time with git status to confirm your stash has been applied or that your directory is clean.

When your work is committed and pushed, DeployHQ can pick up the changes and deploy them to your servers automatically.