What is 𝐆𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡

𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 is a Git command that allows developers to save changes in their working directory without committing them. This is particularly useful when you are in the middle of working on a feature or a bug fix, and you need to switch to another branch, pull changes from a remote repository, or perform other operations that require a clean working directory.

𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 is a powerful command in a developer’s arsenal, especially in dynamic development environments where tasks can change rapidly. It facilitates a smooth workflow by allowing developers to manage and switch between different tasks without the need for unnecessary commits. When used judiciously, git stash contributes to a more organized and efficient version control process in DevOps workflows.

Suppose a developer is working on a feature in a branch and he needs to pull changes from some other developer’s branch or if he has to work urgently on some other feature, but the feature he is currently working on is incomplete. In this case, you cannot commit the partial code of the currently working feature. To add this new feature, you have to remove your current changes and store them somewhere else. For this type of situation, Git offers a very useful command known as 𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡. 𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 command saves the previously written code and then returns to the last commit for a fresh start. Now you can add the new feature without disturbing the old one as it is saved locally. After committing to the new feature you can go on with working on the old feature which was incomplete and uncommitted.

👉 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬:

• 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞:
Developers can stash changes that are not ready to be committed but need to be set aside temporarily. This is common when interrupted by urgent tasks or when transitioning between different tasks.

• 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠:
Before switching branches, developers can stash changes to avoid conflicts. This is helpful when working on multiple features simultaneously or when switching to a branch with ongoing development.

• 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬:
Before pulling changes from a remote repository, it’s a good practice to stash local changes to prevent conflicts. After pulling changes, developers can apply the stash to reapply their work.

• 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
During a merge or rebase operation, conflicts may arise. Stashing changes allows developers to resolve conflicts more easily and cleanly.

• 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬:
Stashing can be used to create clean, logically separated commits. Developers can stash changes, commit the current state, and then apply the stash to continue working.

Benefits of Mastering Git Stash (Why You Should Care):

• Enhanced Workflow Efficiency: Seamlessly switch branches or pull updates without worrying about losing your progress. Git Stash ensures a smooth development flow, allowing you to context-switch between tasks effortlessly.

• Clearer Commit History: By keeping unfinished work out of your commits, you maintain a clean and concise commit history. This makes it easier for you and your teammates to understand the evolution of the codebase.

• Collaboration Made Easy: Working on a project with a team? Git Stash empowers effective collaboration. You can freely switch to different branches to address bugs or contribute to features without affecting your teammates’ work.

👉 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬

• Always stash changes in a clean working directory to avoid conflicts during the stash application.
• Provide meaningful stash messages for clarity when reviewing stashes later.
• Regularly check and manage your stashes to avoid unnecessary clutter.

𝐆𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬

• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 Stashes both staged and unstaged changes.

• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 “𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞” Stashes changes with a descriptive message.

• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 -𝐮 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 — 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞-𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 Stashes untracked files along with changes.

• 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 Lists all stashes you’ve created.

• 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 Applies the latest stash to the working directory. The stash is not removed.

• 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡@{𝐧} Applies the stash with index 𝐧.

• 𝐏𝐨𝐩 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 (𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩)
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐩 Applies the latest stash and removes it from the stash list.

• 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 Removes the latest stash without applying it.

• 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐚 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡@{𝐧} Removes the stash with index 𝐧.

• 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 Removes all stashes.

• 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 <𝐧𝐞𝐰_𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡_𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞> Creates a new branch and applies the latest stash to it.

• 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 -𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡@{𝐧} Shows the changes in a specific stash.

• 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨-𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 — 3𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡@{𝐧} Attempts to apply the stash using a 3-way merge.

• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 — 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞-𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 Stashes only untracked files.

• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 — 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩-𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 Stashes changes but keeps changes in the index.

• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 -𝐩 Allows you to interactively choose which changes to stash.

• 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞
𝐠𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 -𝐦 <𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞_𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭_𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫> Applies the stash as a merge. Useful when the stash represents changes from a different branch.