Useful git stash Patterns Beyond stash and pop

git stash is more than just stash and pop. With messages, indexes, and selective patterns, it becomes a real branch-juggling workflow tool. This snippet covers the patterns I actually use day to day, not just the basics.

Tested on git 2.43+.

When to Use This

• Switching branches with uncommitted changes you don't want to commit yet
• Pulling latest with dirty working tree (stash, pull, pop)
• Saving experimental changes before trying a different approach
• Carrying changes between branches without committing

Don't use this when the changes are substantial — commit to a temporary branch instead. Stash is for short-lived "I need to switch branches for a minute" workflows.

Code

# Basic stash and restore
git stash
git stash pop
 
# Stash with a descriptive message
git stash push -m "WIP: refactoring user service"
 
# Stash including untracked files (forgetting -u is the #1 stash mistake)
git stash push -u -m "WIP: new login form scaffolding"
 
# Stash everything including ignored files
git stash push -a -m "Full snapshot before destructive operation"
 
# List all stashes with messages
git stash list
 
# Show what's in a specific stash
git stash show stash@{2}
git stash show -p stash@{2}    # full diff
 
# Apply a specific stash without removing it
git stash apply stash@{2}
 
# Pop a specific stash
git stash pop stash@{1}
 
# Drop a stash you don't need
git stash drop stash@{0}
 
# Drop all stashes
git stash clear

stash@{0} is the most recent stash; stash@{N} is the Nth one back. git stash list shows them in order.

Usage

The "I need to pull but I'm dirty" workflow:

# 1) Stash everything including new files
git stash push -u -m "WIP: dashboard layout"
 
# 2) Pull latest
git pull --rebase origin main
 
# 3) Restore your work
git stash pop

Carrying a change to another branch:

# 1) On feature/login, you accidentally edited a file that belongs in feature/header
git stash push -m "header fix that belongs elsewhere"
 
# 2) Switch branches
git checkout feature/header
 
# 3) Apply (not pop — keep the stash as backup)
git stash apply
 
# 4) When you're sure it landed cleanly, drop the stash
git stash drop stash@{0}

Stashing only specific files:

# Stash only the file(s) you specify
git stash push -m "just the auth changes" -- src/auth.ts src/auth.test.ts

Pitfalls

• git stash does NOT include untracked files by default. This bites everyone at least once. Use -u to include them. New files you forgot to git add are gone otherwise.
• pop can have merge conflicts. If the working tree has changed since you stashed, pop may not apply cleanly. The stash isn't dropped automatically when there are conflicts — fix them, then git stash drop.
• Stashes are local-only. They live in .git/refs/stash. They never get pushed to a remote. Don't rely on them as backup.
• Stashes accumulate. Run git stash list periodically and clean up. After 30 days you won't remember what WIP: refactoring even meant.
• git stash show -p is your friend for inspecting a stash before applying it. Don't apply blind.
• A pop with conflicts marks files as conflicted. Resolve them, git add, and the stash is still there until you git stash drop it manually.

Related Snippets & Reading

• Undo the Last Git Commit — alternative when you want to actually undo
• Work on Multiple Branches with git worktree(coming soon) — when stash is too clumsy
• git stash official docs — full reference