Chapter 3: Branch, Merge, Rebase, Stash and Pull Requests

3.9 Stash — park the unfinished edit

By Ravindra Bagale · Last updated: 25 October 2026

Why: the problem

You are halfway through a change on feature/offers when your lead says: production bug, fix it now on main. Your work is not ready to commit. git stash takes your unfinished edits, saves them safely, and gives you a clean working tree. You switch branches, fix the bug, come back, and git stash pop brings your edits back. Stash is a short-term parking place, not a backup: if you collect ten unnamed stashes, you will not remember what is in them. In this lesson you will stash with a message, include new untracked files, list and look inside stashes, pop and apply, handle a stash conflict, and turn a stash into a branch.

What we will build

You will park unfinished work in hello-shop, fix a hotfix on main, come back and restore it. Then you will try untracked files, named stashes, show, drop and stash branch.

What: every term in plain English

• Stash — A saved set of uncommitted changes.
• git stash push -m MSG — Save changes with a name.
• -u — Also stash untracked (new) files.
• git stash list — All stashes, newest first as stash@{0}.
• git stash show -p — See the diff inside a stash.
• pop — Apply and remove the stash.
• apply — Apply but keep the stash.
• git stash branch NAME — Make a branch from a stash.

How: step by step

1. Start work

   cd ~/devops-lab/hello-shop && git switch -q feature/offers && echo "offer_city=Pune" >> offers.txt
   

   What it does: Not committed.

   Output

   (no output)
   

2. Need to switch

   git status -s
   

   What it does: A modified file.

   Output

   M offers.txt
   

3. Stash it

   git stash push -m "wip: city offers"
   

   What it does: Tree is clean.

   Output

   Saved working directory and index state On feature/offers: wip: city offers
   

4. Hotfix on main

   git switch -q main && echo "timeout=15s" > pay.txt && git add . && git commit -qm "Hotfix: raise timeout"
   

   What it does: Urgent fix done.

   Output

   (no output)
   

5. Back

   git switch -q feature/offers
   

   What it does: Return.

   Output

   (no output)
   

6. Restore

   git stash pop
   

   What it does: Edits come back.

   Output

   On branch feature/offers
   Changes not staged for commit:
       modified:   offers.txt
   Dropped refs/stash@{0} (1a2b3c4...)
   

7. Check

   tail -1 offers.txt
   

   What it does: Your line is back.

   Output

   offer_city=Pune
   

Example 1: Stash new files too

Stack. Git

Goal. Stash new files too.

untracked.sh

echo "draft" > banner.txt
git stash push -m "no -u"
git status -s
git stash push -u -m "with banner"
git status -s
git stash list

What each line does

• First stash — Only tracked changes; banner.txt stays.
• -u — Takes untracked files too.
• list — Two stashes.

Green output

Saved working directory and index state On feature/offers: no -u
?? banner.txt
Saved working directory and index state On feature/offers: with banner
stash@{0}: On feature/offers: with banner
stash@{1}: On feature/offers: no -u

Expected result. Use -u when you created new files.

Example 2: Look inside and pick a stash

Stack. Git

Goal. Look inside and pick a stash.

inspect.sh

git stash show stash@{1}
git stash show -p stash@{1}
git stash apply stash@{1}
git stash list | wc -l

What each line does

• show — Files changed.
• show -p — Full diff.
• apply — Keep the stash after applying.

Green output

 offers.txt | 1 +
+offer_city=Pune
2

Expected result. You can check before you restore, and keep the stash in case.

Example 3: Handle a conflict on pop

Stack. Git

Goal. Handle a conflict on pop.

pop-conflict.sh

git checkout -- offers.txt
echo "offer_city=Mumbai" >> offers.txt && git commit -qam "Mumbai offer"
git stash pop stash@{1}
git status -s
git checkout --theirs offers.txt 2>/dev/null; sed -i '$d' offers.txt; echo "offer_city=Pune" >> offers.txt
git add offers.txt && git reset -q
git stash list

What each line does

• Same line changed — Committed Mumbai; stash says Pune.
• pop conflict — The stash is kept when pop fails.
• Fix file, then drop — Clean up yourself.

Green output

CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in offers.txt
The stash entry is kept in case you need it again.
UU offers.txt
stash@{0}: On feature/offers: with banner
stash@{1}: On feature/offers: no -u

Expected result. A failed pop never loses the stash. Drop it after you fix: git stash drop stash@{1}.

Example 4: Turn a stash into a branch and clean up

Stack. Git

Goal. Turn a stash into a branch and clean up.

stash-branch.sh

git stash branch feature/banner stash@{0}
git status -s
git add . && git commit -qm "Add banner draft"
git switch -q feature/offers
git stash clear
git stash list | wc -l

What each line does

• stash branch — New branch from the commit where you stashed, with the stash applied.
• commit — Now it is real work.
• stash clear — Remove all stashes. Be sure first.

Green output

Switched to a new branch 'feature/banner'
?? banner.txt
0

Expected result. When a stash turns into real work, make it a branch.

Example 5: Stash only one file

Stack. Git

Goal. Stash only one file.

one-file.sh

echo "a" >> offers.txt; echo "b" >> tax.txt
git stash push -m "only offers" -- offers.txt
git status -s
git stash pop -q && git status -s

What each line does

• -- offers.txt — Only this path.
• tax.txt stays — Still modified.

Green output

M tax.txt
M offers.txt
M tax.txt

Expected result. Park just the risky file and keep working on the other.

Example 6: Keep staged work while stashing the rest

Stack. Git

Goal. Keep staged work while stashing the rest.

keep-index.sh

echo "ready" >> offers.txt && git add offers.txt
echo "not ready" >> tax.txt
git stash push --keep-index -m "unstaged only"
git status -s
git stash pop -q

What each line does

• --keep-index — Staged changes stay; others are stashed.
• Use — Test exactly what you will commit.

Green output

M  offers.txt

Expected result. You can run tests on only the staged part.

Example 7: Name the stash for the hotfix story

Stack. Git

Goal. Name the stash for the hotfix story.

named.sh

git stash push -m "SHOP-220 city offers half done"
git stash list
git stash pop "stash@{0}"

What each line does

• Ticket in message — You will know what it is next week.
• pop by name — Pick the exact stash.

Green output

stash@{0}: On feature/offers: SHOP-220 city offers half done

Expected result. Named stashes stop the "what is stash@{4}?" problem.

Verify: did it work?

1. No stash left

   git stash list | wc -l
   

   What it does: Zero.

   Output

   0
   

2. Hotfix on main

   git log --oneline -1 main
   

   What it does: Done.

   Output

   2d2d2d2 Hotfix: raise timeout
   

3. Banner branch

   git log --oneline -1 feature/banner
   

   What it does: Saved work.

   Output

   3e3e3e3 Add banner draft
   

When it is red 1

error: Your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by checkout

Cause. Dirty tree blocks switch.

Fix, step by step

1. git stash push -m "wip"
2. git switch BRANCH

When it is red 2

No local changes to save

Cause. Nothing to stash, or only untracked files.

Fix, step by step

1. Use git stash push -u for new files.

When it is red 3

CONFLICT ... The stash entry is kept in case you need it again.

Cause. Pop met a conflict.

Fix, step by step

1. Fix the file
2. git stash drop after you are sure.

When it is red 4

error: stash@{5} is not a valid reference

Cause. No such stash.

Fix, step by step

1. git stash list to see the numbers.

Cleanup

1. Drop branch

   git branch -D feature/banner
   

   What it does: Lab cleanup.

   Output

   Deleted branch feature/banner (was 3e3e3e3).
   

Practice tasks

Homework: try at home

Recap

• stash parks uncommitted work.
• Name every stash.
• -u for new files.
• pop removes; apply keeps.
• Long-lived work belongs on a branch, not a stash.

FAQ

Is stash pushed to the server?

No. It is only on your laptop.

How long do stashes last?

Until you drop or clear them. Do not depend on them.

Can I stash only one file?

Yes: git stash push -m msg -- FILE

What is --keep-index?

Stash but keep staged changes in place.

Can I recover a dropped stash?

Sometimes, using git fsck --unreachable; better not to need it.

Does stash save staged and unstaged separately?

Yes, and pop --index restores the staged part too.

Interview questions

1. What is git stash used for?

   Saving uncommitted changes temporarily to switch tasks.

2. Difference between pop and apply?

   pop removes the stash after applying; apply keeps it.

3. How do you stash untracked files?

   git stash push -u.

4. Is stash a good backup?

   No. It is local and short-term; commit to a branch instead.

5. How do you make a branch from a stash?

   git stash branch NAME stash@{N}.

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