The Interrupted Flow
It always happens when you least expect it. You are coding away on a new feature, focused and in the zone, when suddenly your manager walks in and says, “We need this urgent bug fix right now.” Your feature is half-finished. Committing would pollute history with broken code, and deleting it would mean losing hours of work. What do you do? This is where git stash feels like magic.
Why I Am Writing This
Every developer faces interruptions. The difference between beginners and pros is not whether interruptions happen, but how smoothly they switch contexts. git stash gives you the ability to hit pause on your work without losing a single change. Once I discovered it, I wondered how I ever survived without it.
What Stash Actually Does
Think of git stash as a temporary backpack for your code. You throw all your half-done changes into it, deal with the emergency, and later unpack everything exactly where you left off.
# Save your changes
git stash
# See what is in your stash list
git stash list
# Apply the latest stash but keep it stored
git stash apply
# Apply and remove the stash
git stash pop
The best part? It is not just about saving. You can stash multiple times, name your stashes, and even branch off directly from a stash.
Benefits of Using Stash
- Stay Flexible: Switch tasks instantly without breaking your flow.
- Keep History Clean: Avoid messy “WIP” commits just to save progress.
- Reduce Stress: Handle urgent interruptions without fear of losing work.
- Experiment Freely: Stash work, try something bold, and come back safely.
Pro Tips From Experience
- Add a message for clarity:
git stash save "WIP, login feature". - Stash untracked files with
git stash -u. - Create a branch from stash:
git stash branch bugfix-login.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Forgetting stashes: They pile up and you will wonder what each one was. Clean them with
git stash clear. - Using stash as long-term storage: It is meant for short-term context switches, not archiving.
- Ignoring conflicts: Applying stashes may cause conflicts if the code changed meanwhile, be ready to resolve them.
The Reality Check
You cannot avoid interruptions. They will always come, usually at the worst time. But with git stash, you do not need to panic. You can pause, switch, and resume like nothing happened. That is not just productivity, it is peace of mind.
Once you get used to it, you will feel like a magician pulling unfinished work out of thin air. And your team will wonder how you fix urgent bugs so quickly without ever losing your place.