The Interrupted Flow
I was halfway through writing a new feature when a teammate pinged me: “Can you quickly check this bug on the main branch?” My files were a mess—half-finished functions, debug logs everywhere, nothing I wanted to commit. I thought, “Do I just commit this junk?” That is when I discovered git stash, and honestly, it felt like a superpower.
Why Stash Exists
Sometimes you need to put your work aside without committing it. Maybe you are not done yet, maybe it does not even compile. Stash lets you save those changes temporarily, clean your workspace, and come back to them later as if nothing happened. It is like pausing your progress without making a permanent save.
How Git Stash Works
With one command, Git hides your uncommitted changes and gives you a clean slate to work with.
# Save current changes to stash
git stash
# Show list of stashes
git stash list
# Reapply the latest stash
git stash apply
# Apply and remove it from stash
git stash pop
Benefits of Using Stash
- Flexibility: Quickly switch contexts without losing work.
- Clean Workspace: Test or fix bugs on a clean branch without dirty commits.
- Confidence: Safely pause and resume work whenever needed.
- Collaboration: Makes it easier to respond to urgent issues without blocking your own progress.
Pro Tips From Experience
- Name your stashes with
git stash save "message"so you remember what they are. - Use
git stash -uif you also want to stash untracked files. - Do not let stashes pile up forever—clean them out regularly.
- If you use stashes often, learn
git stash branchto turn a stash into a new branch.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Forgetting stashes: Many beginners stash and forget, leaving old changes hidden for months.
- Using stash as a backup: It is temporary, not a replacement for commits.
- Applying the wrong stash: Always check with
git stash listbefore applying.
The Reality Check
git stash is not something you will use every day, but when you need it, it feels like magic. It keeps you moving, protects your half-finished work, and saves you from ugly “WIP” commits. Once you understand it, you will never panic again when someone asks you to switch branches in the middle of coding.
Think of stash as your pause button for Git. And trust me, once you get used to it, you will wonder how you ever lived without it.