Stash: the pocket

$ edit menu.md "Soup, Salad, Tiramisu (half-written…)"

We are on salad, midway through an edit. It is not ready to commit.

$ git switch main

An urgent fix is needed on main. The switch is refused: main has a different menu.md, and switching would overwrite our edit.

$ git stash

The change goes into the stash and the working tree is clean again. The stash remembers which commit it was based on.

$ git stash list

Stashes form a stack. stash@{0} is the newest one. Its default label says where it was made.

$ git switch main

The working tree is clean, so switching is allowed now.

$ echo "Open 9-17" > hours.md
$ git add hours.md
$ git commit -m "Add opening hours"

We make the urgent fix and commit it on main.

$ git switch salad

Back on our feature branch.

$ git stash pop

pop puts the half-written tiramisu back into the working directory and removes the entry from the stash.

$ echo "idea: vegan menu" > ideas.txt
$ git stash -u -m "tiramisu + ideas"

ideas.txt is a new, untracked file, and a plain stash would leave it behind. -u includes untracked files. -m gives the stash a readable label.

$ git stash list

The labelled stash waits in the pocket. git stash pop would bring back both files.