Course Title: Version Control Systems: Mastering Git

Section Title: Advanced Git Techniques

Topic: Stashing changes: git stash and git stash pop

Overview

In this topic, you'll learn about the git stash command and how to use it to temporarily store changes, allowing you to switch between branches or pull changes without losing your work-in-progress. We'll also cover git stash pop, which helps you reapply the stashed changes to your working directory.

What is git stash?

git stash is a command that saves your changes to a special stack, called the stash, without creating a commit. This is useful when you're working on a feature and need to switch to another branch or pull changes, but you're not ready to commit your work.

Why Use git stash?

Using git stash has several benefits:

• Avoid conflicts: Stashing your changes allows you to switch branches or pull changes without conflicts.
• Keep your workspace clean: You can stash your changes and clean your working directory, making it easier to work on other tasks.
• Save your progress: Stashing your changes saves your work-in-progress, so you can come back to it later.

Basic Usage of git stash

Here's an example of how to use git stash:

1. Make some changes to your files.
2. Run git add to stage the changes (optional).
3. Run git stash to stash the changes.

For example:

$ git status
On branch feature/new-feature
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
        modified:   hello.txt

$ git stash
Saved working directory and index state WIP on feature/new-feature: 4d59b35 Update README
HEAD is now at 4d59b35 Update README

Listing and Applying Stashes

To list all your stashes, use git stash list:

$ git stash list
stash@{0}: WIP on feature/new-feature: 4d59b35 Update README

To apply a stash, use git stash apply:

$ git stash apply stash@{0}
On branch feature/new-feature
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
        modified:   hello.txt

git stash pop

git stash pop is similar to git stash apply, but it also removes the stash from the list.

Here's an example:

$ git stash list
stash@{0}: WIP on feature/new-feature: 4d59b35 Update README

$ git stash pop
On branch feature/new-feature
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
        modified:   hello.txt

$ git stash list
# Empty list

Tips and Best Practices

• Use git stash when you need to temporarily save your changes.
• Use git stash pop when you want to reapply the stashed changes and remove the stash from the list.
• Consider using git stash with a descriptive message, like git stash save "feature/new-feature: WIP".
• Be mindful of the stash list, as it can grow large if you're not careful. You can use git stash drop to remove stashes.

Example Use Case

Suppose you're working on a feature branch and you've made some changes, but you need to switch to another branch to fix a bug. You can stash your changes, switch to the other branch, and then reapply the stashed changes when you're done.

Here's an example:

# On feature branch
$ git stash save "feature/new-feature: WIP"

# Switch to another branch
$ git checkout fix/bug

# Fix the bug and commit the changes

# Switch back to feature branch
$ git checkout feature/new-feature

# Reapply the stashed changes
$ git stash pop

Conclusion

In this topic, you've learned how to use git stash and git stash pop to temporarily store and reapply changes. This is a powerful tool that can help you manage your workflow and avoid conflicts.

What's Next?

In the next topic, we'll cover using tags for releases. We'll explore the different types of tags and how to create and manage them.

Additional Resources

• Git Documentation: Stashing and Cleaning
• Git Tutorial: Stashing Changes

Do you have any questions about git stash and git stash pop? Share your thoughts and ask for help in the comments below.