Stash

You might say

I'm in the middle of changes but need to switch to something else. Can I put this work aside for now?

Temporarily set aside uncommitted changesStash stores selected working changes and restores a cleaner directory so another task can proceed. It is useful for short interruptions, not as a long-term archive. Name important stashes and inspect conflicts when applying them later.

Know first

Git Branch

The form has not been changed yetCannot be saved as a version yet

Temporarily collapsestash→

Unfinished changesReplace if needed

✓The workspace is cleanYou can switch tasks first

git stash push -m "The form is halfway done"

Stash is only suitable for temporarily putting away unfinished changes to facilitate switching branches or handling urgent matters. It is not an official version, nor is it a remote backup; you still need to Commit when completed.

You can say this to an AI Agent

Show git status and distinguish tracked from untracked work, then create a stash with the task name and confirm a clean workspace. Restore without immediately dropping it, verify contents, then clean up; formal results require a commit.

When to use it

Pause unfinished work briefly
$ git stash push -m "home-page changes are unfinished"Saved working directory and index state On main: home-page changes are unfinished
Switch branches with a dirty working tree
$ git stash apply stash@{0}Changes restored to the working treeKeep the stash first; drop it after confirming the restore is correct
Test the current branch without local edits
$ git stash liststash@{0}: On main: home-page changes are unfinishedstash@{1}: WIP on main: a1b2c3d home-page baselineEach save creates a record; the newest record is numbered 0
Move a small uncommitted change to another context
stash@{0}Home-page changes are unfinished
stash@{1}WIP on main: a1b2c3d
Use descriptive names to identify saved changes

When NOT to use it

Use stash as permanent storage
stash@{0} … stash@{7}There are 8 records; the earliest was created last monthLeaving history unorganized makes each record's purpose harder to identify
Build a large anonymous pile of stashes
Current branch: hotfix/login$ git stash popHome-page changes were applied to hotfix/loginConfirm the current branch before running pop
Assume ignored and untracked files are always included
stash@{2}WIP on main: 3 weeks ago
Without a description, the record's contents are hard to confirm quickly
Apply a stash and ignore resulting conflicts
The earlier change was reimplemented after the fixAn existing stash was not restored, causing duplicate work

Anatomy

🛠 Working tree unfinished changes to index.html stash push → stash@{0} Unfinished home-page changes ← Latest stash@{1} WIP on main: a1b2c3d stash@{2} WIP on main: 0f1e2d3

Temporarily stores uncommitted changes so you can switch context without committing them

The most recent stash. git stash pop uses this entry by default unless you name another one.

Each git stash push creates a new entry at the top of the stack.

Higher numbers refer to older entries; restore or drop them once they are no longer needed.

Variants

git stash push

git stash push -m "Home page changes have not been completed"

When you need to set aside local changes before switching tasks; a stash is not pushed to the remote

List

git stash list

View existing stash records

Apply

git stash apply stash@{0}

Restore first but keep the backup, then drop after confirming

Apply

git stash apply

When you want to restore the most recent stash while retaining it

Typical use cases

Quick branch switch

zsh — my-first-page

$ git status modified: index.html (modification not yet completed) ⚡ Login to the official environment failed, you need to switch to hotfix/login $ git stash push -m "Home page changes have not been completed" Saved working directory and index state On main: Home page changes have not been completed $ git checkout hotfix/login Switched to branch 'hotfix/login'

Temporary clean state

zsh — my-first-page

$ git stash list stash@{0}: On main: Home page changes have not been completed stash@{1}: WIP on main: a1b2c3d Home page basic version The smaller the number, the newer it is. Pop defaults to stash@{0}

Interrupted task

zsh — my-first-page

$ git checkout main Switched to branch 'main' $ git stash apply stash@{0} On branch main Changes not staged for commit: modified: index.html Changes restored to the working tree The changes have been restored, please confirm that they are correct before executing drop

Move a small patch

🛠 Home page changes not yet completed stash push → 📦 stash@{0} → Handle other tasks → 🛠 stash apply restore

Recommended tool

Web fine-tuning tool · Selector Pro

Select page elements for precise AI edits

Click a button, text, or card, note the change, then copy its exact location to AI.

Open Selector Pro website

A half-finished feature must pause for a bugfix and includes newly created untracked files. How can Stash be used safely?

A. Inspect status, confirm included files, stash with a description, and review after restoringB. Keep important results in Stash long-term as formal versions and remote backupC. Stash immediately and assume every new file is included without checking status