In this section, we will explore the concept of stashing changes in Git. Stashing is a powerful feature that allows you to temporarily save your changes without committing them, enabling you to switch branches or work on something else without losing your progress.

Stashing is a way to save your uncommitted changes in a temporary area called the "stash." This allows you to clean your working directory and switch to another branch or perform other tasks without losing your current work. Later, you can apply the stashed changes back to your working directory.

• Stash: A temporary storage area for uncommitted changes.
• Stash List: A list of all stashes you have created.
• Stash Apply: Applying the stashed changes back to your working directory.
• Stash Pop: Applying the stashed changes and removing them from the stash list.

To stash your current changes, use the following command:

This command will save your uncommitted changes and clean your working directory.

To see a list of all stashes, use:

This will display a list of all stashes with their respective identifiers.

To apply the most recent stash, use:

To apply a specific stash, use:

Replace index with the stash identifier from the stash list.

To apply the most recent stash and remove it from the stash list, use:

To pop a specific stash, use:

To remove a specific stash without applying it, use:

To clear all stashes, use:

Let's go through a practical example to understand how stashing works.

1. Make Some Changes: Modify a file in your working directory.

2. Stash the Changes: Save the changes to the stash.

3. View the Stash List: Check the list of stashes.

You should see an entry like stash@{0}: WIP on master: <commit message>.

4. Switch Branches: Switch to another branch.

5. Apply the Stash: Apply the stashed changes to the new branch.

6. Pop the Stash: Apply and remove the stash.

1. Create a new file and add some content to it.
2. Stash the changes.
3. Switch to a new branch.
4. Apply the stashed changes to the new branch.
5. Verify that the changes have been applied.

1. Create a new file and add content:

2. Stash the changes:

3. Switch to a new branch:

4. Apply the stashed changes:

5. Verify the changes:

You should see the content "Hello, Git!" in newfile.txt.

• Forgetting to stash before switching branches: Always stash your changes if you need to switch branches without committing.
• Not applying the correct stash: Use git stash list to identify the correct stash before applying.
• Overusing stashes: Stashes are temporary. If you need to save changes for a longer period, consider committing them to a feature branch.

Stashing is a useful feature in Git that allows you to temporarily save your changes and switch contexts without losing your work. By mastering stashing, you can manage your workflow more efficiently and avoid common pitfalls. In the next section, we will explore the concept of tagging commits.