8. Stashing

Stash lets you temporarily shelve changes without committing.

# Save stash
git stash                        # stash tracked changes
git stash push -m "login WIP"   # named stash
git stash -u                     # include untracked files
git stash -a                     # include ignored files too

# List stashes
git stash list
# stash@{0}: On main: login WIP
# stash@{1}: WIP on feature/x: a3b2c1 ...

# Apply
git stash pop                    # apply top stash + remove it
git stash apply stash@{1}        # apply specific stash, keep it
git stash drop stash@{0}         # delete a stash
git stash clear                  # delete ALL stashes

# Inspect
git stash show -p stash@{0}      # diff of a stash

# Create branch from stash
git stash branch feature/rescued stash@{0}

When to stash:

• You need to switch branches but aren't ready to commit
• A teammate asks you to review their branch immediately
• You want to test clean state (stash your changes, run tests)

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