Documentation / git-stash.txton commit Merge branch 'ks/doc-fixes' into maint (0baf0b8)
   1git-stash(1)
   2============
   3
   4NAME
   5----
   6git-stash - Stash the changes in a dirty working directory away
   7
   8SYNOPSIS
   9--------
  10[verse]
  11'git stash' list [<options>]
  12'git stash' show [<stash>]
  13'git stash' drop [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]
  14'git stash' ( pop | apply ) [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]
  15'git stash' branch <branchname> [<stash>]
  16'git stash' save [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-q|--quiet]
  17             [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [<message>]
  18'git stash' [push [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-q|--quiet]
  19             [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [-m|--message <message>]]
  20             [--] [<pathspec>...]]
  21'git stash' clear
  22'git stash' create [<message>]
  23'git stash' store [-m|--message <message>] [-q|--quiet] <commit>
  24
  25DESCRIPTION
  26-----------
  27
  28Use `git stash` when you want to record the current state of the
  29working directory and the index, but want to go back to a clean
  30working directory.  The command saves your local modifications away
  31and reverts the working directory to match the `HEAD` commit.
  32
  33The modifications stashed away by this command can be listed with
  34`git stash list`, inspected with `git stash show`, and restored
  35(potentially on top of a different commit) with `git stash apply`.
  36Calling `git stash` without any arguments is equivalent to `git stash save`.
  37A stash is by default listed as "WIP on 'branchname' ...", but
  38you can give a more descriptive message on the command line when
  39you create one.
  40
  41The latest stash you created is stored in `refs/stash`; older
  42stashes are found in the reflog of this reference and can be named using
  43the usual reflog syntax (e.g. `stash@{0}` is the most recently
  44created stash, `stash@{1}` is the one before it, `stash@{2.hours.ago}`
  45is also possible). Stashes may also be referenced by specifying just the
  46stash index (e.g. the integer `n` is equivalent to `stash@{n}`).
  47
  48OPTIONS
  49-------
  50
  51save [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [-q|--quiet] [<message>]::
  52push [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [-q|--quiet] [-m|--message <message>] [--] [<pathspec>...]::
  53
  54        Save your local modifications to a new 'stash' and roll them
  55        back to HEAD (in the working tree and in the index).
  56        The <message> part is optional and gives
  57        the description along with the stashed state.
  58+
  59For quickly making a snapshot, you can omit "push".  In this mode,
  60non-option arguments are not allowed to prevent a misspelled
  61subcommand from making an unwanted stash.  The two exceptions to this
  62are `stash -p` which acts as alias for `stash push -p` and pathspecs,
  63which are allowed after a double hyphen `--` for disambiguation.
  64+
  65When pathspec is given to 'git stash push', the new stash records the
  66modified states only for the files that match the pathspec.  The index
  67entries and working tree files are then rolled back to the state in
  68HEAD only for these files, too, leaving files that do not match the
  69pathspec intact.
  70+
  71If the `--keep-index` option is used, all changes already added to the
  72index are left intact.
  73+
  74If the `--include-untracked` option is used, all untracked files are also
  75stashed and then cleaned up with `git clean`, leaving the working directory
  76in a very clean state. If the `--all` option is used instead then the
  77ignored files are stashed and cleaned in addition to the untracked files.
  78+
  79With `--patch`, you can interactively select hunks from the diff
  80between HEAD and the working tree to be stashed.  The stash entry is
  81constructed such that its index state is the same as the index state
  82of your repository, and its worktree contains only the changes you
  83selected interactively.  The selected changes are then rolled back
  84from your worktree. See the ``Interactive Mode'' section of
  85linkgit:git-add[1] to learn how to operate the `--patch` mode.
  86+
  87The `--patch` option implies `--keep-index`.  You can use
  88`--no-keep-index` to override this.
  89
  90list [<options>]::
  91
  92        List the stashes that you currently have.  Each 'stash' is listed
  93        with its name (e.g. `stash@{0}` is the latest stash, `stash@{1}` is
  94        the one before, etc.), the name of the branch that was current when the
  95        stash was made, and a short description of the commit the stash was
  96        based on.
  97+
  98----------------------------------------------------------------
  99stash@{0}: WIP on submit: 6ebd0e2... Update git-stash documentation
 100stash@{1}: On master: 9cc0589... Add git-stash
 101----------------------------------------------------------------
 102+
 103The command takes options applicable to the 'git log'
 104command to control what is shown and how. See linkgit:git-log[1].
 105
 106show [<stash>]::
 107
 108        Show the changes recorded in the stash as a diff between the
 109        stashed state and its original parent. When no `<stash>` is given,
 110        shows the latest one. By default, the command shows the diffstat, but
 111        it will accept any format known to 'git diff' (e.g., `git stash show
 112        -p stash@{1}` to view the second most recent stash in patch form).
 113        You can use stash.showStat and/or stash.showPatch config variables
 114        to change the default behavior.
 115
 116pop [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 117
 118        Remove a single stashed state from the stash list and apply it
 119        on top of the current working tree state, i.e., do the inverse
 120        operation of `git stash save`. The working directory must
 121        match the index.
 122+
 123Applying the state can fail with conflicts; in this case, it is not
 124removed from the stash list. You need to resolve the conflicts by hand
 125and call `git stash drop` manually afterwards.
 126+
 127If the `--index` option is used, then tries to reinstate not only the working
 128tree's changes, but also the index's ones. However, this can fail, when you
 129have conflicts (which are stored in the index, where you therefore can no
 130longer apply the changes as they were originally).
 131+
 132When no `<stash>` is given, `stash@{0}` is assumed, otherwise `<stash>` must
 133be a reference of the form `stash@{<revision>}`.
 134
 135apply [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 136
 137        Like `pop`, but do not remove the state from the stash list. Unlike `pop`,
 138        `<stash>` may be any commit that looks like a commit created by
 139        `stash save` or `stash create`.
 140
 141branch <branchname> [<stash>]::
 142
 143        Creates and checks out a new branch named `<branchname>` starting from
 144        the commit at which the `<stash>` was originally created, applies the
 145        changes recorded in `<stash>` to the new working tree and index.
 146        If that succeeds, and `<stash>` is a reference of the form
 147        `stash@{<revision>}`, it then drops the `<stash>`. When no `<stash>`
 148        is given, applies the latest one.
 149+
 150This is useful if the branch on which you ran `git stash save` has
 151changed enough that `git stash apply` fails due to conflicts. Since
 152the stash is applied on top of the commit that was HEAD at the time
 153`git stash` was run, it restores the originally stashed state with
 154no conflicts.
 155
 156clear::
 157        Remove all the stashed states. Note that those states will then
 158        be subject to pruning, and may be impossible to recover (see
 159        'Examples' below for a possible strategy).
 160
 161drop [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 162
 163        Remove a single stashed state from the stash list. When no `<stash>`
 164        is given, it removes the latest one. i.e. `stash@{0}`, otherwise
 165        `<stash>` must be a valid stash log reference of the form
 166        `stash@{<revision>}`.
 167
 168create::
 169
 170        Create a stash (which is a regular commit object) and return its
 171        object name, without storing it anywhere in the ref namespace.
 172        This is intended to be useful for scripts.  It is probably not
 173        the command you want to use; see "save" above.
 174
 175store::
 176
 177        Store a given stash created via 'git stash create' (which is a
 178        dangling merge commit) in the stash ref, updating the stash
 179        reflog.  This is intended to be useful for scripts.  It is
 180        probably not the command you want to use; see "save" above.
 181
 182DISCUSSION
 183----------
 184
 185A stash is represented as a commit whose tree records the state of the
 186working directory, and its first parent is the commit at `HEAD` when
 187the stash was created.  The tree of the second parent records the
 188state of the index when the stash is made, and it is made a child of
 189the `HEAD` commit.  The ancestry graph looks like this:
 190
 191            .----W
 192           /    /
 193     -----H----I
 194
 195where `H` is the `HEAD` commit, `I` is a commit that records the state
 196of the index, and `W` is a commit that records the state of the working
 197tree.
 198
 199
 200EXAMPLES
 201--------
 202
 203Pulling into a dirty tree::
 204
 205When you are in the middle of something, you learn that there are
 206upstream changes that are possibly relevant to what you are
 207doing.  When your local changes do not conflict with the changes in
 208the upstream, a simple `git pull` will let you move forward.
 209+
 210However, there are cases in which your local changes do conflict with
 211the upstream changes, and `git pull` refuses to overwrite your
 212changes.  In such a case, you can stash your changes away,
 213perform a pull, and then unstash, like this:
 214+
 215----------------------------------------------------------------
 216$ git pull
 217 ...
 218file foobar not up to date, cannot merge.
 219$ git stash
 220$ git pull
 221$ git stash pop
 222----------------------------------------------------------------
 223
 224Interrupted workflow::
 225
 226When you are in the middle of something, your boss comes in and
 227demands that you fix something immediately.  Traditionally, you would
 228make a commit to a temporary branch to store your changes away, and
 229return to your original branch to make the emergency fix, like this:
 230+
 231----------------------------------------------------------------
 232# ... hack hack hack ...
 233$ git checkout -b my_wip
 234$ git commit -a -m "WIP"
 235$ git checkout master
 236$ edit emergency fix
 237$ git commit -a -m "Fix in a hurry"
 238$ git checkout my_wip
 239$ git reset --soft HEAD^
 240# ... continue hacking ...
 241----------------------------------------------------------------
 242+
 243You can use 'git stash' to simplify the above, like this:
 244+
 245----------------------------------------------------------------
 246# ... hack hack hack ...
 247$ git stash
 248$ edit emergency fix
 249$ git commit -a -m "Fix in a hurry"
 250$ git stash pop
 251# ... continue hacking ...
 252----------------------------------------------------------------
 253
 254Testing partial commits::
 255
 256You can use `git stash save --keep-index` when you want to make two or
 257more commits out of the changes in the work tree, and you want to test
 258each change before committing:
 259+
 260----------------------------------------------------------------
 261# ... hack hack hack ...
 262$ git add --patch foo            # add just first part to the index
 263$ git stash save --keep-index    # save all other changes to the stash
 264$ edit/build/test first part
 265$ git commit -m 'First part'     # commit fully tested change
 266$ git stash pop                  # prepare to work on all other changes
 267# ... repeat above five steps until one commit remains ...
 268$ edit/build/test remaining parts
 269$ git commit foo -m 'Remaining parts'
 270----------------------------------------------------------------
 271
 272Recovering stashes that were cleared/dropped erroneously::
 273
 274If you mistakenly drop or clear stashes, they cannot be recovered
 275through the normal safety mechanisms.  However, you can try the
 276following incantation to get a list of stashes that are still in your
 277repository, but not reachable any more:
 278+
 279----------------------------------------------------------------
 280git fsck --unreachable |
 281grep commit | cut -d\  -f3 |
 282xargs git log --merges --no-walk --grep=WIP
 283----------------------------------------------------------------
 284
 285
 286SEE ALSO
 287--------
 288linkgit:git-checkout[1],
 289linkgit:git-commit[1],
 290linkgit:git-reflog[1],
 291linkgit:git-reset[1]
 292
 293GIT
 294---
 295Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite