Documentation / git-stash.txton commit Merge branch 'bw/pathspec-cleanup' (fe9ec8b)
   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' clear
  19'git stash' create [<message>]
  20'git stash' store [-m|--message <message>] [-q|--quiet] <commit>
  21
  22DESCRIPTION
  23-----------
  24
  25Use `git stash` when you want to record the current state of the
  26working directory and the index, but want to go back to a clean
  27working directory.  The command saves your local modifications away
  28and reverts the working directory to match the `HEAD` commit.
  29
  30The modifications stashed away by this command can be listed with
  31`git stash list`, inspected with `git stash show`, and restored
  32(potentially on top of a different commit) with `git stash apply`.
  33Calling `git stash` without any arguments is equivalent to `git stash save`.
  34A stash is by default listed as "WIP on 'branchname' ...", but
  35you can give a more descriptive message on the command line when
  36you create one.
  37
  38The latest stash you created is stored in `refs/stash`; older
  39stashes are found in the reflog of this reference and can be named using
  40the usual reflog syntax (e.g. `stash@{0}` is the most recently
  41created stash, `stash@{1}` is the one before it, `stash@{2.hours.ago}`
  42is also possible). Stashes may also be referenced by specifying just the
  43stash index (e.g. the integer `n` is equivalent to `stash@{n}`).
  44
  45OPTIONS
  46-------
  47
  48save [-p|--patch] [-k|--[no-]keep-index] [-u|--include-untracked] [-a|--all] [-q|--quiet] [<message>]::
  49
  50        Save your local modifications to a new 'stash', and run `git reset
  51        --hard` to revert them.  The <message> part is optional and gives
  52        the description along with the stashed state.  For quickly making
  53        a snapshot, you can omit _both_ "save" and <message>, but giving
  54        only <message> does not trigger this action to prevent a misspelled
  55        subcommand from making an unwanted stash.
  56+
  57If the `--keep-index` option is used, all changes already added to the
  58index are left intact.
  59+
  60If the `--include-untracked` option is used, all untracked files are also
  61stashed and then cleaned up with `git clean`, leaving the working directory
  62in a very clean state. If the `--all` option is used instead then the
  63ignored files are stashed and cleaned in addition to the untracked files.
  64+
  65With `--patch`, you can interactively select hunks from the diff
  66between HEAD and the working tree to be stashed.  The stash entry is
  67constructed such that its index state is the same as the index state
  68of your repository, and its worktree contains only the changes you
  69selected interactively.  The selected changes are then rolled back
  70from your worktree. See the ``Interactive Mode'' section of
  71linkgit:git-add[1] to learn how to operate the `--patch` mode.
  72+
  73The `--patch` option implies `--keep-index`.  You can use
  74`--no-keep-index` to override this.
  75
  76list [<options>]::
  77
  78        List the stashes that you currently have.  Each 'stash' is listed
  79        with its name (e.g. `stash@{0}` is the latest stash, `stash@{1}` is
  80        the one before, etc.), the name of the branch that was current when the
  81        stash was made, and a short description of the commit the stash was
  82        based on.
  83+
  84----------------------------------------------------------------
  85stash@{0}: WIP on submit: 6ebd0e2... Update git-stash documentation
  86stash@{1}: On master: 9cc0589... Add git-stash
  87----------------------------------------------------------------
  88+
  89The command takes options applicable to the 'git log'
  90command to control what is shown and how. See linkgit:git-log[1].
  91
  92show [<stash>]::
  93
  94        Show the changes recorded in the stash as a diff between the
  95        stashed state and its original parent. When no `<stash>` is given,
  96        shows the latest one. By default, the command shows the diffstat, but
  97        it will accept any format known to 'git diff' (e.g., `git stash show
  98        -p stash@{1}` to view the second most recent stash in patch form).
  99        You can use stash.showStat and/or stash.showPatch config variables
 100        to change the default behavior.
 101
 102pop [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 103
 104        Remove a single stashed state from the stash list and apply it
 105        on top of the current working tree state, i.e., do the inverse
 106        operation of `git stash save`. The working directory must
 107        match the index.
 108+
 109Applying the state can fail with conflicts; in this case, it is not
 110removed from the stash list. You need to resolve the conflicts by hand
 111and call `git stash drop` manually afterwards.
 112+
 113If the `--index` option is used, then tries to reinstate not only the working
 114tree's changes, but also the index's ones. However, this can fail, when you
 115have conflicts (which are stored in the index, where you therefore can no
 116longer apply the changes as they were originally).
 117+
 118When no `<stash>` is given, `stash@{0}` is assumed, otherwise `<stash>` must
 119be a reference of the form `stash@{<revision>}`.
 120
 121apply [--index] [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 122
 123        Like `pop`, but do not remove the state from the stash list. Unlike `pop`,
 124        `<stash>` may be any commit that looks like a commit created by
 125        `stash save` or `stash create`.
 126
 127branch <branchname> [<stash>]::
 128
 129        Creates and checks out a new branch named `<branchname>` starting from
 130        the commit at which the `<stash>` was originally created, applies the
 131        changes recorded in `<stash>` to the new working tree and index.
 132        If that succeeds, and `<stash>` is a reference of the form
 133        `stash@{<revision>}`, it then drops the `<stash>`. When no `<stash>`
 134        is given, applies the latest one.
 135+
 136This is useful if the branch on which you ran `git stash save` has
 137changed enough that `git stash apply` fails due to conflicts. Since
 138the stash is applied on top of the commit that was HEAD at the time
 139`git stash` was run, it restores the originally stashed state with
 140no conflicts.
 141
 142clear::
 143        Remove all the stashed states. Note that those states will then
 144        be subject to pruning, and may be impossible to recover (see
 145        'Examples' below for a possible strategy).
 146
 147drop [-q|--quiet] [<stash>]::
 148
 149        Remove a single stashed state from the stash list. When no `<stash>`
 150        is given, it removes the latest one. i.e. `stash@{0}`, otherwise
 151        `<stash>` must be a valid stash log reference of the form
 152        `stash@{<revision>}`.
 153
 154create::
 155
 156        Create a stash (which is a regular commit object) and return its
 157        object name, without storing it anywhere in the ref namespace.
 158        This is intended to be useful for scripts.  It is probably not
 159        the command you want to use; see "save" above.
 160
 161store::
 162
 163        Store a given stash created via 'git stash create' (which is a
 164        dangling merge commit) in the stash ref, updating the stash
 165        reflog.  This is intended to be useful for scripts.  It is
 166        probably not the command you want to use; see "save" above.
 167
 168DISCUSSION
 169----------
 170
 171A stash is represented as a commit whose tree records the state of the
 172working directory, and its first parent is the commit at `HEAD` when
 173the stash was created.  The tree of the second parent records the
 174state of the index when the stash is made, and it is made a child of
 175the `HEAD` commit.  The ancestry graph looks like this:
 176
 177            .----W
 178           /    /
 179     -----H----I
 180
 181where `H` is the `HEAD` commit, `I` is a commit that records the state
 182of the index, and `W` is a commit that records the state of the working
 183tree.
 184
 185
 186EXAMPLES
 187--------
 188
 189Pulling into a dirty tree::
 190
 191When you are in the middle of something, you learn that there are
 192upstream changes that are possibly relevant to what you are
 193doing.  When your local changes do not conflict with the changes in
 194the upstream, a simple `git pull` will let you move forward.
 195+
 196However, there are cases in which your local changes do conflict with
 197the upstream changes, and `git pull` refuses to overwrite your
 198changes.  In such a case, you can stash your changes away,
 199perform a pull, and then unstash, like this:
 200+
 201----------------------------------------------------------------
 202$ git pull
 203 ...
 204file foobar not up to date, cannot merge.
 205$ git stash
 206$ git pull
 207$ git stash pop
 208----------------------------------------------------------------
 209
 210Interrupted workflow::
 211
 212When you are in the middle of something, your boss comes in and
 213demands that you fix something immediately.  Traditionally, you would
 214make a commit to a temporary branch to store your changes away, and
 215return to your original branch to make the emergency fix, like this:
 216+
 217----------------------------------------------------------------
 218# ... hack hack hack ...
 219$ git checkout -b my_wip
 220$ git commit -a -m "WIP"
 221$ git checkout master
 222$ edit emergency fix
 223$ git commit -a -m "Fix in a hurry"
 224$ git checkout my_wip
 225$ git reset --soft HEAD^
 226# ... continue hacking ...
 227----------------------------------------------------------------
 228+
 229You can use 'git stash' to simplify the above, like this:
 230+
 231----------------------------------------------------------------
 232# ... hack hack hack ...
 233$ git stash
 234$ edit emergency fix
 235$ git commit -a -m "Fix in a hurry"
 236$ git stash pop
 237# ... continue hacking ...
 238----------------------------------------------------------------
 239
 240Testing partial commits::
 241
 242You can use `git stash save --keep-index` when you want to make two or
 243more commits out of the changes in the work tree, and you want to test
 244each change before committing:
 245+
 246----------------------------------------------------------------
 247# ... hack hack hack ...
 248$ git add --patch foo            # add just first part to the index
 249$ git stash save --keep-index    # save all other changes to the stash
 250$ edit/build/test first part
 251$ git commit -m 'First part'     # commit fully tested change
 252$ git stash pop                  # prepare to work on all other changes
 253# ... repeat above five steps until one commit remains ...
 254$ edit/build/test remaining parts
 255$ git commit foo -m 'Remaining parts'
 256----------------------------------------------------------------
 257
 258Recovering stashes that were cleared/dropped erroneously::
 259
 260If you mistakenly drop or clear stashes, they cannot be recovered
 261through the normal safety mechanisms.  However, you can try the
 262following incantation to get a list of stashes that are still in your
 263repository, but not reachable any more:
 264+
 265----------------------------------------------------------------
 266git fsck --unreachable |
 267grep commit | cut -d\  -f3 |
 268xargs git log --merges --no-walk --grep=WIP
 269----------------------------------------------------------------
 270
 271
 272SEE ALSO
 273--------
 274linkgit:git-checkout[1],
 275linkgit:git-commit[1],
 276linkgit:git-reflog[1],
 277linkgit:git-reset[1]
 278
 279GIT
 280---
 281Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite