Dropping and clearing stashes in Git - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Dropping and clearing stashes

List stashes

↓

Choose stash to drop?

No→Exit

Yes↓

Run git stash drop <stash>

↓

Stash removed

↓

Clear all stashes?

No→Exit

Yes↓

Run git stash clear

↓

All stashes removed

↓

Exit

Shows the flow of listing stashes, optionally dropping one stash, and optionally clearing all stashes.

Execution Sample

Git

git stash list
git stash drop stash@{0}
git stash clear

List all stashes, drop the first stash, then clear all remaining stashes.

Process Table

Step	Command	Action	Result	Notes
1	git stash list	Show all stashes	stash@{0}: WIP on main: fix bug stash@{1}: WIP on main: add feature	Two stashes exist
2	git stash drop stash@{0}	Remove stash@{0}	Dropped stash@{0} (WIP on main: fix bug)	First stash removed
3	git stash list	Show remaining stashes	stash@{0}: WIP on main: add feature	One stash left, reindexed to stash@{0}
4	git stash clear	Remove all stashes		All stashes removed
5	git stash list	Show stashes		No stashes found, list empty

💡 All stashes cleared, no more stashes remain

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 2	After Step 4	Final
stash list	stash@{0}: WIP on main: fix bug, stash@{1}: WIP on main: add feature	stash@{0}: WIP on main: add feature	empty	empty

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does stash@{1} become stash@{0} after dropping stash@{0}?

Git renumbers stashes after dropping one, so the next stash shifts to stash@{0} as shown in step 3 of the execution table.

What happens if you run 'git stash clear' when no stashes exist?

It simply does nothing and no error occurs, because the stash list is already empty as shown after step 5.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the stash list after step 2?

A stash@{0}: WIP on main: add feature

B stash@{0}: WIP on main: fix bug

C empty

D stash@{0}: WIP on main: fix bug, stash@{1}: WIP on main: add feature

💡 Hint

Check the 'Result' column at step 3 in the execution table.

At which step does the stash list become empty?

A Step 2

B Step 5

C Step 4

D Step 3

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Result' column for step 5 in the execution table.

If you skip 'git stash drop' and run 'git stash clear' directly, what changes in the execution table?

A No changes, same steps happen

B Step 4 is missing, stashes remain

C Step 2 is missing, stash list goes from two stashes to empty at step 3

D Stashes are doubled

💡 Hint

Compare the commands and results in the execution table steps.

Concept Snapshot

git stash drop <stash> removes a single stash by name.
git stash clear removes all stashes at once.
After dropping, stash indexes shift.
Use 'git stash list' to see current stashes.
Clearing empties the stash list completely.

Full Transcript

This visual trace shows how to manage git stashes by dropping one stash or clearing all. First, 'git stash list' shows all saved stashes. Then, 'git stash drop stash@{0}' removes the first stash, causing the remaining stashes to renumber. Running 'git stash clear' deletes all stashes. Finally, 'git stash list' confirms the stash list is empty. This helps keep your stash clean and organized.