git stash list to view stashes - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Sometimes you need to save your work temporarily without committing it. Git stash lets you do that. The command git stash list shows all the saved work snapshots you have stored.

When you want to switch branches but have unfinished changes you don't want to commit yet

When you need to quickly save your current work and try something else without losing progress

When you want to clean your working directory temporarily but keep your changes safe

When you want to see all your saved work snapshots before deciding which one to apply

When you want to manage multiple sets of changes saved for later use

Commands

This command shows all the saved stashes with their names and descriptions so you can see what work you saved before.

Terminal

git stash list

Expected Output

stash@{0}: WIP on main: 1a2b3c4 Fix header layout

stash@{1}: WIP on feature-branch: 5d6e7f8 Add login button

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: git stash list shows all your saved work snapshots so you can manage them easily.

Common Mistakes

Running git stash list without having any stashes saved

The command will show no output, which might confuse you into thinking it failed.

Make sure you have saved stashes using git stash before running git stash list.

Confusing git stash list output with branch names

Stashes are not branches; they are temporary saved changes and have different naming.

Understand that stash@{0}, stash@{1}, etc., are saved snapshots, not branches.

Summary

git stash list shows all saved stashes with their descriptions.

Use it to check what work you saved temporarily before applying or dropping.

It helps you manage multiple saved changes without committing them.