git stash list to view stashes - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - git stash list to view stashes

Run 'git stash list'

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Git reads stash references

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Git formats stash info

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Display list of stashes

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Done

This flow shows how the 'git stash list' command reads and displays all saved stashes in your repository.

Execution Sample

Git

git stash list

This command shows all the stashes saved in the current git repository.

Process Table

Step	Action	Evaluation	Result
1	User runs 'git stash list'	Command received by git	Start processing stashes
2	Git reads stash references	Reads stash commits from .git/logs/refs/stash	Finds stash entries
3	Git formats stash info	Formats each stash with index and message	Prepares list output
4	Git outputs stash list	Prints list to terminal	Shows stashes like 'stash@{0}: WIP on main: ...'
5	Command ends	No more stashes to show	Returns to prompt

💡 All stash entries displayed, command completes

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
stash_list	empty	stash@{0}: WIP on main: 123abc4 Fix bug	formatted list with index and message	final list displayed
command_status	not started	processing	formatting	completed

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does 'git stash list' show stash@{0} as the most recent stash?

Because git numbers stashes with 0 as the newest. See execution_table step 4 where the list is printed starting from stash@{0}.

What if there are no stashes saved? What does 'git stash list' show?

It shows no output or an empty list because in execution_table step 2, git finds no stash references.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what does git do at step 3?

A Reads stash commits from disk

B Formats stash info for display

C Prints stash list to terminal

D Ends the command

💡 Hint

Check the 'Action' and 'Evaluation' columns at step 3 in the execution_table.

At which step does git output the stash list to the terminal?

A Step 4

B Step 2

C Step 1

D Step 5

💡 Hint

Look for the row where 'Git outputs stash list' is the action.

If there are no stashes, what will the 'stash_list' variable contain after step 2?

A A list with one stash

B An error message

C An empty list

D A list with default stash

💡 Hint

Refer to variable_tracker for 'stash_list' after step 2.

Concept Snapshot

git stash list
- Shows all saved stashes in the repo
- Lists stashes newest first as stash@{0}, stash@{1}, ...
- Displays stash message and branch info
- Empty if no stashes saved
- Useful to review saved work

Full Transcript

The 'git stash list' command shows all the stashes saved in your git repository. When you run it, git reads the stash references stored internally, formats each stash with its index and message, then prints the list to your terminal. The newest stash is shown as stash@{0}. If no stashes exist, the list is empty. This helps you see what work you saved temporarily.