git stash to save changes - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does the git stash command do?

It temporarily saves your uncommitted changes so you can work on something else without committing them.

beginner

How do you apply the most recent stash and remove it from the stash list?

Use git stash pop. It applies the changes and deletes the stash entry.

beginner

What command lists all saved stashes?

Use git stash list to see all your saved stashes with their names.

intermediate

How can you save changes with a custom message in git stash?

Use git stash push -m "your message" to add a description to your stash.

intermediate

What happens if you run git stash apply instead of git stash pop?

git stash apply applies the changes but keeps the stash saved for later use.

What is the main purpose of git stash?

A Save uncommitted changes temporarily

B Commit changes permanently

C Delete all changes

D Create a new branch

git stash saves your current changes temporarily without committing them.

Which command applies the stash and removes it from the stash list?

A git stash apply

B git stash save

C git stash list

D git stash pop

git stash pop applies the stash and deletes it from the list.

How do you see all saved stashes?

A git stash show

B git stash list

C git stash apply

D git stash drop

git stash list shows all saved stashes.

What does git stash apply do?

A Applies stash but keeps it saved

B Applies stash and deletes it

C Deletes stash without applying

D Creates a new stash

git stash apply applies the changes but keeps the stash for later.

How can you add a message when saving a stash?

A git stash apply "message"

B git stash pop "message"

C git stash push -m "message"

D git stash list "message"

Use git stash push -m "message" to add a description to your stash.

Explain how you would temporarily save your work in progress using git stash and then continue working on it later.

Think about saving your work without committing and then bringing it back.

Describe the difference between git stash apply and git stash pop.

One removes the stash after applying, the other does not.

Practice

1. What does the git stash command do?

easy

A. Commits your changes permanently to the repository

B. Deletes all your untracked files

C. Temporarily saves your uncommitted changes to switch tasks

D. Creates a new branch from the current state

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of git stash

   The command saves your current uncommitted changes temporarily without committing them.

2. Step 2: Compare with other git commands

   Unlike commit, stash does not save changes permanently; it allows switching tasks without losing work.

3. Final Answer:

   Temporarily saves your uncommitted changes to switch tasks -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   git stash = temporary save [OK]

Hint: Stash saves changes temporarily without committing [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking stash commits changes permanently
• Confusing stash with branch creation
• Assuming stash deletes files

2. Which of the following is the correct command to save your current changes using git stash?

easy

A. git stash add

B. git stash save

C. git stash commit

D. git stash push

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the modern git stash command

   The recommended command to save changes is git stash push, which explicitly pushes changes to the stash.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect options

   git stash save is deprecated, git stash commit and git stash add are invalid commands.

3. Final Answer:

   git stash push -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Use git stash push to save changes [OK]

Hint: Use 'git stash push' to save changes safely [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using deprecated 'git stash save'
• Trying 'git stash commit' which doesn't exist
• Confusing stash with add or commit commands

3. Given the following commands run in sequence:

git stash push -m "work in progress"
git stash list
git stash apply

What will be the output of git stash list?

medium

A. No stash entries found.

B. stash@{0}: On main: work in progress

C. Error: stash not found

D. stash@{1}: On main: work in progress

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the effect of git stash push -m "work in progress"

   This command saves current changes with the message "work in progress" as the latest stash entry.

2. Step 2: Check git stash list output

   Since this is the first stash, it appears as stash@{0}: On main: work in progress.

3. Final Answer:

   stash@{0}: On main: work in progress -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   First stash is stash@{0} with message [OK]

Hint: First stash is always stash@{0} in the list [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Expecting no stash entries after push
• Confusing stash@{0} with stash@{1}
• Assuming apply removes stash entry

4. You ran git stash push but accidentally included untracked files. Which command fixes this by stashing only tracked files?

medium

A. git stash push --keep-index

B. git stash push --only-tracked

C. git stash push --no-untracked

D. git stash push --include-untracked

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the problem with untracked files

   By default, git stash push does not stash untracked files unless specified.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct option to stash only tracked files

   --keep-index stashes changes but keeps the index intact, effectively ignoring untracked files.

3. Final Answer:

   git stash push --keep-index -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use --keep-index to stash only tracked files [OK]

Hint: Use --keep-index to exclude untracked files from stash [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using --include-untracked adds untracked files instead of excluding
• Assuming --no-untracked or --only-tracked are valid options
• Confusing stash options with git add options

5. You have two stashes saved:

stash@{0}: On main: fix bug
stash@{1}: On main: add feature

You want to apply the older stash (add feature) but keep both stashes after applying. Which command should you use?

hard

A. git stash apply stash@{1}

B. git stash pop stash@{1}

C. git stash drop stash@{1}

D. git stash branch stash@{1}

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand difference between apply and pop

   git stash apply applies the stash but keeps it saved; git stash pop applies and removes it.

2. Step 2: Choose command to apply older stash without removing it

   Use git stash apply stash@{1} to apply the older stash and keep both stashes intact.

3. Final Answer:

   git stash apply stash@{1} -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Apply keeps stash, pop removes stash [OK]

Hint: Use 'git stash apply' to keep stash after applying [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using pop removes stash entry
• Dropping stash deletes it without applying
• Confusing branch command with apply