Stashing specific files in Git - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of stashing only a specific file?

You have modified two files: file1.txt and file2.txt. You run the command git stash push file1.txt. What will be the state of the working directory after this command?

A file1.txt is reverted to the last commit state; file2.txt remains modified.

B Both file1.txt and file2.txt are reverted to the last commit state.

C Only file2.txt is reverted to the last commit state; file1.txt remains modified.

D No files are reverted; the stash command fails with an error.

💡 Hint

Think about how specifying a file affects what is stashed and what remains.

The command git stash push file1.txt stashes changes only from file1.txt. This means file1.txt is saved in the stash and reverted in the working directory. Changes in file2.txt remain untouched.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Which command stashes changes only from a specific file?

You want to stash changes only from app.js without affecting other files. Which git command achieves this?

A git stash save app.js

B git stash push app.js

C git stash app.js

D git stash --only app.js

💡 Hint

Look for the modern syntax to stash specific files.

The correct command is git stash push app.js. The older git stash save is deprecated and does not accept file arguments. git stash alone does not accept file names, and --only is not a valid option.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Why does git stash push file.txt stash all changes instead of just file.txt?

You ran git stash push file.txt expecting only file.txt to be stashed. But all modified files were stashed. What is the most likely reason?

A You have unstaged changes in other files; <code>git stash push</code> stashes all unstaged changes by default.

B You ran the command in a subdirectory; file paths must be relative to the repository root.

C You used an older Git version that does not support specifying files with <code>git stash push</code>.

D The file name was misspelled, so Git ignored it and stashed everything.

💡 Hint

Check your Git version and feature support.

Specifying files with git stash push is supported only in Git 2.13 and later. Older versions stash all changes regardless of file arguments.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

What is the correct workflow to stash changes from only index.html and keep other changes intact?

You have changes in index.html and style.css. You want to stash only index.html changes and keep style.css changes in your working directory. Which sequence of commands achieves this?

A git stash push index.html

B git add index.html && git stash push --keep-index

C git stash push -- path/to/index.html

D git stash save index.html

💡 Hint

Consider the simplest way to stash only one file's changes.

git stash push index.html stashes changes only from index.html. The other commands either use deprecated syntax or incorrect options.

✅ Best Practice

expert

What is the best practice to stash only part of the changes in a file?

You modified app.py but want to stash only some of the changes, not the entire file. Which approach is best?

A Split the file into two files and stash one of them.

B Run <code>git stash push app.py</code> and manually edit the stash later.

C Use <code>git stash push --patch app.py</code> to interactively select changes.

D Use <code>git add -p app.py</code> to stage parts, then run <code>git stash push --keep-index</code>.

💡 Hint

Think about staging parts of files before stashing.

The best practice is to stage the parts you want to keep using git add -p, then stash the rest with git stash push --keep-index. This stashes unstaged changes only.