How to Show Stash Contents in Git: Commands and Examples

Use git stash show to see a summary of the changes in the latest stash. To view detailed changes, use git stash show -p which shows the full diff of the stash contents.

Syntax

The basic command to view stash contents is git stash show [options] [].

• git stash show: Shows a summary of changes in the latest stash.
• -p or --patch: Shows the full diff of the stash contents.
• <stash>: Optional stash reference like stash@{0} to specify which stash to show.

bash

git stash show [options] [<stash>]

# Examples:
git stash show

git stash show -p

git stash show stash@{1} -p

Example

This example shows how to create a stash, then display its contents with a summary and a full diff.

bash

# Make some changes in your repo
# Stage or not, then stash them
$ git stash push -m "My changes"
Saved working directory and index state WIP on main: abc1234 My changes

# Show summary of latest stash
$ git stash show
 src/app.js | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

# Show full diff of latest stash
$ git stash show -p
diff --git a/src/app.js b/src/app.js
index e69de29..d95f3ad 100644
--- a/src/app.js
+++ b/src/app.js
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-console.log('Hello');
+console.log('Hello World');

Output

Saved working directory and index state WIP on main: abc1234 My changes
 src/app.js | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/src/app.js b/src/app.js
index e69de29..d95f3ad 100644
--- a/src/app.js
+++ b/src/app.js
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-console.log('Hello');
+console.log('Hello World');

Common Pitfalls

Some common mistakes when showing stash contents include:

• Not specifying -p to see detailed changes, so only a summary appears.
• Assuming git stash show shows all stashes; it only shows the latest by default.
• Using incorrect stash references like stash@{5} when fewer stashes exist.

Always check your stash list with git stash list before showing contents.

bash

Wrong:
$ git stash show stash@{5}
# Error if stash@{5} does not exist

Right:
$ git stash list
stash@{0}: WIP on main: abc1234 My changes
stash@{1}: WIP on main: def5678 Another change

$ git stash show stash@{1} -p

Quick Reference

Command	Description
git stash show	Show summary of latest stash changes
git stash show -p	Show full diff of latest stash
git stash show stash@{n}	Show summary of stash number n
git stash show stash@{n} -p	Show full diff of stash number n
git stash list	List all stashes with their references

Key Takeaways

Use git stash show -p to see detailed changes in a stash.

By default, git stash show shows only the latest stash summary.

Specify stash references like stash@{0} to view specific stash contents.

Check your stash list first with git stash list to avoid referencing non-existent stashes.

The stash diff output helps you understand what changes are saved before applying or dropping a stash.