How to Stash Specific File in Git: Simple Commands

To stash a specific file in Git, use git stash push <file_path>. This command saves changes of only that file, leaving other changes unstashed.

Syntax

The basic syntax to stash a specific file is:

• git stash push <file_path>: Stashes changes only for the specified file.
• git stash push -m "message" <file_path>: Adds a message to the stash for easier identification.

This command saves the changes of the given file and leaves other files untouched.

bash

git stash push <file_path>
git stash push -m "message" <file_path>

Example

This example shows how to stash changes only for app.js while keeping other changes in the working directory.

bash

git stash push app.js

git stash list

Output

stash@{0}: WIP on main: <commit-hash> Stashed changes for app.js

Common Pitfalls

One common mistake is using git stash without specifying files, which stashes all changes. Another is trying to stash untracked files without the --include-untracked option.

Also, specifying multiple files requires listing each file explicitly.

bash

## Wrong: stashes all changes
 git stash

## Right: stash only specific file
 git stash push app.js

## To stash untracked files too
 git stash push --include-untracked app.js

Quick Reference

Command	Description
git stash push	Stash changes of a specific file
git stash push -m "message"	Stash with a descriptive message
git stash push --include-untracked	Stash including untracked files
git stash list	Show all stashed changes
git stash pop	Apply the latest stash and remove it from stash list

Key Takeaways

Use git stash push <file_path> to stash changes of a specific file only.

Add -m "message" to label your stash for easy identification.

Include untracked files with --include-untracked if needed.

Always check your stash list with git stash list before applying.

Avoid using plain git stash if you want to stash only certain files.