Stash

Stashing temporarily saves your uncommitted changes so you can switch branches or contexts without losing work. Use `git stash` with a descriptive message to preserve staged and unstaged modifications, then restore them later with `git stash pop` or `git stash apply`.

By default, `git stash` only saves tracked files. To include untracked files, use `git stash -u` (or `--include-untracked`). This captures new files alongside your staged and unstaged changes in a single stash entry.

Both restore stashed changes, but `pop` removes the stash entry after applying it, while `apply` keeps it. Use `pop` for one-time restoration; use `apply` to restore the same stash multiple times across branches.

Git stash branching lets you apply a stash to a new branch automatically, avoiding merge conflicts. Use `git stash branch <branch-name>` to create and switch to a branch with your stashed work restored.

Interactive stashing with `git stash -p` (or `--patch`) lets you review and choose individual hunks to stash, leaving others in your working directory. This keeps related work staged while deferring partial changes.

Stashing is ideal for temporary context switches—saving work-in-progress without polluting commit history. Use it to quickly grab another branch or apply urgent fixes, then resume incomplete work exactly where you left off.