When working with Git, there are times when you need to switch branches without committing your changes. Whether you're in the middle of a task or performing quick checks, Git provides an elegant solution with git stash. In this blog, we’ll walk through a step-by-step guide to add uncommitted changes and switch to the master branch without committing.
Understanding the Need to Switch Branches Without Committing
Imagine you’re working on a feature branch and suddenly need to check something on the master branch. Committing incomplete work just to switch branches is not ideal. This is where git stash comes to the rescue, allowing you to temporarily store your changes and retrieve them later.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Stage Your Changes (Optional)
Before stashing, you may want to stage your changes if they are currently untracked.
# Stage all changes (optional)
git add .
This command adds all modified and untracked files to the staging area. If you only want to stash tracked changes, you can skip this step.
2. Stash Your Changes
git stash temporarily stores your work so you can switch branches without losing any changes.
# Stash the changes with a descriptive message
git stash push -m "Temporary changes"
The -m flag adds a message to your stash, making it easier to identify later.
3. Switch to the Master Branch
Now that your changes are safely stashed, you can switch to the master branch.
# Switch to the master branch
git checkout master
4. Apply the Stashed Changes
After switching to master, retrieve your changes with the apply command.
# Apply the most recent stash
git stash apply
This restores your changes without removing the stash from the stash list.
Additional Commands for Better Control
View All Stashes
If you have multiple stashes, you can view them with:
git stash list
This will display a list of all stashed changes along with their messages.
Drop a Stash After Applying
By default, git stash apply retains the stash. If you don’t need it anymore, you can manually remove it:
# Drop the most recent stash
git stash drop
Apply a Specific Stash
If you have multiple stashes and want to apply a specific one, identify it from the stash list and run:
# Apply a stash by its name
git stash apply stash@{2}
Replace stash@{2} with the desired stash identifier.
Key Insights and Best Practices
Stash selectively: You can stash only specific files if needed.
Keep your stash organised: Use descriptive messages to easily track stashed changes.
Avoid data loss: Make sure to apply and drop stashes carefully, especially when juggling multiple stashes.
Conclusion
git stash is a powerful tool that helps developers manage work-in-progress changes while switching branches seamlessly. By following the steps outlined above, you can efficiently switch to the master branch without committing changes and maintain a clean, organised workflow.
Happy coding! 🚀