As you work on larger projects, you will likely find yourself in situations where you need to switch quickly from one task to another without losing your current work. This is where git stash becomes extremely useful. Additionally, over time, the repository might get filled with unwanted or untracked files. In this chapter, you will learn how to use git stash to save your changes temporarily and clean your repository to keep it organized.

Saving Changes Temporarily with Git Stash

The git stash command allows you to save your current changes in the working area without having to commit. This is useful when you need to switch branches or perform another task before finishing what you were doing, without losing your work in progress.

To save your current changes, run:

bash

This command saves the modified and uncommitted files, as well as those in the staging area. After using git stash, your working area will appear as if no changes were made, allowing you to switch branches or perform other tasks.

Recovering Changes with Git Stash Pop

When you're ready to return to your saved changes, you can recover them with git stash pop. This will apply the saved changes and remove them from the stack.

bash

If you want to apply the saved changes but not remove them from the stack, you can use git stash apply instead:

bash

Viewing the Git Stash Content

You can view a list of all the saved stashes with the following command:

bash

Each stash entry is numbered, allowing you to apply or delete a specific stash.

Deleting a Stash

If you no longer need a specific stash, you can delete it using git stash drop:

bash

If you want to remove all saved stashes, you can use:

bash

Cleaning the Repository with Git Clean

In some cases, your repository might get filled with unwanted or untracked files. Git offers the git clean command to delete these files and keep your working area organized.

To see which untracked files will be deleted, you can use the following command in dry-run mode:

bash

If you decide to proceed with the deletion of those files, you can use:

bash

To also remove untracked directories, use the -d option:

bash

Conclusion

In this chapter, we have explored how to use git stash to save changes temporarily and how to use git clean to delete untracked files and directories. These tools allow you to work more efficiently and keep your repository clean and organized. In the next chapter, we will learn advanced commands like git cherry-pick and git bisect, which will help you select specific commits and find bugs in your project.