git stash pop vs apply: save and restore changes - Rocketeers

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git stash pop vs apply: save and restore changes
================================================

### [\#Development](https://rocketee.rs/index.php/development)

git stash shelves your uncommitted changes so you can switch context. git stash pop restores them and removes the stash; git stash apply restores them but keeps the stash around.

 Published by [Mark van Eijk](https://rocketee.rs/index.php/author/mark-van-eijk) on June 23, 2026 · 1 minute read

1. [Stashing your changes](#content-stashing-your-changes)
2. [pop vs apply](#content-pop-vs-apply)
3. [Working with multiple stashes](#content-working-with-multiple-stashes)
4. [When pop hits a conflict](#content-when-pop-hits-a-conflict)

[\#](#content-stashing-your-changes "Permalink")Stashing your changes
---------------------------------------------------------------------

`git stash` takes your modified tracked files, saves them away, and gives you a clean working directory:

 ```
git stash

```

By default it does **not** include untracked files. Add `-u` to stash those too:

 ```
git stash -u

```

Give a stash a label so you can recognise it later:

 ```
git stash push -m "half-finished login form"

```

[\#](#content-pop-vs-apply "Permalink")pop vs apply
---------------------------------------------------

Both bring your changes back. The difference is what happens to the stash afterwards:

 ```
git stash pop     # restore the changes AND delete the stash entry
git stash apply   # restore the changes but KEEP the stash entry

```

Use `apply` when you want to restore the same changes onto more than one branch. Use `pop` for the normal "I'm back, give me my work" case.

[\#](#content-working-with-multiple-stashes "Permalink")Working with multiple stashes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

List what you have stashed:

 ```
git stash list

```

 ```
stash@{0}: On main: half-finished login form
stash@{1}: WIP on feature: 3f9a1c2 ...

```

Apply or pop a specific one by its reference:

 ```
git stash apply stash@{1}
git stash pop stash@{1}

```

Drop a stash you no longer need, or clear them all:

 ```
git stash drop stash@{0}
git stash clear

```

[\#](#content-when-pop-hits-a-conflict "Permalink")When pop hits a conflict
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If your stashed changes conflict with the current state of the files, `git stash pop` stops with merge conflicts and, importantly, **keeps the stash** so you do not lose it. Resolve the conflicts, stage the files, then drop the stash manually:

 ```
git stash drop

```

If you would rather permanently discard uncommitted changes than stash them, see [git reset --hard](/git-reset-hard).

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