Git stash is a powerful feature that allows developers to temporarily save changes in their working directory and staging area that they don’t want to commit immediately. By naming stashes, you can organize and retrieve them more easily. Here’s a detailed guide on how to name and retrieve a Git stash by name.

Stashing Changes with a Name

To stash your changes with a specific name, use the git stash push command followed by the -m (or –message) option. Here’s how you do it:

• Save changes with a name:

git stash push -m "my-feature"

• This command stashes the current changes and gives them the name “my-feature”.

Listing Named Stashes

To see a list of all your stashes along with their names, you can use:

git stash list

This will output something like:

stash@{0}: On main: my-feature
stash@{1}: WIP on main: 1234abcd

Retrieving a Named Stash

To retrieve a specific stash by name, you need to find its reference from the list. Once you have the reference (like stash@{0}), you can apply it using:

git stash apply stash@{0}

If you only remember the name but not the exact reference, you can search for it in the stash list. Here’s a more automated approach:

• Find the stash reference by name:

git stash list | grep "my-feature"

• This command will filter the list of stashes to show only the one with “my-feature” in its name. It might return something like:

stash@{0}: On main: my-feature

• Apply the stash using its reference:

git stash apply stash@{0}

Popping a Named Stash

Applying a stash leaves it in the stash list. If you want to apply a stash and remove it from the list, you can use pop instead of apply:

git stash pop stash@{0}

Managing Stashes

Sometimes you might want to clear or drop specific stashes to clean up your list. Here’s how you can do that:

• Drop a specific stash by reference:

git stash drop stash@{0}

• Clear all stashes:

git stash clear

Using Named Stashes in Practice

Imagine you’re working on a feature branch and need to switch contexts to fix a critical bug. Here’s a step-by-step workflow using named stashes:

• Stash your current work with a meaningful name:

git stash push -m "feature-xyz-progress"

• Switch to the bug fix branch:

git checkout main
git checkout -b bugfix-critical-issue

• Work on and commit your bug fix:

git add .
git commit -m "Fix critical issue"
git checkout main
git merge bugfix-critical-issue

• Switch back to your feature branch and apply your stash:

git checkout feature-xyz
git stash apply stash@{0}

By naming your stashes, you make it easier to switch contexts and manage multiple lines of work without losing track of your progress.

Conclusion

Naming and retrieving Git stashes is a straightforward but incredibly useful practice for managing your workflow effectively. By using the git stash push -m “name” command, you can save changes with descriptive names, and by leveraging git stash list and git stash apply stash@{n}, you can easily retrieve and manage these stashes. This technique is particularly valuable in a dynamic development environment where switching between tasks is common.