How to pop stash in Git
Łukasz Holeczek
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Popping stash in Git restores stashed changes to the working directory and automatically removes them from the stash list in a single operation.
With over 25 years of experience in software development and as the creator of CoreUI, I’ve used stash pop extensively when temporarily storing changes for quick branch switches and feature development.
From my expertise, the most efficient approach is using git stash pop when you’re confident the stashed changes should be permanently restored and removed from the stash.
This command combines apply and drop operations for streamlined workflow management.
Use git stash pop to restore the most recent stashed changes and automatically remove them from the stash list.
git stash pop
Here git stash pop applies the most recent stash (stash@{0}) to the working directory and simultaneously removes it from the stash list. This is equivalent to running git stash apply followed by git stash drop. If you want to pop a specific stash, use git stash pop stash@{2} with the stash index. If merge conflicts occur during popping, the stash remains in the list until conflicts are resolved and you manually drop it.
Best Practice Note:
This is the same approach we use in CoreUI development for routine temporary change management when we know the stashed work should be permanently restored to the current branch.
Use git stash pop for normal workflow restoration, but prefer git stash apply when you’re uncertain about the changes or might need to apply them to multiple branches.
