Method 1:
To stash untracked files in Git, you can use the “git stash” command with the “–include-untracked” or “-u” option. This allows you to save your untracked changes and remove them from your working directory temporarily. Here are the steps to stash untracked files in Git:
1. Check your Git status to identify any untracked files:
$ git status
2. Stage and commit any tracked files before stashing the untracked files:
$ git add <file> $ git commit -m "Committing tracked files"
3. Stash the untracked files using the “–include-untracked” or “-u” option:
$ git stash save --include-untracked
4. Verify that the stash was created successfully:
$ git stash list
5. You can now switch branches or perform other operations without the untracked files interfering with your work.
6. To apply the stash and restore the untracked files later:
$ git stash apply stash@{0}
7. If you no longer need the stash, you can also drop it:
$ git stash drop stash@{0}
Related Article: How to Discard All Local Changes in a Git Project
Method 2:
Another way to stash untracked files in Git is by using the “git add” command with the “–intent-to-add” option. This allows you to add the untracked files to the Git index without committing them, effectively stashing them. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Check your Git status to identify any untracked files:
$ git status
2. Add the untracked files to the Git index using the “–intent-to-add” option:
$ git add --intent-to-add <file>
3. Verify that the files are added to the index:
$ git status
4. You can now switch branches or perform other operations without the untracked files interfering with your work.
5. To restore the stashed files later, you can simply remove them from the index:
$ git reset HEAD <file>
6. If you want to completely remove the untracked files from your working directory, you can use the “git clean” command:
$ git clean -f <file>
Please note that stashing untracked files is useful when you want to temporarily save your changes without committing them. It allows you to switch branches or perform other operations without affecting your untracked files. However, it’s important to remember that stashes are not meant to be a long-term solution for storing changes. It’s recommended to commit your changes properly once they are ready.
It’s also worth mentioning that stashing untracked files is different from stashing tracked files in Git. When you stash tracked files, you save both the changes and the staged changes, whereas stashing untracked files only saves the changes that have not been added to the Git index.
Related Article: How to Revert Multiple Git Commits