Скачать или смотреть Switching Branches in Git Without Losing Your Changes

Learn how to switch branches in Git without losing your uncommitted changes by stashing them. This guide covers the simple steps to stash your code and move to a different branch effortlessly.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/63502947/ asked by the user 'Mahfuz Shishir' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/4561144/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/63503019/ provided by the user 'Paolo' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/3390419/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Switching Branches in Git Without Losing Your Changes: A Step-by-Step Guide

When working with Git, you may occasionally find yourself in a situation where you've made changes on one branch that you're not ready to commit, and now you need to switch to another branch. This brings up a common error message:

"Please commit your changes or stash them before you switch branches."

This message can be frustrating, especially if you’re not keen on losing the work you've done on the previous branch. But don't worry—you can safely switch branches without losing any of your important code. Here's how.

Understanding the Situation

Imagine you have two branches in your Git repository: dev and feature. While working in the dev branch, you unconsciously make changes that are not intended for the development stage (perhaps you're experimenting a bit). Now, you want to switch to your feature branch without losing that unsaved progress.

What Do You Need to Do?

Before you can switch to the feature branch, you have two options:

Commit the Changes: This saves your work on the dev branch.

Stash the Changes: This temporarily saves your work and allows you to switch branches easily.

For this guide, we'll focus on the stashing method, as it’s often the easier and more flexible option.

Step-by-Step Solution

Step 1: Stash Your Changes

First, you need to stash your current changes. Stashing allows you to save your modifications without committing them. To stash your changes, run the following command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This command saves your changes and gives them a context label for later reference.

Step 2: Switch to the Feature Branch

Next, you can switch to your feature branch without any issues:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 3: Apply Your Stashed Changes

Now that you are on the feature branch, retrieve your stashed changes by using the following command:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This command will apply the stashed changes to your current branch.

Conclusion

By following the steps above, you've successfully switched to your feature branch without losing any of your work from the dev branch. You can now continue to develop your feature with your previously saved changes intact.

Key Takeaways:

Stashing is a powerful feature in Git that helps manage uncommitted changes.

You can always retrieve your stashed changes by using git stash pop.

This technique helps maintain the cleanliness of your branches and keeps your workflow organized.

Now you're ready to tackle your development with confidence, knowing that your work is safe no matter which branch you're on. Happy coding!