git stash apply preserves the stash so you can apply it to multiple branches

2026-02-26 (7m ago)7 views

#git

I needed to apply the same set of uncommitted changes to two different branches today, and I always forget the right way to do this with stash.

The thing I kept mixing up: git stash pop is actually two steps compressed into one — it applies the stash and immediately drops it. So if you pop on the first branch, the stash is gone by the time you switch to the second branch.

The fix is to use git stash apply instead, which only does the first step:

# on the first branch
git checkout branch-one
git stash apply stash@{0}
 
# switch to the second branch — stash is still there
git checkout branch-two
git stash apply stash@{0}
 
# done with both? drop it manually
git stash drop stash@{0}

The stash@{0} index is optional if it's the most recent stash (that's the default), but I like being explicit about it.

You can also check what's in your stash list first with git stash list — useful when you have more than one stash and want to make sure you're applying the right one.

So: pop = apply + drop, apply = apply only. That's the whole thing.