How can I temporarily set aside tracked edits with Git stash?

First check what is in the working tree:

git status

Then save the tracked edits in a named stash:

git stash push -m "work on [task] before switching"

Git stash records the working-directory and index state, then returns the working tree to match HEAD. By default it does not include untracked files. [S1] The message is a label to help you recognize the entry later.

Before switching tasks, verify that Git created an entry and that its contents look right:

git stash list

git stash show stash@{0}

git status

The first command lists saved stashes; the second inspects the newest entry; the last shows the current repository status. These checks help confirm what happened, but don’t treat a stash as a durable backup.

Look at the git status output before stashing. It reports staged and unstaged changes and normally shows untracked files, so you can distinguish edits to tracked files from newly created files. [S2] If there are untracked files, the basic command above leaves them out. If you want to include them too, use:

git stash push --include-untracked -m "work on [task] before switching"

That option changes what the stash captures. [S1] Review the resulting stash rather than assuming every file on disk was included: ignored files are not shown by git status unless requested, so status alone is not a complete inventory. [S2] If an ignored file matters, decide separately how to preserve it before switching.

Assume, for illustration, that src/report.js has tracked edits and you want to leave any untracked files out. Your checks could look like this:

git status

Review the output and note the tracked edits you expect to save. Then run:

git stash push -m "report changes before docs task"

Inspect the saved entry:

git stash list

git stash show stash@{0}

Finally:

git status

If the stash list shows the new message, the entry inspection corresponds to the expected edits, and status no longer shows those edits in the working tree, you have useful confirmation that the tracked work was stashed. This example assumes the newest entry is stash@{0}; if other stashes are being added, check the list and choose the entry you intend to inspect. A clean status alone is not proof that every file was saved.

When you return, inspect the stash entry and identify the work you want to resume. For work you need to preserve durably, make an appropriate commit or use a separate backup process. Stash is a temporary Git mechanism; the documentation does not characterize it as a durable backup. [S1]

The checks above show what Git reports about the working tree and stash, but they do not establish that every file on the computer—including ignored files—has been preserved. [S2]