Question

Are the commands git stash apply and git stash pop the same or not? What's the difference?

Answer 1

They are almost similar except the fact that git stash pop throws away the (topmost, by default) stash when applying it, whereas git stash apply leaves it within the stash list for possible later use (or you'll then git stash drop it).

This happens unless there are conflicts after git stash pop, during which case it'll not take away the stash, leaving it to behave precisely like git stash apply.

Another way to look at it: git stash pop is git stash apply and git stash drop.

Answer 2

The key difference in is the fact that a pop removes the stash used to restore files. The apply leaves it there.

If a merge conflict occurs, the pop acts as an apply as the stash is not deleted.

The stash should not be used to replace proper checkin and checkout practices. A stash should be temporary and commit histories should be managed in a branch, not a stash. As such, it is recommended that you use pop instead of push to avoid adopting poor distributed version control practices. In the git stash pop vs apply debate, choose pop.