How to fix No stash entries found. in Git

First, confirm that there are no stash entries:

# List all stash entries
git stash list

If this returns nothing (no output), the stash list is empty. If you see entries like stash@{0}: WIP on main: abc1234 commit message, then stashes exist and the error might be from a different issue.

You can also check the total count:

# Count stash entries
git stash list | wc -l

If you previously ran git stash pop successfully, the stash would have been applied AND removed. The changes should now be in your working directory.

# Check for uncommitted changes in working directory
git status

# View recent changes
git diff

If you see your previously stashed changes here, you're all set - the stash worked! The "No stash entries found" error on a subsequent pop is expected because the stash was already consumed.

Tip: Use git stash apply instead of git stash pop if you want to keep the stash entry after applying. This allows you to re-apply the same stash multiple times.

If a stash was accidentally dropped or cleared, you may be able to recover it if Git hasn't garbage collected it yet.

# Find unreachable stash commits
git fsck --unreachable | grep commit | cut -d' ' -f3 | xargs git log --merges --no-walk --grep=WIP

Or use this more comprehensive command:

# Find all dangling commits (potential stashes)
git fsck --no-reflogs | grep commit | cut -d' ' -f3 | xargs git log --oneline --graph --decorate

If you find your stash commit, note the SHA hash and recover it:

# Apply the recovered stash directly
git stash apply <commit-hash>

# Or re-add it to the stash list
git update-ref refs/stash <commit-hash> --create-reflog

Note: This only works if the stash hasn't been garbage collected. Git typically keeps unreachable objects for at least 2 weeks by default.

By default, git stash does NOT include untracked files. If your changes were in new files that weren't added to Git, they weren't stashed.

# Check for untracked files
git status --porcelain

# Look for files marked with '??' (untracked)
git status -u

For future stashes, include untracked files:

# Stash including untracked files
git stash -u
# or
git stash --include-untracked

# Stash including untracked AND ignored files
git stash -a
# or
git stash --all

If you lost untracked files, check if your editor has local history (VS Code has "Local History: Find Entry to Restore").

Stashes are repository-specific. If you have multiple Git repositories, make sure you're in the right one.

# Show the repository root directory
git rev-parse --show-toplevel

# Show your current directory
pwd

# Show the remote URL to verify the repository
git remote -v

If you created the stash in a different repository:

# Navigate to the correct repository
cd /path/to/correct/repo

# Now check for stashes
git stash list

Remember: Stashes are local and do not transfer when you clone a repository or push to a remote.

The reflog tracks recent Git operations and might show what happened to your stash.

# View stash-related reflog entries
git reflog show stash

# View general reflog for recent operations
git reflog | head -20

Look for entries like:
- stash@{0}: drop stash@{0}: ... - indicates stash was dropped
- stash@{0}: reset: ... - indicates stash was applied/popped

If you see when the stash was dropped, the commit hash might help recover it using the git fsck method from Step 3.

If you need to stash current changes and avoid this error in the future:

# Basic stash (tracked files only)
git stash

# Stash with a descriptive message
git stash save "WIP: feature description"
# or (newer syntax)
git stash push -m "WIP: feature description"

# Include untracked files
git stash -u -m "Including untracked files"

# Verify the stash was created
git stash list

Best practices to avoid losing stashes:
1. Use git stash apply instead of git stash pop when testing
2. Give stashes descriptive messages with -m
3. Don't rely on stashes for long-term storage - commit to a branch instead
4. Regularly check git stash list to know what's stashed