Git could-not-restore-untracked-files-from-stash Stash application failed while copying the stash's untracked files back out.

dev@local: ~/project — git

dev@local~/project$git status

error: could not restore untracked files from stash

Diagnostics Translation

Stash application failed while copying the stash's untracked files back out.

waiting for resolution...

MediumVersion Control System

Reviewed for reference consistency: August 11, 2026

Code is Safe

SECURE

Git has paused the operation to protect your code. No data has been lost or corrupted.

What To Know

The tracked half of a stash application and its untracked-file restoration came apart — the untracked content stayed in the stash entry because writing it back hit an obstruction.

Where Did It Fail?

Working Tree

Your local files

add

Staging Index

Prepared changes

commit

Local Repo

Commit history

push/fetch

Remote Server

GitHub/GitLab

Git halted to protect the uncommitted files in your active working directory.

Commands That Trigger This

A file that was untracked at stash time became tracked before the pop

Restoring a stash whose untracked file now collides with an ignored path

A pop with --include-untracked interrupted by a read-only checkout directory

Technical Background

Untracked restoration runs as a separate phase after the tracked changes apply. Because the phase uses a temporary index and writes files Git does not otherwise manage, a collision at any path fails the whole phase while the tracked half may already be applied.

The stash entry itself is not destroyed by this failure — the untracked content remains stored in the entry's third tree. Removing the obstructing path, or the newly tracked file that took it over, lets a repeated apply place the content.

Underlying Causes

The path now belongs to a tracked file, colliding with the stashed untracked copy

Filesystem permissions or locks blocked writing the restored files

An ignored or excluded path now occupies the target location

The stash's untracked tree references a path that was renamed in the project

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. They live inside the stash entry until it is dropped; showing the stash with untracked content reveals them.

The stash snapshot remembers paths, not their tracked status; if the same path gained a tracked version meanwhile, the two claims conflict on apply.

Related Git States

local-changes-overwritten-by-checkoutMedium

Git prevented a branch switch because it would overwrite unsaved changes in your working directory.

untracked-files-overwritten-by-mergeMedium

Git aborted the merge because it would overwrite untracked files in your working directory.

stash-pop-conflictMedium

Reapplying a stash hit conflicts, and the stash entry was deliberately kept.