How do I put a bunch of uncommitted changes aside while working on something else

Question

If I have a bunch of uncommitted changes and want to set it aside while working on something else instead, and then later (f.i. after several days) come back to it and proceed w

Answer 1

You can just clone your repo multiple times. I tend to have a root clone, then multiple childs from there. Example:

• MyProject.Root
• MyProject.BugFix1
• MyProject.BugFix2
• MyProject.FeatureChange1
• MyProject.FeatureChange2

The 4 childs are all cloned from the root and push/pull to/from the root. The root then push/pulls from the master repo on the network/internet somewhere. The root acts as your sort of personal staging area.

So in your case, you'd just clone up a new repo and start working. Leave your 'shelved' work alone in the other repo. It's that simple.

The only downside is disk space usage, but if that were a concern you'd not be using DVCS at all anyway ;) Oh and it does kind of pollute your Visual Studio "recent projects" list, but what the hey.

[Edit following comments] :-

To conclude then... what you're doing is completely fine and normal. I would argue it is the best possible way to work when the following are true: 1) it is short-lived 2) you don't need to collaborate with other developers 3) the changes don't need to leave your PC until commit/push time.