how to pop git stash without triggering an auto-merge -

the short version of question this: how can pop git stash without triggering auto-merge?

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now longer version...

consider following toy example of alternative git stash ... + git pull ... + git pop.

first, git status shows modification in working directory tracked file foo.

# on branch master # changes not staged commit: #   (use "git add <file>..." update committed) #   (use "git checkout -- <file>..." discard changes in working directory) # #   modified:   foo # no changes added commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a") 

now, in order reset working directory clean state, pre-requisite running git pull, temporarily rename modified file foo (to untracked name), , restore version of foo in head...

% mv foo foo.$(date +%y%m%dt%h%m%s) % git checkout foo % git status # on branch master # untracked files: #   (use "git add <file>..." include in committed) # #   foo.20130508t110014 nothing added commit untracked files present (use "git add" track) 

ok, run git pull, which, sake of example, may assume fast-forward:

% git pull 

lastly, restore temporarily renamed foo.

% mv foo.20130508t110014 foo 

...and i'm to

% git status # on branch master # changes not staged commit: #   (use "git add <file>..." update committed) #   (use "git checkout -- <file>..." discard changes in working directory) # #   modified:   foo # 

this "moral equivalent" of git stash save + git pull + git stash pop, except former, , not latter, is immune "merge conflicts", one:

% git stash save 'wip' % git pull % git stash pop auto-merging foo conflict (content): merge conflict in foo 

how can replicate rename-checkout-pull-rename sequence above using git stash save + ... + git stash pop, without triggering auto-merge?

edit: incidentally, rename-checkout-...-rename routine more closely represents expect command called stash. iow: save state of working directory now, , replace later. there's no "merge" in picture.

stash merges, that's how works.

you can achieve non-merge-y stash with write-tree read-tree , checkout-index. here's worked example doing achieve pristine test environment.

to brute-force no-merge stash apply, e.g.

git read-tree stash^{tree} git checkout-index -af