Fix · GitHub and Git

"Your local changes would be overwritten" when pulling or switching

What you may see

Pull or switch branch is blocked because I have unsaved edits
Git tells me to commit or stash

Most likely cause

You have edits that are not saved as a commit, and the incoming change touches the same files.

Check first (about two minutes)

Run git status to see which files have edits.

The fix prompt

What you type here never leaves your browser. The search runs on this page, and nothing is sent to a server or to an AI.

The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a patient senior engineer who knows Git and GitHub very well and explains them to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

THE PROBLEM
"Your local changes would be overwritten" when pulling or switching

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
You have edits that are not saved as a commit, and the incoming change touches the same files.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Run git status and git diff --stat and show me.
2. Save my edits safely: either git add -A and git commit -m "work in progress", or git stash push -m "before pull". Ask me which I prefer.
3. Do the pull or the branch switch.
4. If I used stash, bring the edits back with git stash pop and help with any conflict.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- git status shows my edits again (or they are committed), and the pull finished.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not run git checkout -- . or git reset --hard (they erase my edits).
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Run git status and git diff --stat and show me.
Save my edits safely: either git add -A and git commit -m "work in progress", or git stash push -m "before pull". Ask me which I prefer.
Do the pull or the branch switch.
If I used stash, bring the edits back with git stash pop and help with any conflict.

Do not do this

Do not delete files by hand to silence the message.
Do not run git checkout -- . or git reset --hard (they erase my edits).

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