Scenario

You have a Git repository at /home/interview/repo where you are working on a new feature on the feature-login branch with uncommitted changes in login.js. A fix is needed on the dev branch: app.js contains a JavaScript syntax error that can be identified by running node app.js.

Task

Stash your current changes to clean the working directory, switch to the dev branch, fix the syntax error in app.js, commit the fix using the commit message Fix syntax error in app.js, then return to your feature-login branch, merge the fix from dev, and restore your stashed work.

Step 1: Stash current work
Save your uncommitted changes to the stash stack to clean the working directory.

cd /home/interview/repo
git stash save "WIP login feature"

Step 2: Switch to the dev branch
Now that the tree is clean, switch to the development branch.

git checkout dev

Step 3: Identify and fix the syntax error
Run Node to see the error:

node app.js

You’ll see something like:

SyntaxError: Invalid or unexpected token

Edit app.js to fix the missing closing quote in the console.log:

-console.log("Processing user with validation);
+console.log("Processing user with validation");

Step 4: Commit the fix
Stage the file and commit the bug fix to the dev branch.

git add app.js
git commit -m "Fix syntax error in app.js"

Step 5: Merge changes
Switch back to your feature branch and merge the recent fix from dev.

git checkout feature-login
git merge dev

Step 6: Restore stashed work
Reapply your original uncommitted changes to the working directory.

git stash pop