diff --git a/lib/file.js b/lib/file.js
index 9a26a44a5..462b2c2fa 100644
--- a/lib/file.js
+++ b/lib/file.js
@@ -3,11 +3,26 @@
 const debug = require('debug')('lint-staged:file')
 const fs = require('fs')
 
+const fsPromises = fs.promises
+
+/**
+ * Check if a file exists. Returns the filepath if exists.
+ * @param {string} filepath
+ */
+const exists = async filepath => {
+  try {
+    await fsPromises.access(filepath)
+    return filepath
+  } catch {
+    return false
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * @param {String} filename
  * @returns {Promise<Buffer|Null>}
  */
-module.exports.readBufferFromFile = (filename, rejectENOENT = false) =>
+const readBufferFromFile = (filename, rejectENOENT = false) =>
   new Promise(resolve => {
     debug('Reading buffer from file `%s`', filename)
     fs.readFile(filename, (error, buffer) => {
@@ -20,12 +35,23 @@ module.exports.readBufferFromFile = (filename, rejectENOENT = false) =>
     })
   })
 
+/**
+ * Unlink a file if it exists
+ * @param {*} filepath
+ */
+const unlink = async filepath => {
+  if (filepath) {
+    await fsPromises.access(filepath)
+    await fsPromises.unlink(filepath)
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * @param {String} filename
  * @param {Buffer} buffer
  * @returns {Promise<Void>}
  */
-module.exports.writeBufferToFile = (filename, buffer) =>
+const writeBufferToFile = (filename, buffer) =>
   new Promise(resolve => {
     debug('Writing buffer to file `%s`', filename)
     fs.writeFile(filename, buffer, () => {
@@ -33,3 +59,10 @@ module.exports.writeBufferToFile = (filename, buffer) =>
       resolve()
     })
   })
+
+module.exports = {
+  exists,
+  readBufferFromFile,
+  unlink,
+  writeBufferToFile
+}
diff --git a/lib/gitWorkflow.js b/lib/gitWorkflow.js
index d43216af7..e650ca2fd 100644
--- a/lib/gitWorkflow.js
+++ b/lib/gitWorkflow.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ const debug = require('debug')('lint-staged:git')
 const path = require('path')
 
 const execGit = require('./execGit')
-const { readBufferFromFile, writeBufferToFile } = require('./file')
+const { exists, readBufferFromFile, unlink, writeBufferToFile } = require('./file')
 
 const MERGE_HEAD = 'MERGE_HEAD'
 const MERGE_MODE = 'MERGE_MODE'
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ const MERGE_MSG = 'MERGE_MSG'
 
 const STASH = 'lint-staged automatic backup'
 
+const PATCH_UNSTAGED = 'lint-staged_unstaged.patch'
+const PATCH_UNTRACKED = 'lint-staged_untracked.patch'
+
 const GIT_APPLY_ARGS = ['apply', '-v', '--whitespace=nowarn', '--recount', '--unidiff-zero']
 const GIT_DIFF_ARGS = ['--binary', '--unified=0', '--no-color', '--no-ext-diff', '--patch']
 
@@ -40,6 +43,7 @@ const handleError = (error, ctx) => {
 class GitWorkflow {
   constructor({ allowEmpty, gitConfigDir, gitDir, stagedFileChunks }) {
     this.execGit = (args, options = {}) => execGit(args, { ...options, cwd: gitDir })
+    this.gitConfigDir = gitConfigDir
     this.unstagedDiff = null
     this.allowEmpty = allowEmpty
     this.stagedFileChunks = stagedFileChunks
@@ -53,6 +57,27 @@ class GitWorkflow {
     this.mergeMsgFilename = path.resolve(gitConfigDir, MERGE_MSG)
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Get absolute path to file hidden inside .git
+   * @param {string} filename
+   */
+  getHiddenFilepath(filename) {
+    return path.resolve(this.gitConfigDir, `./${filename}`)
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Check if patch file exists and has content.
+   * @param {string} filename
+   */
+  async hasPatch(filename) {
+    const resolved = this.getHiddenFilepath(filename)
+    const pathIfExists = await exists(resolved)
+    if (!pathIfExists) return false
+    const buffer = await readBufferFromFile(pathIfExists)
+    const patch = buffer.toString().trim()
+    return patch.length ? filename : false
+  }
+
   /**
    * Get name of backup stash
    */
@@ -122,9 +147,10 @@ class GitWorkflow {
       await cleanUntrackedFiles(this.execGit)
 
       // Get a diff of unstaged changes by diffing the saved stash against what's left on disk.
-      this.unstagedDiff = await this.execGit([
+      await this.execGit([
         'diff',
         ...GIT_DIFF_ARGS,
+        `--output=${this.getHiddenFilepath(PATCH_UNSTAGED)}`,
         await this.getBackupStash(ctx),
         '-R' // Show diff in reverse
       ])
@@ -167,10 +193,11 @@ class GitWorkflow {
     // Restore unstaged changes by applying the diff back. If it at first fails,
     // this is probably because of conflicts between task modifications.
     // 3-way merge usually fixes this, and in case it doesn't we should just give up and throw.
-    if (this.unstagedDiff) {
+    if (await this.hasPatch(PATCH_UNSTAGED)) {
       debug('Restoring unstaged changes...')
+      const unstagedPatch = this.getHiddenFilepath(PATCH_UNSTAGED)
       try {
-        await this.execGit(GIT_APPLY_ARGS, { input: `${this.unstagedDiff}\n` })
+        await this.execGit([...GIT_APPLY_ARGS, unstagedPatch])
       } catch (error) {
         debug('Error while restoring changes:')
         debug(error)
@@ -178,7 +205,7 @@ class GitWorkflow {
 
         try {
           // Retry with `--3way` if normal apply fails
-          await this.execGit([...GIT_APPLY_ARGS, '--3way'], { input: `${this.unstagedDiff}\n` })
+          await this.execGit([...GIT_APPLY_ARGS, '--3way', unstagedPatch])
         } catch (error2) {
           debug('Error while restoring unstaged changes using 3-way merge:')
           debug(error2)
@@ -196,14 +223,17 @@ class GitWorkflow {
     // See https://stackoverflow.com/a/52357762
     try {
       const backupStash = await this.getBackupStash(ctx)
-      const output = await this.execGit([
+      const untrackedPatch = this.getHiddenFilepath(PATCH_UNTRACKED)
+      await this.execGit([
         'show',
         ...GIT_DIFF_ARGS,
         '--format=%b',
+        `--output=${untrackedPatch}`,
         `${backupStash}^3`
       ])
-      const untrackedDiff = output.trim()
-      if (untrackedDiff) await this.execGit([...GIT_APPLY_ARGS], { input: `${untrackedDiff}\n` })
+      if (await this.hasPatch(PATCH_UNTRACKED)) {
+        await this.execGit([...GIT_APPLY_ARGS, untrackedPatch])
+      }
     } catch (error) {
       ctx.gitRestoreUntrackedError = true
       handleError(error, ctx)
@@ -234,6 +264,10 @@ class GitWorkflow {
   async dropBackup(ctx) {
     try {
       debug('Dropping backup stash...')
+      await Promise.all([
+        exists(this.getHiddenFilepath(PATCH_UNSTAGED)).then(unlink),
+        exists(this.getHiddenFilepath(PATCH_UNTRACKED)).then(unlink)
+      ])
       const backupStash = await this.getBackupStash(ctx)
       await this.execGit(['stash', 'drop', '--quiet', backupStash])
       debug('Done dropping backup stash!')
diff --git a/test/gitWorkflow.spec.js b/test/gitWorkflow.spec.js
index 73cab1452..c49e2aef2 100644
--- a/test/gitWorkflow.spec.js
+++ b/test/gitWorkflow.spec.js
@@ -75,6 +75,16 @@ describe('gitWorkflow', () => {
     })
   })
 
+  describe('hasPatch', () => {
+    it('should return false when patch file not found', async () => {
+      const gitWorkflow = new GitWorkflow({
+        gitDir: cwd,
+        gitConfigDir: path.resolve(cwd, './.git')
+      })
+      expect(await gitWorkflow.hasPatch('foo')).toEqual(false)
+    })
+  })
+
   describe('dropBackup', () => {
     it('should handle errors', async () => {
       const gitWorkflow = new GitWorkflow({