Claude Opus 5 mistakenly deletes dev’s entire profile directory during routine backup, responds with 'Sorry, typo' — AI tool mistakes user's home directory as temporary backup, proceeds to wipe everything to undo the error
According to u/Ecstatic-Big5126, they instructed Opus 5 to back up their system. While the AI proceeded with the task, it thought that it had created the backup in the wrong directory and then proceeded to run an “rm -rf” command on the supposed backup. Unfortunately, it mistakenly deleted the entire profile folder in its confusion.It seemed that the AI was running on a Unix-style shell on Windows when it confused the Unix-style path of /c/Users/ as a temporary backup because it was expecting the traditional C:\Users\ path.
- ▪According to u/Ecstatic-Big5126, they instructed Opus 5 to back up their system.
- ▪While the AI proceeded with the task, it thought that it had created the backup in the wrong directory and then proceeded to run an “rm -rf” command on the supposed backup.
- ▪Unfortunately, it mistakenly deleted the entire profile folder in its confusion.It seemed that the AI was running on a Unix-style shell on Windows when it confused the Unix-style path of /c/Users/ as a temporary backup because it was expect
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| Publication time | Fri, 07 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-07T10:05:47.202Z |
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| Cluster | aElWGF1hOG-Z · 1 stories |
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Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
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Tech Industry Artificial Intelligence Claude Opus 5 mistakenly deletes dev’s entire profile directory during routine backup, responds with 'Sorry, typo' — AI tool mistakes user's home directory as temporary backup, proceeds to wipe everything to undo the error News By Jowi Morales Published 7 August 2026 “That was simultaneously the funniest and most painful AI moment I've had.” When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
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