How do I stop a coding agent from deleting my files?
Coding agents run shell commands. Most of the time that is the point. Some of the time it is a delete in the wrong folder or a wiped database.
The fixes people suggest after the fact are each reasonable: use git, run the agent in a container, add hooks that stop destructive commands, keep a real backup. Each one is a separate chore, so most people skip all of them until after a loss.
We are putting these into one setup. It is not a product yet. We are doing it by hand for a first small group.
What we would set up
- Hooks that block or ask before destructive commands like rm -rf, dropping a database or a force push. You choose which ones just stop and which ones ask you first, and the agent gets told why it was stopped.
- An automatic snapshot of the project before risky agent steps, so one command undoes it.
- A nightly backup, plus a test restore, so you know it works.
- Agent access limited to the project folder, not your whole drive.
- A one-page report of what your agent can touch today.
What people are saying
Posts we read on October 7, 2026. Upvotes as of that day.
“it created the backup in the wrong directory and then proceeded to ‘rm -rf’ my entire drive”
r/ClaudeCode, 3,283 upvotes
“Claude subagent got bored and prompt injected my main session into deleting my database.”
r/ClaudeAI, 1,767 upvotes
“claude just deleted my entire project.”
r/ClaudeCode, 1,228 upvotes
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Who is behind this
Continuum is Matt Turley's studio. We build and look after software for small businesses and founders, and we run our own business on AI agents, which is where these ideas come from. Questions: hello@uxcontinuum.com. Other things we are testing.