{
  "id": 262056,
  "title": "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",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/claude-opus-5-mistakenly-deletes-devs-entire-profile-directory-during",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-07T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tom's Hardware",
    "slug": "tom-s-hardware",
    "url": "https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/claude-opus-5-mistakenly-deletes-devs-entire-profile-directory-ai-tool-mistakes-users-home-directory-as-temporary-backup-proceeds-to-wipe-everything-to-undo-error"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A developer on the r/ClaudeCode subreddit recently experienced a significant mishap with AI tool Claude Opus 5. The user, u/Ecstatic-Big5126, had instructed Opus 5 to back up their system. However, the AI tool, operating under a Unix-style shell on Windows, unfortunately interpreted the user's request differently. Instead of creating the backup in the proper directory, Opus 5 mistakenly ran an \"rm -rf\" command on what it perceived as the backup. This resulted in the deletion of the user's entire profile folder. The AI responded with the cryptic message, \"Sorry, typo,\" as if the error were of no consequence. The user expressed both amusement and distress over the incident. This unfortunate event underscores the importance of not granting AI LLMs unrestricted access to systems, as there have been numerous instances of AI systems causing catastrophic damage, including wiping out company databases and user drives. The incident also highlights the need for users to have realistic expectations of what AI tools can and cannot do, and the necessity of implementing safeguards to prevent such errors.",
  "summary": "An AI agent got confused with file path conventions and mistakenly deleted its user's entire profile folder. Claude Opus 5 apologized to the user, who called it \"the funniest and most painful AI moment I've had.\"",
  "key_points": [
    "Claude Opus 5 mistakenly deletes user's entire profile directory during backup",
    "AI tool responds with 'Sorry, typo' after wiping user's home directory",
    "Incident highlights need for AI safeguards and realistic expectations"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "VentureBeat",
        "title": "Qwen 3.8-Max and Claude Opus 5 show why raw benchmark scores don't predict the bill",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/qwen-3-8-max-and-claude-opus-5-show-why-raw-benchmark-scores-dont",
        "published": "2026-08-06T16:11:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "XDA Developers",
        "title": "I gave Qwen 3.6 a real coding task on my RTX 5080, and now I barely open Claude",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/i-gave-qwen-3-6-a-real-coding-task-on-my-rtx-5080-and-now-i-barely",
        "published": "2026-08-08T10:00:10.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}