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Claude Code deletes user files via NTFS junction bug on Windows

By PulseAugur Editorial · [1 sources] ·

A user experienced a catastrophic data loss when Claude Code, an AI assistant, executed a recursive delete command on a pnpm monorepo. The command, intended to remove git worktrees, followed an NTFS junction on Microsoft Windows, leading it to delete the user's Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Videos, and Favorites folders. This issue, reproducible with a specific combination of pnpm's linking strategy and an older version of PowerShell, was reported on GitHub but closed as 'not planned' with no fix. AI

IMPACT Highlights potential risks of AI agents executing destructive commands without fully understanding platform-specific behaviors like NTFS junctions.

RANK_REASON A specific bug in an AI coding assistant caused data loss, but it's not a new model release or major industry event.

Read on dev.to — Claude Code tag →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 1 sources. How we write summaries →

Claude Code deletes user files via NTFS junction bug on Windows

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13 / 100
Composite score across the factors below. Higher = stronger signal that this story matters right now.
Newsworthiness bucket
Tool
A specific bug in an AI coding assistant caused data loss, but it's not a new model release or major industry event.
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Single-source cluster
Only one publisher covered this so far. Single-source stories can still rank when the publisher is high-authority, but they lack cross-source corroboration.
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product, safety
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High
Clearly on-topic for AI-industry coverage.
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Breaking (< 6h)
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Full methodology in our editorial standards.

COVERAGE [1]

  1. dev.to — Claude Code tag TIER_1 English(EN) · Ramdai Bista ·

    Claude Code's rm -rf Followed an NTFS Junction Out of a Worktree and Wiped a User's Documents

    <p>A Claude Code user on Windows asked the agent to remove two git worktrees from a pnpm monorepo. The agent ran a recursive delete on the worktree paths. The delete didn't stop at the worktree — it followed an NTFS junction out of it and tore through the user's Documents, Downlo…

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