A stray directory named ~ turns rm -rf * into a home-directory wipe
Claude Code created a directory literally named ~, then ran rm -rf * in its parent, which began deleting the user's home directory.
- Agents
- Claude Code
- Reported
- Source checked
- Tags
- filesystem, rm, shell-expansion
Symptom
Files across your home directory start disappearing after the agent runs a cleanup command in a project folder.
Cause
An earlier session left a directory named ~. A later rm -rf * in the parent directory matched it, and the deletion reached the real home directory, per the reporter.
Fix
Never let agents run wildcard recursive deletes. Require approval for rm, prefer deleting explicit paths, and run agents in a container or sandbox so a bad path can't reach your real home directory.
// .claude/settings.json
{
"permissions": {
"ask": ["Bash(rm *)"],
"deny": ["Bash(rm -rf *)"]
}
}