destructive-command-safety

name	destructive-command-safety
description	Use when about to run any git state-modifying command, file deletion, or irreversible operation

Destructive Command Safety

Overview

Irreversible operations deserve explicit confirmation. The cost of pausing is low; the cost of lost work is high.

The Iron Law

NO DESTRUCTIVE COMMANDS WITHOUT EXPLICIT USER CONFIRMATION

Command Classification

Dangerous — ALWAYS ask first

File operations:

• rm / rm -rf — delete files/directories
• rmdir — remove directories
• unlink — remove files

Git state-modifying:

• git checkout — can overwrite uncommitted changes
• git reset — can lose commits
• git clean — deletes untracked files
• git stash — hides changes
• git rebase — rewrites history
• git merge — modifies branches
• git push --force — overwrites remote history
• git commit --amend — rewrites last commit

Pre-approved — No confirmation needed (with conditions)

• git worktree remove [--force] — worktrees are disposable; all work must be committed to a branch before removal
• git worktree prune — cleans up stale worktree references
• git branch -d (lowercase -d only) — safe delete, refuses if branch is not merged. git branch -D (uppercase) is still dangerous.

Safe — No confirmation needed

• git status, git log, git diff
• git branch (list only)
• git worktree list (read-only)
• git show, git blame
• ls, cat, find, grep
• go test, uv run pytest, ruff check

Steps

Before any dangerous command:

1. Explain what the command will do
2. Show the exact command
3. Ask "Should I run this?"
4. Wait for explicit "yes" or approval

Archive vs Delete

When the user says "archive X":

• MOVE to archive folder (e.g., mv X archive/)
• Do NOT delete

When in doubt, prefer archiving over deleting.

Examples

WRONG:

"Let me clean that up"
rm -rf /tmp/old-cache/

RIGHT:

"I can delete /tmp/old-cache/. Should I run `rm -rf /tmp/old-cache/`?"
[wait for explicit "yes"]

WRONG:

"Let me restore that file"
git checkout HEAD -- file.go

RIGHT:

"I can restore file.go from git. This will overwrite any uncommitted changes.
Run `git checkout HEAD -- file.go`?"
[wait for user confirmation]

Red Flags - STOP

• About to run rm without asking
• About to git reset --hard or git clean -f
• About to force-push anything
• About to overwrite uncommitted changes
• Rationalizing "it's fine, I'll fix it if something goes wrong"

Common Rationalizations

Excuse	Reality
"It's just temp files"	User might need them. Ask.
"I can undo with git"	Not everything is committed. Ask.
"This is obviously safe"	You don't know the full context. Ask.
"I'll fix it if it breaks"	Prevention > cure. Ask.