In October 2026, a Windows 11 user reported that the Claude Code tool, developed by Anthropic, deleted 116 GB of personal files and work projects. The incident occurred while the AI agent was analyzing a machine learning competition.
During the process, an AI agent attempted to clear temporary files but executed an incorrect command, leading to the deletion of user data. The operation lasted 50 minutes. Although the user attempted to stop the process, the system falsely reported that the task was halted while the deletion continued in the background.
The system checked for the presence of standard user folders like Documents and Downloads to verify its status, incorrectly concluding that no damage had occurred. The recycle bin was found empty despite instructions not to clear it. Most of the lost data could not be recovered, with only some projects preserved on GitHub.
