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Industry observers note that you point them at your project, give them instructions, and the code starts flowing, just like magic. It’s all too easy to get into the zone with AI coding tools like Claude Code, Codex, or Google’s Antigravity.
The report highlights that some blunders are minor, costing you little more than time and tokens as Claude Opus 5 or GPT-5.6-Sol dives into your code to fix the messes it made. Annoying, yes, but no big deal. But no matter how powerful the model, AI can still make mistakes.
Industry observers note that other AI slipups can be devastating, and if you cruise around the Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini subreddits long enough, you’ll find tales of woe like this one, often caused by a simple but very powerful command:.
In a fresh development, and if you’re using Claude Code or Codex for vibe coding, make no mistake: You’re a Linux user. That little command strikes fear — or at least, it should strike fear — into the heart of any Linux user.
The report highlights that welcome to another edition of Prompt Mode, your weekly AI newsletter.
In a fresh development, each week on Prompt Mode, I’ll be serving up analysis of the AI trends that matter to everyday users like you and me. Stay tuned for practical AI tips, hands-on experiences with the most recent AI tools, and–you guessed it–prompts to help you get the most out of your AI assistants. I’m your host, Ben Patterson.
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Industry observers note that on its own, “rm” can only do so much damage, but when combined with the “-r” (for “recursive”) and “-f” (for “force”) arguments, “rm -rf” can lay waste to a hard drive, nuking a directory, its files, and its subdirectories in seconds. The “rm” stands for “remove,” the standard Linux command for deleting a file.
According to the latest update, what makes “rm -rf” really scary is when you – or Claude – use it anywhere in the vicinity of your home directory, as in:“rm -rf /Users/benpatt/deleteme”.
Industry observers note that all my home files and folders, gone forever. That command should just wipe the “deleteme” subdirectory in my (example) home directory, but were I to accidentally leave out the “/delememe” part, boom!
The report highlights that an even scarier version of the command is:.
The report highlights that use that command, and you’ll wipe your entire hard drive, just like that. That “sudo” makes you the “superuser” of the system, with godlike administrator privileges, and that single “/” is the system’s root directory.
Industry observers note that one missing slash, and it can lead to disaster, as this Reddit user found out:. So yes, “rm -rf” equals bad, yet I regularly see Claude Code, Codex, and other AI code suggest them when cleaning out old directories or performing other chores in my projects.
According to the latest update, instead, it created the backup in the wrong directory and then proceeded to “rm -rf” my entire drive. After wiping everything, it just replied: “Sorry, typo.”. I asked Claude Opus 5 to create a backup.
According to the latest update, you can — and should — question its logic and second-guess its decisions, and if it ever suggests using the “rm -rf” command, just say this:. This Reddit user’s story (and there are plenty more just like it) illustrates why it’s a terrible idea to take your hands off the wheel and let Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini meddle with your files without any oversight.
Industry observers note that don’t use “rm -rf” — find a safer way to delete those files.
According to the latest update, or if you want a rule for Claude, Codex, or Antigravity to follow (in the CLAUDE.md file, AGENTS.md, or elsewhere), try this:.
In a fresh development, never run rm -rf or any equivalent recursive, forced deletion — including reordered flags, aliases, shell wrappers, scripts, find -delete, or git clean -fdx.
According to the latest update, chatGPT’s answers generally improve as it gets to know you better, but there’s a way to give it more context about your goals without spilling more than you need to.
According to the latest update, unlike a real passport, this AI passport doesn’t include your name, address, or other personally identifiable information; instead, the level of detail you provide is entirely up to you. With this prompt, you can create an AI “passport” that you can paste into the beginning of a thread, perfect for quickly briefing the AI about your goals.
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As part of the ongoing story, his coverage of artificial intelligence interrogates the most recent LLMs, and how they can be used at work and at home to be best prepared for the AI revolution. “AI is going to change our lives sooner than we think,” Ben writes. “Our best way to adapt is by using it every day.” Ben has been a PCWorld author since 2014, and has covered everything from laptops to security cameras before launching PCWorld’s AI beat. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature. Ben has been writing about consumer technology for more than 20 years, and now focuses his reporting on AI as it relates to the basic human experience.