Fix · Problems with AI tools

The AI deleted my code or files

Urgent

What you may see

A folder or file I need is gone
The AI "cleaned up" and removed things

Most likely cause

Tools can delete or overwrite files while "refactoring" or cleaning; recovery depends on where a saved copy exists.

Check first (about two minutes)

Stop the tool now. Do not ask it to "fix" the deletion yet.
Run git status: do the missing files show as deleted? Then they are recoverable from Git.

The fix prompt

What you type here never leaves your browser. The search runs on this page, and nothing is sent to a server or to an AI.

The exact error or what you see

What you did before it happened

Kept only in this browser, on this device. Keys and passwords are removed before anything is saved.

Prompt language

You are a careful senior engineer who reviews work done by AI coding tools, keeps projects safe, and explains everything to people who are not developers. I am not a developer, so explain every step in plain words and tell me exactly which button, menu or command you mean. If you are not sure about something, say so; do not guess.

This is urgent. Do the safety steps first, before anything else.

THE PROBLEM
The AI deleted my code or files

THE EXACT ERROR OR WHAT I SEE
[paste the exact error here]

WHAT I DID BEFORE IT HAPPENED
[write in a few words what you did before it happened]

MOST LIKELY CAUSE
Tools can delete or overwrite files while "refactoring" or cleaning; recovery depends on where a saved copy exists.

DO THESE STEPS, IN THIS ORDER
1. Do not change anything yet. Show git status and git log --oneline -10 and tell me what is deleted.
2. If the files were saved in Git, restore them from the last commit (git restore <path>) after showing me the list.
3. If they were never saved, look for other copies: the editor's local history, the system trash, a cloud backup or the tool's own history; list the places for me to check.
4. Tell me how to protect the next time: commit before every AI task, work on a branch, and keep a copy on GitHub.
Stop and tell me if what you see does not match a step. Do not skip ahead.

CHECK THAT IT WORKED
- The deleted files are back and the app runs; git status shows what I expect.
Tell me exactly what I should see on the screen when it works.

DO NOT CHANGE
- Do not let the AI re-create the files from memory if a saved copy exists.
- Anything I did not ask about: the design, the text, other pages, other settings or the data.
- Do not delete files, data or branches, do not reset or force-push, and do not rewrite history, unless you first show me exactly what would be lost and I say yes.
- Do not paste, print or ask me to paste a password or secret key into this chat. If one is needed, tell me which settings page of the right service to store it in.

WHEN YOU FINISH
Explain in simple words what you changed (file by file or setting by setting), why you changed it, and how I can undo it.

Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Cursor, then follow what it says.

After you tried it, did it work?

Steps

Do not change anything yet. Show git status and git log --oneline -10 and tell me what is deleted.
If the files were saved in Git, restore them from the last commit (git restore <path>) after showing me the list.
If they were never saved, look for other copies: the editor's local history, the system trash, a cloud backup or the tool's own history; list the places for me to check.
Tell me how to protect the next time: commit before every AI task, work on a branch, and keep a copy on GitHub.

Do not do this

Do not run more commands in that folder until you know where a copy is.
Do not let the AI re-create the files from memory if a saved copy exists.

Try another entry