destructive-operation-guard

Destructive Operation Guard

CRITICAL: This skill defines mandatory safety protocols for AI agents.

Core Principle

NEVER execute a destructive operation without EXPLICIT user confirmation.

"Destructive" means any operation that:

• Deletes data
• Overwrites existing data
• Resets state
• Cannot be easily undone
• Affects production systems
• Modifies data belonging to others

Destructive Operations Checklist

ALWAYS ASK BEFORE:

Database Operations

• DROP TABLE, DROP DATABASE
• TRUNCATE TABLE
• DELETE without specific WHERE clause
• DELETE affecting more than 10 rows
• UPDATE without specific WHERE clause
• UPDATE affecting more than 10 rows
• Running migrations on production
• Running migrations that delete columns/tables
• Seeding that overwrites existing data
• Any --force flag on database commands

File System Operations

• rm -rf on any directory
• rm on multiple files
• Overwriting existing files
• Moving files that might overwrite destinations
• Clearing directories
• Any recursive delete operation

Git Operations

• git push --force or git push -f
• git reset --hard
• git clean -fd
• git checkout . (discards all changes)
• git stash drop
• git branch -D (force delete)
• git rebase on shared branches
• Amending pushed commits

Deployment Operations

• Deploying to production
• Rolling back deployments
• Scaling down to zero
• Deleting cloud resources
• Modifying environment variables in production

API/Service Operations

• Calling DELETE endpoints
• Bulk update operations
• Cache invalidation (full flush)
• Queue purging
• Session/token invalidation for all users

Mandatory Confirmation Protocol

Step 1: Identify the Risk

Before ANY potentially destructive operation, assess:

## Risk Assessment

**Operation:** [What you're about to do]
**Scope:** [What will be affected]
**Reversibility:** [Can this be undone? How?]
**Data at Risk:** [What data could be lost]
**Affected Users:** [Who will be impacted]