file-operation-safety

File Operation Safety

CRITICAL: File deletions can be permanent. This skill prevents irreversible file loss.

Danger Levels

Level	Operations	Requires
⛔ CRITICAL	rm -rf, recursive delete on directories	Full path verification + explicit confirmation
🔴 HIGH	rm multiple files, mv with overwrite	List all files + confirmation
🟠 MEDIUM	rm single file, cp with overwrite	Verify file exists + confirm
🟢 LOW	cp to new location, mkdir, touch	Standard execution

Pre-Operation Protocol

Before ANY Deletion

Step 1: Verify the path

# ALWAYS expand and verify the path first
realpath /path/to/target
ls -la /path/to/target

# Check what's inside (for directories)
find /path/to/target -type f | wc -l  # Count files
du -sh /path/to/target                 # Check size

Step 2: Present impact to user

## File Deletion Impact Assessment

**Command:** rm -rf ./node_modules
**Resolved path:** /Users/dev/myproject/node_modules

**Contents:**
- Total files: 45,234
- Total directories: 8,901
- Total size: 234 MB
- Contains hidden files: Yes (.cache, .bin)

**Can be recreated:** Yes (via `npm install`)

Proceed with deletion? Type "yes, delete node_modules" to confirm.

For Critical Operations

rm -rf on Directory

⛔ **CRITICAL: RECURSIVE DELETE REQUESTED**

**Command:** rm -rf /var/www/myapp

**⚠️ FULL PATH CHECK:**
- Requested path: /var/www/myapp
- Resolved path: /var/www/myapp
- Parent directory: /var/www (contains 3 other directories)
- Is symlink: No

**Contents to be deleted:**
- Files: 1,234
- Directories: 89
- Size: 456 MB
- Includes:
  - Source code (*.js, *.ts): 234 files
  - Configuration (*.json, *.yml): 12 files
  - Environment files (.env): 1 file ⚠️
  - Uploaded files (uploads/): 567 files ⚠️

**Recovery:**
- Git repository: Yes (can recover source code)
- Uploads folder: NO GIT ⚠️ (not recoverable)
- .env file: NO GIT ⚠️ (not recoverable)

**Before deletion, I recommend:**
1. Backup uploads folder: `cp -r uploads /backup/uploads_$(date +%Y%m%d)`
2. Backup .env: `cp .env /backup/.env_$(date +%Y%m%d)`

Proceed with deletion after backup? Type "yes, delete /var/www/myapp after backup" to confirm.