Incident 1178: Google Gemini CLI Reportedly Deletes User Files After Misinterpreting Command Sequence

Description: Product manager Anuraag Gupta reported that Google's Gemini CLI AI coding assistant permanently deleted his files after misinterpreting a failed directory creation command. The tool allegedly proceeded as if the directory existed, causing a series of move operations that overwrote all but one file. Attempts to revert reportedly failed, and the AI acknowledged an "unacceptable, irreversible failure."
Editor Notes: Anuraag Gupta has reported details of the incident here: https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli/issues/4586. In particular, a purported record of the "full powershell conversation" is located here: https://github.com/user-attachments/files/21372906/gemini.cli.screw.up.txt. For another similar incident, please refer to Incident 1152: LLM-Driven Replit Agent Reportedly Executed Unauthorized Destructive Commands During Code Freeze, Leading to Loss of Production Data.

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Alleged: Google and Gemini CLI developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed Users of Gemini CLI and Anuraag Gupta.
Alleged implicated AI system: Gemini CLI

Incident Stats

Incident ID
1178
Report Count
1
Incident Date
2025-07-21
Editors
Daniel Atherton
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Google’s Gemini CLI Deletes User Files, Confesses “Catastrophic” Failure
winbuzzer.com · 2025

A product manager experimenting with "vibe coding" watched as Google's Gemini CLI tool hallucinated a series of file operations before permanently deleting his work and confessing its own "gross incompetence." The incident highlights the pr…

Variants

A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
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