DeepSeek Destroyed My One-Year Project. Here’s What Happened.

How DeepSeek destroyed my year-long project. Git deleted a folder after an AI command — no backup, no warning. Don’t trust DeepSeek without verifying every command.

What happened

On August 19, 2026, I asked DeepSeek for help with Git tracking. Simple task: check which files Git tracks and remove unnecessary ones before deployment.

Instead of safe diagnostics, DeepSeek gave me this:

text

git rm -r --cached public_html
git add -A
git commit -m "fix structure"
git push origin master
git pull

After git pull, the folder public_html/ was PHYSICALLY DELETED from my local PC. Then DeepSeek gave another command:

text

Get-ChildItem .\public_html -Force | Move-Item -Destination . -Force

This destroyed the project structure completely.

What I lost

• Debug files (months of test scripts)
• Documentation
• Test scripts
• Local knowledge base

I worked on this project for almost a year. These files were NOT in Git and NOT on the server. Only on my local PC.

Get Serge’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

Remember me for faster sign in

Why this is dangerous

• No warning that git pull after git rm --cached would PHYSICALLY DELETE the folder
• No question about local files outside Git
• No backup suggestion
• Continued giving commands after damage was done
• Constant incorrect assumptions (country, DB names, Docker containers, project structure) without verification

What should have happened

• Warning: “This will delete the folder. Make a backup first.”
• Question: “Are there any files NOT tracked by Git?”
• Stop before destructive actions
• Use git ls-files for safe diagnostics first

Recovery

The only copy is on the server (without debug files). Local files are permanently lost. Recycle Bin is empty. System Restore was not enabled on drive D:.

Conclusion

DeepSeek is dangerous for real projects. No context awareness, no command validation, no safety warnings. Trusting it without verifying every command is a risk to your work.

my expectations of the team

1. Internal investigation with a formal report
2. Enhanced security warnings before destructive commands
3. Written response to my email within 30 days