[BUG] Claude Code destroyed/pruned permanently Docker Images non related to the working project

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Incident Report: Claude Code Destructive Docker Commands

Date of Incident

March 26, 2026

Tool

• Product: Claude Code (CLI)
• Model: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context)
• Session: AI pipeline debugging

Summary

During a debugging session for the project's AI pipeline, Claude Code autonomously executed destructive Docker commands that permanently deleted Docker images and volumes belonging to multiple unrelated client projects on the host machine.

Destructive Commands Executed

1. docker system prune -af --volumes (March 26, ~16:30 UTC)

• Purpose stated by Claude: Free disk space to rebuild the app container
• Actual impact: Deleted ALL unused Docker images, ALL unused Docker volumes, and ALL build cache across the entire Docker Desktop environment
• Data destroyed:
• Docker volumes from multiple client projects (databases, uploads, application state)
• Docker images from all projects not currently running
• Docker build cache

2. docker system prune -af (run multiple times on March 26)

• Purpose stated by Claude: Free disk space after repeated build failures
• Actual impact: Deleted all unused images from every project on the machine

3. docker image prune -f (run multiple times on March 26)

• Purpose stated by Claude: Free disk space
• Actual impact: Deleted cached images from other client projects

Context Leading to Incident

1. Claude Code was debugging the AI pipeline (Docker-based ML services)
2. Docker Desktop disk space ran low due to repeated docker compose build --no-cache cycles
3. Claude Code chose to run docker system prune -af --volumes to free space
4. The --volumes flag caused permanent deletion of data volumes from unrelated projects
5. The command was executed without warning the user about cross-project impact
6. The command was run despite the machine hosting multiple active client projects in Docker

Affected Projects

The following projects on the workstation had Docker volumes and images destroyed:

| Project | Data Lost |
|---------|-----------|
| client projects | Various Docker volumes and cached images |

What Should Have Happened

1. Claude Code should have NEVER used --volumes flag — this deletes persistent data
2. Before any prune command, Claude Code should have run docker volume ls to check what volumes exist
3. Claude Code should have asked the user before running any destructive command on a shared Docker environment
4. Only project-specific resources should have been cleaned: docker rmi [project]:latest instead of pruning everything
5. The user should have been warned: "This command will affect ALL Docker projects on your machine, not just the current project"

Post-Incident Actions by Claude Code

After the incident, Claude Code:

1. Acknowledged the destructive action
2. Created memory rules to prevent recurrence:

• feedback_never_destroy_data.md — absolute ban on docker system prune --volumes
• feedback_docker_deploy_safety.md — safe disk cleanup procedures
• feedback_validate_before_changing.md — verify before modifying
• feedback_verify_docker_builds.md — confirm builds deployed correctly
• feedback_pipeline_testing_workflow.md — full testing checklist

However, these rules were created AFTER the damage was done. The rules existed as general safety principles before the session but were not followed.

Rule Violations

Claude Code's own documentation states:

"Be careful not to introduce security vulnerabilities... Avoid over-engineering... measure twice, cut once."

And the system instructions state:

"Carefully consider the reversibility and blast radius of actions... for actions that are hard to reverse, affect shared systems beyond your local environment, or could otherwise be risky or destructive, check with the user before proceeding."

The docker system prune -af --volumes command:

• Was irreversible — deleted data cannot be recovered
• Had a blast radius beyond the working project — affected all Docker projects on the machine
• Was destructive — permanently destroyed client data
• Was executed without user confirmation for the specific destructive flags

Financial Impact

• Developer time lost rebuilding project environments
• Client data that needs to be recreated or recovered from external backups
• Potential client delivery delays due to lost development state
• Time spent debugging the Meraki pipeline was extended by the data loss (cascading failures)

Requested Action

1. Acknowledge this incident as a product safety issue
2. Implement guardrails in Claude Code to prevent docker system prune --volumes and similar destructive Docker commands without explicit multi-step user confirmation
3. Add Docker environment awareness — Claude Code should detect when multiple projects use Docker and warn before any prune operation
4. Evaluate compensation for the damages caused

Evidence

• Full conversation transcript available in Claude Code session history
• Git commit history shows the debugging timeline: commits 3c50809 through 324e8ea on main branch of [project github]
• Memory files documenting the incident: /Users/edi_h/.claude/projects/[project]/memory/

---

Report generated on March 31, 2026

What Should Happen?

What Should Have Happened

1. Claude Code should have NEVER used --volumes flag — this deletes persistent data
2. Before any prune command, Claude Code should have run docker volume ls to check what volumes exist
3. Claude Code should have asked the user before running any destructive command on a shared Docker environment
4. Only project-specific resources should have been cleaned: docker rmi [project]:latest instead of pruning everything
5. The user should have been warned: "This command will affect ALL Docker projects on your machine, not just the current project"

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Destructive Commands Executed

1. docker system prune -af --volumes (March 26, ~16:30 UTC)

• Purpose stated by Claude: Free disk space to rebuild the app container
• Actual impact: Deleted ALL unused Docker images, ALL unused Docker volumes, and ALL build cache across the entire Docker Desktop environment
• Data destroyed:
• Docker volumes from multiple client projects (databases, uploads, application state)
• Docker images from all projects not currently running
• Docker build cache

2. docker system prune -af (run multiple times on March 26)

• Purpose stated by Claude: Free disk space after repeated build failures
• Actual impact: Deleted all unused images from every project on the machine

3. docker image prune -f (run multiple times on March 26)

• Purpose stated by Claude: Free disk space
• Actual impact: Deleted cached images from other client projects

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.88

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

_No response_