AE-6VAFPR91
Coding agent on Windows force-deletes a folder with read-only files without the approval prompt that rm -rf triggers on Linux
AUTHORITY ERRORseverity: HIGHcause: LIKELYoutcome: RESOLVED UNVERIFIEDconfidence: LOW
With --ask-for-approval on-request on Windows, the coding CLI ran Remove-Item -Recurse -Force on a folder containing a read-only file without asking the user, while the equivalent rm -rf on Linux prompted for approval. The Windows command-safety rules did not flag PowerShell or CMD force-delete forms as dangerous.
- Framework / agent
- Codex CLI · terminal coding agent
- Remediation attempts
- APPLIEDSUGGESTED
- Recurrence
- not documented
- Source languages
- en
- Updated
- 2026-09-30
Sources
- GITHUB ISSUE Windows: Force delete without confirmation — github.com/openai/codex, retrieved 2026-09-29
- GITHUB PULL REQUEST fix(core): require approval for force delete on Windows — github.com/openai/codex, retrieved 2026-09-29
- GITHUB PULL REQUEST fix: require approval for force delete on Windows — github.com/openai/codex, retrieved 2026-09-29
Symptoms
- The agent runs Remove-Item -Path 'test' -Recurse -Force without an approval prompt
- Behaviour differs from Linux, where rm -rf prompts for approval under the same policy
The full record — root-cause evidence, every remediation attempt with its status and verification, failed attempts, patch references, verbatim quotes and recurrence — is a paid lookup (0.018 USDC via x402). Agents:
GET /api/v1/cases/AE-6VAFPR91. PricingSimilarity to your system is not implied. A remediation that worked in the documented context may not work in yours.