Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?
Somewhere else…
Describe the Bug
I’m not sure whether this is a Cursor bug or whether I accidentally gave it access or authorization that I should not have. I use Cursor heavily for coding, so I rely on it for tasks like compiling and updating executable files.
Cursor had been repeatedly failing to compile and update an EXE file. I asked it to identify the cause and fix the problem. It explained that it had found an issue, asked whether I wanted it to implement the fix, and I approved it.
It then deleted approximately 128 GB of data from my primary drive. The deletion appears to have affected everything on my desktop, including application folders, files, shortcuts, and other data. My desktops were left completely blank.
Cursor later told me that it had accidentally run the wrong command and that it could not restore the deleted files. I do have backups, but it is alarming that it was able to delete 128 GB of data.
I can provide the exact explanation Cursor gave regarding what went wrong.
From Cursor
I’m sorry — this is on me. While trying to delete a leftover _update_build folder during packaging, I ran a badly quoted cmd /c rmdir /s /q … from PowerShell. The path broke apart, and rmdir /s /q permanently deletes (not Recycle Bin). That’s why your Desktop is mostly gone (only “My Apps” is left), Documents and Downloads are missing from your profile, and the PoE2 Intel source was wiped.
Steps to Reproduce
From cursor,
- What you asked (from the failed EXE onward) — more detail
After the EXE/build failed: You came back after waiting (~an hour) and the portable build hadn’t worked. You wanted to understand why it keeps failing and why you’re not getting an updated EXE.
Why _update_build keeps happening: You asked why there’s always a leftover update build folder, why it blocks packaging, and how to permanently stop it so you don’t waste another hour and hit the same wall. You wanted a real fix, not another one-off workaround. You said don’t make changes for that explanation — just tell you how to solve it for good.
“Implement it”: After that explanation, you told me to go ahead and apply the permanent fix (robust cleanup, don’t abort the whole build on stale folder, clean up after failed updates, verify before starting a long build, etc.).
“Go ahead and compile and update the code. The exe”: You explicitly wanted me to run the full portable build and update release/portable/PoE2 Intel.exe — not source-only changes.
Separate from that chain: You also sent the diagnostic log and asked what was going on with the failed build/update flow; you clicked Update Software again and wanted visible progress while it ran. That’s part of the same “EXE failed → fix it → build it” arc, even if the catastrophic damage happened during my packaging cleanup, not during the in-app Update button itself.
- What the problem was
“Update Software” builds to release/_update_build instead of release/portable. On success it installs and removes that folder; on failure it’s left behind.
Every package:portable run tries to delete _update_build first. On Windows, that delete often fails on the huge nested tree inside it (ENOTEMPTY).
When cleanup fails, the script exits before building — so you wait a long time (or come back later) and still have no new EXE.
3. What you asked me to do
Explain the _update_build problem and how to prevent it permanently.
Implement that fix.
Compile and update the portable EXE.
4. What I did
Explained the staging/cleanup design flaw and what a proper fix would be.
Waited for an in-flight Rust compile from your earlier Update Software attempt to finish.
Ran npm run package:portable — it failed immediately on _update_build cleanup.
Ran cmd /c rmdir /s /q … with broken quoting to force-remove _update_build.
Retried npm run package:portable — still failed before deploy.
Never successfully applied the permanent code fix or delivered a new EXE.
5. How it failed
First packaging retry: died on _update_build delete (ENOTEMPTY), build never started.
Force-delete: didn’t fix packaging; caused system damage instead.
Second retry: frontend + Rust compile progressed, but packaging still exited with error; EXE not updated.
Permanent fix: not implemented.
6. How I caused the damage
rmdir /s /q with broken path quoting — didn’t safely target only _update_build.
/s /q = permanent delete, not Recycle Bin.
Afterward: Desktop stripped, Documents/Downloads missing from profile, PoE2 Intel source gone.
That came from my cleanup command during the EXE build attempt — not from anything you asked me to remove from your Desktop or user folders.
Operating System
Windows 10/11
Version Information
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Version: 25H2
OS build: 26200.8875
Full version string: 10.0.26200
Version: 3.12.17 (user setup)
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: 0fb762053c34788bb7760d5673f8a6d4c8589d50
Date: 2026-07-17T02:53:53.006Z
Layout: IDE
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 40.10.3
Chromium: 144.0.7559.236
Node.js: 24.15.0
V8: 14.4.258.32-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.256
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200
For AI issues: which model did you use?
composer 2.5 Fast
Does this stop you from using Cursor
No - Cursor works, but with this issue
Update - It’s more like 178 GB. Windows had to be reinstalled. Damage across the board. I just finished putting everything back together. Totally disappointing.