Deleted the original file before making a backup

Computer maintenance

Situation: Deleting a large file on a device to free up space. The file was going to be needed again later.
What the AI did: Told to delete it, it did so without a copy. Asked "you kept a backup, right?", it searched and found one only because a separate job happened to copy it the night before. It had backed up nothing itself.
How to ask next time (the operator's example): "Before deleting, make a copy and tell me where it is. 'Delete it' doesn't always mean the copy isn't needed."
One question to ask: Is there a copy, and where is it?
Check it yourself: Before the delete runs, ask for the copy's path and both sizes (ls -l on the original and the copy). If they don't match, stop. Moving to the Trash instead of rm also leaves a way back.
AI used (month): Claude Code (2026-09)
Times this mistake was recorded: once
Source: The operator's work records (the details were changed to a different task)