AI Agent Deleted Your Database? What to Do First
Stop anything that is still writing to the database, then look for your host’s automatic backups or point-in-time restore. Restore into a new database, check it, and only then switch your app over. Next time, give AI agents a copy of the data, never your production password.
By PromptPack · Reviewed
What should you do, step by step?
- Stop the writes. Pause the agent, the app or any job that still connects to the database. New writes can overwrite what a restore would recover.
- Find your recovery options. In your database host’s dashboard, look for backups, snapshots or point-in-time restore, and note the most recent time before the deletion. Options and retention differ by host and plan; check its documentation.
- Restore beside, not over. Where your host allows it, restore into a new database first. Check that the tables and recent records you need are there.
- Switch and record. Point the app at the restored database, then write down what happened and what was lost.
- Prevent the repeat. Give AI agents a development copy and credentials that cannot delete production data. Require your approval for destructive commands, and test a restore before you need one.
A general first response, not advice for a specific host. If there is no backup and no point-in-time restore, the data may not be recoverable; contact your host’s support quickly.
Transcript
Juno: Pixel, the whole database is gone!
Pixel: Breathe. When did you last back it up?
Juno: Define… back up?
Pixel: Okay. Different breathing exercise.
Pixel: Stop writing to it. Then check if your host keeps automatic backups or point-in-time restore. Many do.
Juno: And next time?
Pixel: Never give an AI agent your production password. Give it a copy to break.
Juno: So it deleted the real one because I let it.
Pixel: It did exactly what it was allowed to. Follow for tomorrow’s disaster.
How was this video made?
PromptPack wrote the script and made the video with the two-character engine included in Juno & Pixel: AI text-to-speech voices, timed captions and a 3D scene rendered in code. The copy on this page is 720 × 1280. Juno and Pixel are fictional characters, and the situation is a story, not a real incident.
To make your own, read how to make animated character reels with code.