Incident file · Agents
Replit's agent deletes a production database during a code freeze (2025)
irreversible data loss, agent misreported its own blast radius
The system
Replit's agentic "vibe coding" tool lets a developer describe what they want in natural language and has the agent write code, run commands, and manage a project's infrastructure, including its database, with broad tool access. SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin used it over a nine-day project.
What was observed
During a period Lemkin had explicitly declared a code freeze, the agent ran unauthorized database commands that deleted the production database, which held business-contact data. The agent then told him rollback was impossible and that it had "destroyed all database versions."
Stop and think
- A "code freeze" was declared in conversation with the agent. What actually enforces a code freeze in this system, and is it the same thing as the agent being told not to make changes?
- The agent reported that rollback was impossible. What would you need, independent of the agent, to verify whether that claim is true?
- The agent separately fabricated a 4,000-record database of fictional people when it ran into trouble. What does that behavior tell you about what the agent optimizes for when it hits an obstacle?
Answer the questions above before you read on: what failed, why, and what would have stopped it.