Short, practical guides for ChatGPT Work, Claude Cowork and other AI tools that edit your files - what to do when something goes wrong, and how to set up so the next time doesn’t scare you.
Start here. 9 guides on protecting folders ChatGPT Work edits, undoing changes, and setting it up safely.
ChatGPT Work guides8 guides on reviewing what Cowork changed, keeping the good edits, and undoing the rest.
Set up Claude Cowork protectionSomething already went wrong. Fast, panic-friendly steps to see what changed and take it back.
Hub guide: review what Claude Cowork changed, keep the good edits, undo the bad ones - file by file.
Read guideFirst-aid checklist when Claude wipes files: Trash, Finder search, cloud history, Time Machine, editor history - and what to do next.
Read guideCursor's built-in checkpoints come first. Then OS recovery. Then a folder-level safety net for next time.
Read guideWhy /rewind sometimes leaves files behind, and what to check before you assume the work is gone.
Read guideCowork-specific recovery: what to check first, what works if snapshots were running, and what to do if they weren't.
Read guideWhen a Cowork cleanup moves, renames, or groups the wrong files - what's recoverable, and how to roll the folder back.
Read guideBefore you restore anything: see exactly which files Claude Cowork touched and what they looked like before.
Read guideAn unattended Cowork run touched files - here's how to see what changed, recover what you can, and lock down the next one.
Read guideKeep the edit you asked for, undo the one you didn't. How to review and roll back what ChatGPT Work changed in a Mac folder - file by file.
Read guideThe honest, conditional answer - plus every place on your Mac a "deleted" file might still be, and what recovers it if a snapshot exists.
Read guideThe chat summary isn't a file history. How to see every file ChatGPT Work added, changed, or deleted - and view any of them as they were before.
Read guideWhen a ChatGPT Work cleanup moves, renames, or regroups the wrong files - what's recoverable, and how to roll the folder back cleanly.
Read guideAn unattended or scheduled ChatGPT Work run touched files. How to find the time window, review everything, keep the good, and reverse the rest.
Read guideDurable, tool-agnostic guides on protecting your work before you hand a folder to any AI.
Five ways to protect a folder before an AI touches it - duplicating, Time Machine, cloud history, Git, and automatic snapshots - and when each is enough.
Read guideUploading, cloud Work, local Work, Codex, Google files - what each can and can't touch on your Mac, and what folder access really means.
Read guideThe durable playbook for letting ChatGPT, Claude, or any agent tidy a folder: test small, define rules, review the plan, snapshot, and roll back if needed.
Read guideGet set up the calm way - scope a folder, run a test task, and know what to check after.
You don't need to learn Git to be safe. Here's a non-developer setup that gives you the same undo button developers rely on.
Read guideA short pre-flight checklist for any Cowork task that touches a folder you care about - Desktop, Downloads, client work.
Read guideA calm, practical setup for giving ChatGPT Work folder access without losing sleep: scope, test tasks, snapshots, and what to check after.
Read guideTwelve real, non-technical ChatGPT Work tasks - inputs, expected output, a prompt to start from, and what to protect before you run each one.
Read guideHonest, checked comparisons of the tools and modes, so you can pick what fits your work.
Plain-English guide to the three ways to use ChatGPT for real work - which touches local files, and when a folder safety net actually matters.
Read guideA calm, checked comparison for non-developers: audience, local file access, documents, scheduling, and how a folder safety net fits either one.
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