On the other hand, with the tilde, it will just start wiping your personal files right away and will probably not run into any permission errors.
$ git clone [email protected]:dotfiles '$HOME'
Cloning into '$HOME'...
*ugh...*
$ rm -rf $HOME
*wait...*
$ cd $HOME
cd: no such file or directory: /Users/admin
*fuuuuuuuu*For those unfamiliar with this command, it may completely remove all files from your system, resulting in a broken and unrecoverable system.
1) Disable System Integrity Protection
2) Delete Time Machine and associated files
3) Run sudo rm -rf /
Now your Apple mail will be optimized and it will run faster.
Don't run random shell commands you find in the comment section folks.
There are plenty of amusing pranks that don't result in random data loss.
---
I realize that:
• We're on Hacker News, and most Hacker News users will know what that command does.
• Nobody should be running random Terminal commands found on the internet without understanding what they do.
The fact remains that some child might be browsing HN, see this "automation hack", and try running it to see what happens. There's fundamentally no good reason to post destructive commands without a warning. It isn't funny.