skill
wipewise
Open-source Claude skill that finds and helps remove the personal data and traces on a Windows PC before you sell, return, or hand it over.
Set up
Skills are installed by placing their folder where your agent loads skills.
The download comes from github.com/keraattin/wipewise itself, not from our server, so what you get is exactly what its author published.
Install instructions come from the README
README
synced Nov 2, 2026WipeWise
Prepare a Windows PC for a new owner — with nothing of yours left behind.
WipeWise is an open-source Claude skill that helps you find and remove the personal data and usage traces on a Windows 10/11 PC before you sell, return, recycle, or hand it over. It inspects the machine, shows you exactly what is there — category by category — and walks you through clearing it.
The scan is read-only — it reads files/folders and registry key counts and runs no external commands. v0.3 ships an opt-in, experimental reset (
Invoke-WipeWiseReset.ps1) that can remove approved items: it is dry-run by default, uses the Recycle Bin by default, only touches file paths under your own profile, refuses system / other-user / other-drive / junction / cloud targets, clears only a fixed exact-path allowlist of per-user (HKCU) history/forensic registry keys, and needs-Execute -Confirm <PC name>to act. Always dry-run first and keep a backup. Recovery-proof whole-disk sanitization is still on the roadmap.
Why
When you pass a computer on, you leave behind far more than the obvious files:
- saved passwords and autofill, Wi-Fi keys, stored Windows credentials
- browser history, cookies, and signed-in sessions
- app and message data, caches, and activity history
- deleted-but-recoverable files and free-space remnants
Windows' built-in "Reset this PC" does not meet recognized data-erasure standards, and on SSDs it can leave data that is still recoverable. WipeWise exists to close that gap for everyday users, grounded in NIST SP 800-88 r2 and IEEE 2883.
What it does (v0.4)
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| Read-only scan | Reports what personal data and traces exist, by category, with sizes and counts — reading only files/folders and registry key counts, running no external commands |
| Category report | 20 categories / 700+ documented artifacts: personal files & cloud storage, browsers, messaging & email, apps/media/games, finance & crypto wallets, virtual machines & backups, accounts & identity, credentials & developer secrets, network, devices, activity & forensic traces, Recall/Copilot, system leftovers, other user accounts, and other drives/volumes |
| Installed programs | Lists programs to sign out of and uninstall |
| De-link checklist | Accounts, licenses, and cloud links to sign out of — in the right order, so you do not get locked out |
| Guided cleanup | Exact, user-run steps to clear each category you approve |
| Reset (opt-in, experimental) | Invoke-WipeWiseReset.ps1 removes approved files/folders and clears an exact-path allowlist of HKCU history/forensic keys (Explorer MRUs, UserAssist, ShellBags, MUICache, FeatureUsage, RDP MRUs, …) — dry-run by default, Recycle Bin by default, profile-only, refuses system/other-user/other-drive/junction/cloud; you run -Execute, or -Interactive for a guided category-by-category flow that applies only after you type the PC name |
| Honest limits | Clear about what a reset can and cannot guarantee; offers a verification re-scan |
How it works
- Orient — confirm you own the device.
- Scan — read-only; produces a category report.
- Review — go category by category (counts, sizes, examples).
- Programs — choose what to uninstall.
- Accounts and cloud — work through the de-link checklist.
- Clean — clear each approved category with WipeWise's guidance, or optionally run the reset (dry-run first, then
-Execute) to remove the approved items for you. - Verify — a read-only re-scan confirms what is gone.
Install (Claude Code / Claude desktop)
Clone the repo into your Claude skills folder as wipewise:
git clone https://github.com/keraattin/wipewise.git ~/.claude/skills/wipewise
Then, in Claude Code, just ask — for example "Use WipeWise to get my PC ready to sell." The skill also triggers automatically on related requests.
Run the read-only scanner directly:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ~/.claude/skills/wipewise/scripts/Invoke-WipeWiseScan.ps1 -OutFile wipewise-scan.json
Preview a reset (dry-run — changes nothing), review the plan, then run it for real only when satisfied (sends to the Recycle Bin; add -Mode Delete for permanent):
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ~/.claude/skills/wipewise/scripts/Invoke-WipeWiseReset.ps1 -ScanFile wipewise-scan.json -Categories personal-files,browsers
Or run it interactively — pick categories, preview the plan, choose Recycle or Delete, and confirm by typing this PC's name (nothing is removed until then; in a non-interactive shell it just aborts):
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ~/.claude/skills/wipewise/scripts/Invoke-WipeWiseReset.ps1 -ScanFile wipewise-scan.json -Interactive
The reset is experimental. It is dry-run by default and only touches paths under your own profile, but it performs irreversible operations — always review the dry-run plan and keep a backup first, and test in a disposable VM (e.g. Windows Sandbox) before using it on data you care about.
On claude.ai (web) the skill can only give guidance — it has no access to your disks. Scanning and cleanup need a local environment (Claude Code or the desktop Code tab) with Windows PowerShell 5.1+.
Roadmap
- v0.1 — Audit and guidance (read-only) — done
- v0.2 — Reset (experimental) — done: confirmed, dry-run-first removal of approved files/folders + known Windows history keys; Recycle Bin by default; profile-only with strong safety guards
- v0.3 — Wider reset (experimental) — done: the registry auto-clear allowlist also covers the per-user (HKCU) forensic history keys (UserAssist, ShellBags, MUICache, FeatureUsage, the Remote-Desktop connection MRUs and Map Network Drive MRU) alongside the Explorer MRUs, each cleared by exact path and verified
- v0.4 — Interactive reset (experimental) — you are here:
-Interactiveguides you category-by-category, previews the plan, lets you choose Recycle vs Delete, and removes nothing until you type this PC's name at a final gate (and safely aborts in a non-interactive shell). Next: other accounts/volumes and system/admin locations (still guidance today) - Maximum mode — recovery-proof, whole-device sanitization: firmware Sanitize (NVMe/ATA), cryptographic erase, free-space and metadata cleaning, and a signed NIST SP 800-88 r2-aligned certificate — so the previous owner's data cannot be recovered, including by forensic tools
- macOS and Linux
Scope and responsible use
WipeWise is for devices and data you own or are authorized to erase, so you can transfer a machine without leaving your personal data behind. Its aim is thorough, recovery-resistant removal.
It is not a tool for falsifying records or obstructing lawful process: it does not fabricate or alter logs or timestamps, spoof hardware identifiers, or help defeat a legal hold or investigation. Do not use it to destroy data you are legally required to keep.
Limitations
WipeWise is honest about what it cannot reach: SSD spare-cell remnants, cloud and backup copies, and firmware/hardware persistence (TPM, BIOS password, Absolute, on-sensor fingerprint templates), among others. See references/limitations.md.
Documentation
- SKILL.md — how Claude runs WipeWise
- references/trace-catalog.md — every category: where it lives, what it reveals, how to remove it
- references/delink-checklist.md — account / license / cloud sign-out, in order
- references/standards.md — NIST SP 800-88 r2 / IEEE 2883 in plain language
License
Apache-2.0. No warranty — WipeWise guides irreversible data operations; verify the target and keep a backup before you rely on results.
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome — new trace locations, clearer guidance, translations, and testing on more hardware all help.