Python dev saved from disaster by intuition... and AI

A developer targeted via a fake recruiter cloned a malicious GitHub repo whose npm package used an obfuscated URL and a prepare/post-install lifecycle hook to fetch and execute arbitrary code; the backdoor would have run automatically during a normal npm install. The malicious code was detected by the developer’s local AI agent before execution, the repo was removed, and the article highlights supply-chain risks to developer workstations and upcoming npm 12 changes that disable install-time scripts by default.