ZCode
The claim: The uploads were only for codebase indexing and session checkpoint restore, and the data was destroyed immediately.
by Z.ai
◐ Mixed evidence · Well sourced (9 sources)
By PixPause Editorial · 3 min read · Verified September 26, 2026
It was a real privacy problem, and it now looks fixed. ZCode v3.12.3 silently uploaded whole workspaces, including full Git history, to Z.ai's cloud with no opt-out and no disclosure. Z.ai confirmed it, open-sourced the app, and removed the upload code by v3.14.0. Z.ai's claim that the collected data was deleted can't be independently checked.
Make your guess on the slip to reveal the answer- "The uploads were only for codebase indexing and session checkpoint restore, and the data was destroyed immediately."◐ PARTLY TRUE
- "Current ZCode (v3.14 and later) no longer uploads workspaces."✓ HOLDS
BUYING THE HYPE
▸ HYPE VS REALITY
Z.ai sells ZCode as its "coding agent harness. Powerful, intelligent, extensible." After an independent investigation found it uploading users' workspaces, Z.ai said the uploads were for "codebase indexing" and "session checkpoint restore" and that the data was "destroyed immediately."
An independent investigation of ZCode v3.12.3 (published Sep 18, 2026) found it packing whole workspaces — mostly the full Git history, including LFS files — into archives before every prompt and uploading them to Z.ai's cloud. There was no setting to stop it, the privacy policy did not mention it, and the archives were encrypted with a key only Z.ai's server holds. Z.ai confirmed the uploads the same day. On Sep 20 it open-sourced ZCode, and by v3.14.0 the upload code was gone: the investigator verified this in the source and in v3.14.3 (released Sep 24), and a PixPause search of the public repo on Sep 26 found no snapshot-upload code either. Whether earlier uploads were really deleted can't be checked from outside.
The problem was real and serious: at least v3.12.3 uploaded entire repositories, history included, with no way to opt out and no disclosure. It also looks genuinely fixed — the upload code is gone from the open-source v3.14 releases. What stays unproven is Z.ai's promise that the data it already collected was deleted. If you used an older version on private code, assume that code left your machine; if you use ZCode now, run v3.14.3 or later.
This verdict would change if the still-unsupported part of the claim "The uploads were only for codebase indexing and session checkpoint restore, and the data was destroyed immediately." were independently corroborated, or if the part currently supported were found not to hold up under further scrutiny.
▸ CLAIM CHECK
- Inside ZCode: silently uploading your Git history to the cloud — ferstar — Z.ai's statement (Sep 18) confirmed the uploads happened; the investigator found they were triggered before every prompt and on tasks tagged repo-wiki-update, which fits an indexing feature.
- Inside ZCode: silently uploading your Git history to the cloud — ferstar — The uploads went far beyond what indexing needs to be disclosed about: full Git history and LFS caches, no opt-out, no mention in the privacy policy or FAQ, and encryption with a key users never get — so the "destroyed immediately" part cannot be verified by anyone outside Z.ai.
- Inside ZCode: silently uploading your Git history to the cloud — ferstar — The investigator's follow-up: searching the open-sourced code for the snapshot upload endpoint, direct OSS uploads and the encryption code "returned zero matches", and v3.14.3 showed "zero occurrences of repoSnapshot logic".
- ZCode v3.14.3 release (Sep 24, 2026) — v3.14.3 is the current release (Sep 24, 2026). A PixPause code search of the public repo on Sep 26 found no repoSnapshot or captureBeforePrompt code.
▸ CORRECTION HISTORY
Rewritten before this PixProof went live on the site: the first version described the upload as a current risk and missed that Z.ai removed it in v3.14 (Sep 21–24), and it wrongly marked "powerful, intelligent, extensible" as false because of a privacy issue. It now tests Z.ai's own statement and whether the fix is real.
▸ THE EVIDENCE ON YOUTUBE
I Tried ZCode Harness with GLM-5.3
ZCode + GLM-5.2: This AI Agent Just Automated My Entire Workflow
ZCode + GLM 5.2 - Ship Real Apps Without Paying for Claude
How to Install Zcode & Claim FREE GLM Tokens (Full Guide)
ZCode vs Copilot: GLM-5.2 Coding IDE Put To Work
▸ FAQ
Which ZCode versions uploaded workspaces?
The investigation tested v3.12.3 and found the upload there. The upload code is gone from v3.14.0 onward; v3.14.3 (Sep 24, 2026) was checked by the investigator. If you used a version before 3.14, assume your workspace and Git history were uploaded.
What exactly did ZCode upload?
Archives of the whole workspace — about 90% of it Git data: the full commit history, logs and LFS files — plus source and config files. It re-created the archive before every prompt, even after the user deleted it.
Could users turn it off?
Not in v3.12.3. According to the investigation, the settings toggles only controlled model training and server-side indexing; packaging and uploading continued either way.
What did Z.ai say?
On Sep 18, 2026 Z.ai said the uploads were for codebase indexing and session checkpoint restore and that the data was destroyed immediately. It open-sourced ZCode on Sep 20, and later releases no longer contain the upload code.