diff --git a/hermes_cli/main.py b/hermes_cli/main.py
index 3d716e8ef..71f35c195 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/main.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/main.py
@@ -9860,19 +9860,20 @@ def cmd_profile(args):
 
         try:
             clone_from = getattr(args, "clone_from", None)
+            clone_config = clone or clone_from is not None
 
             profile_dir = create_profile(
                 name=name,
                 clone_from=clone_from,
                 clone_all=clone_all,
-                clone_config=clone,
+                clone_config=clone_config,
                 no_alias=no_alias,
                 no_skills=no_skills,
                 description=getattr(args, "description", None),
             )
             print(f"\nProfile '{name}' created at {profile_dir}")
 
-            if clone or clone_all:
+            if clone_config or clone_all:
                 source_label = (
                     getattr(args, "clone_from", None) or get_active_profile_name()
                 )
@@ -9886,8 +9887,8 @@ def cmd_profile(args):
                         f"Cloned config, .env, SOUL.md, and skills from {source_label}."
                     )
 
-            # Auto-clone Honcho config for the new profile (only with --clone/--clone-all)
-            if clone or clone_all:
+            # Auto-clone Honcho config for the new profile (only with clone operations)
+            if clone_config or clone_all:
                 try:
                     from plugins.memory.honcho.cli import clone_honcho_for_profile
 
@@ -9896,10 +9897,10 @@ def cmd_profile(args):
                 except Exception:
                     pass  # Honcho plugin not installed or not configured
 
-            # Seed bundled skills (skip if --clone-all already copied them, or
-            # if --no-skills was passed — in which case seed_profile_skills()
-            # honors the marker file and returns skipped_opt_out=True).
-            if not clone_all:
+            # Seed bundled skills for fresh profiles only. Clone operations
+            # already copied the source profile's skills, including any
+            # user-installed or intentionally removed skills.
+            if not (clone_config or clone_all):
                 result = seed_profile_skills(profile_dir)
                 if result and result.get("skipped_opt_out"):
                     print(
diff --git a/hermes_cli/profiles.py b/hermes_cli/profiles.py
index b1bec337e..7617089c0 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/profiles.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/profiles.py
@@ -784,9 +784,9 @@ def create_profile(
     Path
         The newly created profile directory.
     """
-    if no_skills and (clone_config or clone_all):
+    if no_skills and (clone_from is not None or clone_config or clone_all):
         raise ValueError(
-            "--no-skills is mutually exclusive with --clone / --clone-all "
+            "--no-skills is mutually exclusive with --clone / --clone-from / --clone-all "
             "(cloning explicitly copies skills from the source profile)."
         )
     canon = normalize_profile_name(name)
diff --git a/hermes_cli/subcommands/profile.py b/hermes_cli/subcommands/profile.py
index 5c6f98a03..d812fadf9 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/subcommands/profile.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/subcommands/profile.py
@@ -35,17 +35,17 @@ def build_profile_parser(subparsers, *, cmd_profile: Callable) -> None:
     profile_create.add_argument(
         "--clone",
         action="store_true",
-        help="Copy config.yaml, .env, SOUL.md from active profile",
+        help="Copy config.yaml, .env, SOUL.md, and skills from active profile",
     )
     profile_create.add_argument(
         "--clone-all",
         action="store_true",
-        help="Full copy of active profile (all state)",
+        help="Full copy of active profile (all state, excluding per-profile history)",
     )
     profile_create.add_argument(
         "--clone-from",
         metavar="SOURCE",
-        help="Source profile to clone from (default: active)",
+        help="Source profile to clone from; implies --clone unless --clone-all is set",
     )
     profile_create.add_argument(
         "--no-alias", action="store_true", help="Skip wrapper script creation"
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md b/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md
index 9cd9be744..3071ac0e5 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/cli-commands.md
@@ -1396,7 +1396,7 @@ Manage profiles — multiple isolated Hermes instances, each with its own config
 |------------|-------------|
 | `list` | List all profiles. |
 | `use <name>` | Set a sticky default profile. |
-| `create <name> [--clone] [--clone-all] [--clone-from <source>] [--no-alias]` | Create a new profile. `--clone` copies config, `.env`, and `SOUL.md` from the active profile. `--clone-all` copies all state. `--clone-from` specifies a source profile. |
+| `create <name> [--clone] [--clone-all] [--clone-from <source>] [--no-alias]` | Create a new profile. `--clone` copies config, `.env`, `SOUL.md`, and skills from the active profile. `--clone-all` copies all state. `--clone-from` specifies a source profile and implies config clone unless paired with `--clone-all`. |
 | `delete <name> [-y]` | Delete a profile. |
 | `show <name>` | Show profile details (home directory, config, etc.). |
 | `alias <name> [--remove] [--name NAME]` | Manage wrapper scripts for quick profile access. |
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/faq.md b/website/docs/reference/faq.md
index 36665410a..75e49b2a2 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/faq.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/faq.md
@@ -634,7 +634,7 @@ No. Each messaging platform (Telegram, Discord, etc.) requires exclusive access
 
 ### Do profiles share memory or sessions?
 
-No. Each profile has its own memory store, session database, and skills directory. They are completely isolated. If you want to start a new profile with existing memories and sessions, use `hermes profile create newname --clone-all` to copy everything from the current profile.
+No. Each profile has its own memory store, session database, and skills directory. They are completely isolated. If you want to start a new profile with existing memories and sessions, use `hermes profile create newname --clone-all` to copy everything from the current profile, or add `--clone-from <profile>` to copy from a specific source profile.
 
 ### What happens when I run `hermes update`?
 
diff --git a/website/docs/reference/profile-commands.md b/website/docs/reference/profile-commands.md
index a1b09ed9a..678e51806 100644
--- a/website/docs/reference/profile-commands.md
+++ b/website/docs/reference/profile-commands.md
@@ -80,12 +80,12 @@ Creates a new profile.
 | Argument / Option | Description |
 |-------------------|-------------|
 | `<name>` | Name for the new profile. Must be a valid directory name (alphanumeric, hyphens, underscores). |
-| `--clone` | Copy `config.yaml`, `.env`, and `SOUL.md` from the current profile. |
+| `--clone` | Copy `config.yaml`, `.env`, `SOUL.md`, and skills from the current profile. |
 | `--clone-all` | Copy everything (config, memories, skills, cron, plugins) from the current profile. Excludes per-profile history: sessions, `state.db`, backups, state-snapshots, checkpoints. |
-| `--clone-from <profile>` | Clone from a specific profile instead of the current one. Used with `--clone` or `--clone-all`. |
+| `--clone-from <profile>` | Clone config/skills/SOUL from a specific profile instead of the current one. Implies `--clone` unless paired with `--clone-all`. |
 | `--no-alias` | Skip wrapper script creation. |
 | `--description "<text>"` | One- or two-sentence description of what this profile is good at. Used by the kanban orchestrator to route tasks based on role instead of profile name alone. Skip and add later via `hermes profile describe`. Persisted in `<profile_dir>/profile.yaml`. |
-| `--no-skills` | Create an **empty** profile with zero bundled skills enabled. Writes a `.no-bundled-skills` marker into the profile so future `hermes update` runs won't re-seed the bundled set, and refuses to combine with `--clone` / `--clone-all` (which would copy skills in anyway). Useful for narrow orchestrator profiles or sandbox profiles that should not inherit the full skill catalog. To toggle this on an already-created profile (including the default `~/.hermes`), use `hermes skills opt-out` / `hermes skills opt-in`. |
+| `--no-skills` | Create an **empty** profile with zero bundled skills enabled. Writes a `.no-bundled-skills` marker into the profile so future `hermes update` runs won't re-seed the bundled set, and refuses to combine with `--clone`, `--clone-from`, or `--clone-all` (which would copy skills in anyway). Useful for narrow orchestrator profiles or sandbox profiles that should not inherit the full skill catalog. To toggle this on an already-created profile (including the default `~/.hermes`), use `hermes skills opt-out` / `hermes skills opt-in`. |
 
 Creating a profile does **not** make that profile directory the default project/workspace directory for terminal commands. If you want a profile to start in a specific project, set `terminal.cwd` in that profile's `config.yaml`.
 
@@ -102,7 +102,10 @@ hermes profile create work --clone
 hermes profile create backup --clone-all
 
 # Clone config from a specific profile
-hermes profile create work2 --clone --clone-from work
+hermes profile create work2 --clone-from work
+
+# Clone everything from a specific profile
+hermes profile create work2-backup --clone-from work --clone-all
 ```
 
 ## `hermes profile describe`
diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/profiles.md b/website/docs/user-guide/profiles.md
index 6e583db2b..f2cfeac54 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/profiles.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/profiles.md
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ You can also set or auto-generate the description later with `hermes profile des
 hermes profile create work --clone
 ```
 
-Copies your current profile's `config.yaml`, `.env`, and `SOUL.md` into the new profile. Same API keys and model, but fresh sessions and memory. Edit `~/.hermes/profiles/work/.env` for different API keys, or `~/.hermes/profiles/work/SOUL.md` for a different personality.
+Copies your current profile's `config.yaml`, `.env`, `SOUL.md`, and skills into the new profile. Same API keys, model, and capabilities, but fresh sessions and memory. Edit `~/.hermes/profiles/work/.env` for different API keys, or `~/.hermes/profiles/work/SOUL.md` for a different personality.
 
 ### Clone everything (`--clone-all`)
 
@@ -63,11 +63,17 @@ Copies **everything** — config, API keys, personality, all memories, skills, c
 ### Clone from a specific profile
 
 ```bash
-hermes profile create work --clone --clone-from coder
+hermes profile create work --clone-from coder
+```
+
+`--clone-from <source>` selects the source profile directly and implies a config/skills/SOUL clone. Combine it with `--clone-all` when you want a full copy of that source profile:
+
+```bash
+hermes profile create work-backup --clone-from coder --clone-all
 ```
 
 :::tip Honcho memory + profiles
-When Honcho is enabled, `--clone` automatically creates a dedicated AI peer for the new profile while sharing the same user workspace. Each profile builds its own observations and identity. See [Honcho -- Multi-agent / Profiles](./features/memory-providers.md#honcho) for details.
+When Honcho is enabled, clone operations automatically create a dedicated AI peer for the new profile while sharing the same user workspace. Each profile builds its own observations and identity. See [Honcho -- Multi-agent / Profiles](./features/memory-providers.md#honcho) for details.
 :::
 
 ## Using profiles