diff --git a/src/cli/run-main.profile-env.test.ts b/src/cli/run-main.profile-env.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cd3dde3a93d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/run-main.profile-env.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const dotenvState = vi.hoisted(() => {
+  const state = {
+    profileAtDotenvLoad: undefined as string | undefined,
+  };
+  return {
+    state,
+    loadDotEnv: vi.fn(() => {
+      state.profileAtDotenvLoad = process.env.OPENCLAW_PROFILE;
+    }),
+  };
+});
+
+vi.mock("../infra/dotenv.js", () => ({
+  loadDotEnv: dotenvState.loadDotEnv,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../infra/env.js", () => ({
+  normalizeEnv: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../infra/runtime-guard.js", () => ({
+  assertSupportedRuntime: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../infra/path-env.js", () => ({
+  ensureOpenClawCliOnPath: vi.fn(),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./route.js", () => ({
+  tryRouteCli: vi.fn(async () => true),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./windows-argv.js", () => ({
+  normalizeWindowsArgv: (argv: string[]) => argv,
+}));
+
+import { runCli } from "./run-main.js";
+
+describe("runCli profile env bootstrap", () => {
+  const originalProfile = process.env.OPENCLAW_PROFILE;
+  const originalStateDir = process.env.OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR;
+  const originalConfigPath = process.env.OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    delete process.env.OPENCLAW_PROFILE;
+    delete process.env.OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR;
+    delete process.env.OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH;
+    dotenvState.state.profileAtDotenvLoad = undefined;
+    dotenvState.loadDotEnv.mockClear();
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (originalProfile === undefined) {
+      delete process.env.OPENCLAW_PROFILE;
+    } else {
+      process.env.OPENCLAW_PROFILE = originalProfile;
+    }
+    if (originalStateDir === undefined) {
+      delete process.env.OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR;
+    } else {
+      process.env.OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR = originalStateDir;
+    }
+    if (originalConfigPath === undefined) {
+      delete process.env.OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH;
+    } else {
+      process.env.OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH = originalConfigPath;
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("applies --profile before dotenv loading", async () => {
+    await runCli(["node", "openclaw", "--profile", "rawdog", "status"]);
+
+    expect(dotenvState.loadDotEnv).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(dotenvState.state.profileAtDotenvLoad).toBe("rawdog");
+    expect(process.env.OPENCLAW_PROFILE).toBe("rawdog");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/cli/run-main.ts b/src/cli/run-main.ts
index 0d0eee78250..4f78c82bd4d 100644
--- a/src/cli/run-main.ts
+++ b/src/cli/run-main.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { assertSupportedRuntime } from "../infra/runtime-guard.js";
 import { installUnhandledRejectionHandler } from "../infra/unhandled-rejections.js";
 import { enableConsoleCapture } from "../logging.js";
 import { getCommandPath, getPrimaryCommand, hasHelpOrVersion } from "./argv.js";
+import { applyCliProfileEnv, parseCliProfileArgs } from "./profile.js";
 import { tryRouteCli } from "./route.js";
 import { normalizeWindowsArgv } from "./windows-argv.js";
 
@@ -62,7 +63,16 @@ export function shouldEnsureCliPath(argv: string[]): boolean {
 }
 
 export async function runCli(argv: string[] = process.argv) {
-  const normalizedArgv = normalizeWindowsArgv(argv);
+  let normalizedArgv = normalizeWindowsArgv(argv);
+  const parsedProfile = parseCliProfileArgs(normalizedArgv);
+  if (!parsedProfile.ok) {
+    throw new Error(parsedProfile.error);
+  }
+  if (parsedProfile.profile) {
+    applyCliProfileEnv({ profile: parsedProfile.profile });
+  }
+  normalizedArgv = parsedProfile.argv;
+
   loadDotEnv({ quiet: true });
   normalizeEnv();
   if (shouldEnsureCliPath(normalizedArgv)) {