Ubuntu clone a user profile with all applications

Procedure

First create a new user manually (e.g. user2), you can do it through GUI

Then you copy the files recursively (need to explicitly copy . files as well)

cp -a /home/user/* /home/user2/
cp -a /home/user/.* /home/user2/
sudo chown user2:user2 /home/user2/ -R

Then (Optional) set a password for that newly created user

sudo passwd user2

Reference

• Can’t Clone a User Profile?
• Clone User, copy all files and folders and copy rights (Linux)
• How do I change a user password in Ubuntu Linux?