> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.praxis-ai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Cloning a Digital Twin

> Make a second twin from an existing one — what comes along, what does not, and what to review before you share it.

Cloning creates a **new Digital Twin from an existing one**. Use it when you need a separate twin that starts from the same setup: a dedicated guest link for one audience, a variant with a different default assistant, a sandbox to try a change without touching the original.

<Info>
  **One thing, three names.** In these docs we call your assistant a **Digital Twin**. You will also see it called an **Instance** — on the **Instance Settings** panel, in the admin **Instances** list, and in your web address (`your-instance.praxislxp.com`) — and an **Institution**, which is what our software calls it behind the scenes (in API fields such as `institution`). All three mean exactly the same thing: one assistant, with its own knowledge, voice, members and settings. Which name you see depends on the screen you are on, not on what the thing is. An **Account** is different — it is the organisation that owns one or more Digital Twins.
</Info>

## When to clone instead of editing

A twin serves **one default assistant** and **one guest link**. If you want a second audience to land on a different assistant through its own link, changing the default on the original would change it for everyone who already has that link. A clone gives the second audience its own twin, its own link and its own default, and leaves the original untouched.

A typical shape is one original twin plus one clone per sponsor or program, each with its own guest link and default assistant. The clones share nothing at runtime: a change to one never reaches the others.

## How to clone

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Instances list">
    In the Admin dashboard go to **Instances**, find the twin, and choose **Clone** from its row menu. You need the `institutions.add` entitlement.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    There is nothing to fill in. The clone is created immediately and named `copy-1.<original name>` (the number increases if that name is taken).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the confirmation">
    The success message names the clone and, when the original had a guest link, tells you the clone's own link. Keep it: that is the address you will rename next.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What the clone gets

| Comes along                                                                                                                          | Does not come along                                                                                                                                    |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Every setting of the original: instructions, personality, models, voice and Convo settings, branding, UI options, authorized origins | The name — the clone is `copy-N.<original>` until you rename it                                                                                        |
| Integrations and cloud-service connections, with their credentials                                                                   | The guest link — the clone gets its own, `<original link>-copy-N`                                                                                      |
| Assistants (all of them, published or not), with the clone's default and Convo allow-list re-pointed at the copies                   | The public ID and the MCP secrets — regenerated, so existing embeds and integrations keep pointing at the original                                     |
| Custom AI models, MCP servers and onboarding questions                                                                               | Credits — the clone starts with a small starter balance, not the original's                                                                            |
|                                                                                                                                      | Users, memberships and conversation history — nobody is enrolled in the clone but you, with exactly the role and entitlements you hold on the original |
|                                                                                                                                      | Knowledge files: the vault is not copied                                                                                                               |

## What to review before you share the clone

Everything the original had is now on the clone, whether or not it belongs there. Go through the clone's settings once:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Rename it">
    Give it a real name under **Configuration → General**. Save this first.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the guest link">
    Under **Realtime / Convo → Convo Web Access Link** the clone shows its derived address (`nova-copy-1` for an original `nova`). Change it to the address you actually want to share, then **Update**. See [Guest Twin Links](/mdx/integrations/web/guest-links).

    <Warning>
      Two twins cannot share a guest link. Cloning gives the clone a free one automatically; if you paste the original's address into the clone the save is refused with a conflict.
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the default assistant">
    If the clone exists to serve one assistant, set it as the **default voice assistant** and, unless you want visitors to switch mid-conversation, leave **Allow switching assistant in Convo Mode** off. Unpublish or delete the assistants that do not belong to this audience.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn off what the audience should not have">
    Integrations, cloud services, connectors and MCP servers came across from the original. A narrowly scoped clone usually needs only a few of them. Disable the rest under **Configuration and Integrations** so the twin cannot reach data or tools that are irrelevant to its purpose.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check credits and knowledge">
    Assign credits to the clone (it starts with a small balance) and upload or share the knowledge files it should answer from — the original's vault did not come along.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  A clone that will only ever serve guests through its link needs no enrolled users at all. Configure it, test the link in a private window, then share the address.
</Tip>