diff --git a/src/commands/proxy-command.ts b/src/commands/proxy-command.ts
index 336472f0..5a2451c1 100644
--- a/src/commands/proxy-command.ts
+++ b/src/commands/proxy-command.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,20 @@ function parseOptionValue(args: string[], key: string): string | undefined {
   return withEquals ? withEquals.slice(prefix.length) : undefined;
 }
 
+function findPositionalArg(args: string[], optionsWithValues: string[] = []): string | undefined {
+  for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i += 1) {
+    const arg = args[i];
+    if (arg.startsWith('-')) {
+      if (optionsWithValues.includes(arg)) {
+        i += 1;
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+    return arg;
+  }
+  return undefined;
+}
+
 function showHelp(): number {
   console.log('OpenAI-Compatible Proxy');
   console.log('');
@@ -63,7 +77,7 @@ function resolveProfile(profileName: string) {
 }
 
 async function handleStart(args: string[]): Promise<number> {
-  const profileName = args.find((arg) => !arg.startsWith('-'));
+  const profileName = findPositionalArg(args, ['--port', '--host']);
   if (!profileName) {
     console.error(
       fail('Usage: ccs proxy start <profile> [--port <n>] [--host <addr>] [--insecure]')
@@ -102,7 +116,7 @@ async function handleStart(args: string[]): Promise<number> {
 }
 
 async function handleStatus(args: string[] = []): Promise<number> {
-  const profileName = args.find((arg) => !arg.startsWith('-'));
+  const profileName = findPositionalArg(args);
   const running = profileName
     ? [await getOpenAICompatProxyStatus(profileName)].filter((status) => status.running)
     : (await listOpenAICompatProxyStatuses()).filter((status) => status.running);
@@ -130,12 +144,7 @@ async function handleStatus(args: string[] = []): Promise<number> {
 }
 
 async function handleActivate(args: string[]): Promise<number> {
-  const profileName = args.find((arg) => !arg.startsWith('-'));
-  const status = await getOpenAICompatProxyStatus(profileName);
-  if (!status.running || !status.profileName || !status.port || !status.authToken) {
-    console.error(fail('Proxy is not running. Start it with: ccs proxy start <profile>'));
-    return 1;
-  }
+  const profileName = findPositionalArg(args, ['--shell']);
   if (!profileName) {
     const running = (await listOpenAICompatProxyStatuses()).filter((entry) => entry.running);
     if (running.length > 1) {
@@ -145,6 +154,11 @@ async function handleActivate(args: string[]): Promise<number> {
       return 1;
     }
   }
+  const status = await getOpenAICompatProxyStatus(profileName);
+  if (!status.running || !status.profileName || !status.port || !status.authToken) {
+    console.error(fail('Proxy is not running. Start it with: ccs proxy start <profile>'));
+    return 1;
+  }
 
   const shell = detectShell(args.includes('--fish') ? 'fish' : parseOptionValue(args, '--shell'));
   let profile;
diff --git a/src/proxy/proxy-daemon.ts b/src/proxy/proxy-daemon.ts
index b2cf668c..ac3f3599 100644
--- a/src/proxy/proxy-daemon.ts
+++ b/src/proxy/proxy-daemon.ts
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ export async function getOpenAICompatProxyStatus(
   const statuses = await listOpenAICompatProxyStatuses();
   const running = statuses.filter((status) => status.running);
   if (running.length === 1) {
-    return running[0] || { running: false };
+    return running[0];
   }
   if (running.length > 1) {
     return { running: true };
diff --git a/tests/e2e/proxy-command.e2e.test.ts b/tests/e2e/proxy-command.e2e.test.ts
index 021a0919..47029bb5 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/proxy-command.e2e.test.ts
+++ b/tests/e2e/proxy-command.e2e.test.ts
@@ -107,4 +107,50 @@ describe('proxy command e2e', () => {
     const stopped = runCli(['proxy', 'stop']);
     expect(stopped.status).toBe(0);
   }, 35000);
+
+  it('requires an explicit profile when activating with multiple running proxies', async () => {
+    const firstPort = await getPort();
+    const ccsDir = path.join(tempDir, '.ccs');
+    fs.mkdirSync(ccsDir, { recursive: true });
+    const firstSettingsPath = path.join(ccsDir, 'ccg.settings.json');
+    const secondSettingsPath = path.join(ccsDir, 'ccgm.settings.json');
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(ccsDir, 'config.json'),
+      JSON.stringify({ profiles: { ccg: firstSettingsPath, ccgm: secondSettingsPath } }, null, 2),
+      'utf8'
+    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      firstSettingsPath,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        env: {
+          ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: 'http://127.0.0.1:11434',
+          ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: 'ollama-ccg',
+          ANTHROPIC_MODEL: 'qwen3-coder',
+          CCS_DROID_PROVIDER: 'generic-chat-completion-api',
+        },
+      }),
+      'utf8'
+    );
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      secondSettingsPath,
+      JSON.stringify({
+        env: {
+          ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: 'https://api.openai.com/v1',
+          ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: 'sk-ccgm',
+          ANTHROPIC_MODEL: 'gpt-4.1',
+        },
+      }),
+      'utf8'
+    );
+
+    expect(runCli(['proxy', 'start', 'ccg', '--port', String(firstPort)]).status).toBe(0);
+    const secondPort = await getPort();
+    expect(runCli(['proxy', 'start', 'ccgm', '--port', String(secondPort)]).status).toBe(0);
+
+    const activate = runCli(['proxy', 'activate', '--shell', 'bash']);
+    expect(activate.status).toBe(1);
+    expect(activate.stderr).toContain(
+      'Multiple proxies are running. Specify a profile: ccs proxy activate <profile>'
+    );
+  }, 35000);
 });