diff --git a/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md b/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md
index a07b8820902..7dcae4c7b12 100644
--- a/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/NEXT_CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
 * `databricks auth profiles --skip-validate` no longer makes any network calls; the host metadata fetch is skipped along with validation ([#5530](https://github.com/databricks/cli/pull/5530)).
 
 
-
 ### Bundles
 * Set the default `data_security_mode` to `DATA_SECURITY_MODE_AUTO` in bundle templates ([#5452](https://github.com/databricks/cli/pull/5452)).
 * Mark vector search index index_subtype as backend_default to prevent drift after deployment ([#5454](https://github.com/databricks/cli/pull/5454)).
diff --git a/cmd/root/auth.go b/cmd/root/auth.go
index 6a85b52713b..fb766e926bc 100644
--- a/cmd/root/auth.go
+++ b/cmd/root/auth.go
@@ -79,16 +79,26 @@ func patSPOGNoWorkspaceIDError(profileName string) error {
 // client so account-only profiles still describe cleanly.
 type ErrAccountOnlyProfile struct {
 	profileName string
+	// host is the profile's canonical host name (config.CanonicalHostName);
+	// IsClassicAccountHost only matches the canonical form.
+	host string
 }
 
 func (e ErrAccountOnlyProfile) Error() string {
+	// A classic account console host serves no workspace APIs at all, so the
+	// generic "set workspace_id" advice below can never make workspace
+	// commands work there; following it is how broken profiles get created
+	// (https://github.com/databricks/cli/issues/5479).
+	if auth.IsClassicAccountHost(e.host) {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("profile %q points to a Databricks account console host (%s), which serves only account-level APIs; this command requires a workspace. Run `databricks auth login --host https://<workspace-url>` to create a workspace profile, or use `databricks account ...` commands with this profile", e.profileName, e.host)
+	}
 	return fmt.Sprintf("profile %q has no workspace_id set (account-only); this command requires a workspace. Edit the profile to set workspace_id to a real ID, or pass --profile with a workspace-scoped profile", e.profileName)
 }
 
 // accountOnlyProfileError describes why a workspace command can't run against
 // a profile that has an account_id but no workspace_id.
-func accountOnlyProfileError(profileName string) error {
-	return ErrAccountOnlyProfile{profileName: profileName}
+func accountOnlyProfileError(cfg *config.Config) error {
+	return ErrAccountOnlyProfile{profileName: cfg.Profile, host: cfg.CanonicalHostName()}
 }
 
 func profileFlagValue(cmd *cobra.Command) (string, bool) {
@@ -245,7 +255,7 @@ func workspaceClientOrPrompt(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.Config, allowPromp
 		// can recognize ErrAccountOnlyProfile and fall through to the account
 		// client; the PAT-on-SPOG check below handles the remaining cases
 		// (env-var-only configs and profiles without account_id resolved).
-		return nil, accountOnlyProfileError(cfg.Profile)
+		return nil, accountOnlyProfileError(cfg)
 	}
 	if err == nil && isPATOnSPOGWithoutWorkspaceID(cfg) {
 		// PATs are workspace-scoped. On a SPOG host without workspace_id the
diff --git a/cmd/root/auth_test.go b/cmd/root/auth_test.go
index 4187b6525d1..e2c86786523 100644
--- a/cmd/root/auth_test.go
+++ b/cmd/root/auth_test.go
@@ -549,6 +549,57 @@ func TestWorkspaceClientOrPromptRejectsAccountOnlyProfile(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestErrAccountOnlyProfileMessage(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		err  ErrAccountOnlyProfile
+		want string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "account console host",
+			err:  ErrAccountOnlyProfile{profileName: "acc", host: "https://accounts.test"},
+			want: "profile \"acc\" points to a Databricks account console host (https://accounts.test), which serves only account-level APIs; " +
+				"this command requires a workspace. Run `databricks auth login --host https://<workspace-url>` to create a workspace profile, " +
+				"or use `databricks account ...` commands with this profile",
+		},
+		{
+			// On non-account-console hosts (SPOG/unified) workspace APIs are
+			// served, so setting workspace_id is still the right fix.
+			name: "other host keeps workspace_id advice",
+			err:  ErrAccountOnlyProfile{profileName: "spog", host: "https://unified.test"},
+			want: "profile \"spog\" has no workspace_id set (account-only); this command requires a workspace. " +
+				"Edit the profile to set workspace_id to a real ID, or pass --profile with a workspace-scoped profile",
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, tt.err.Error())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWorkspaceClientOrPromptAccountOnlyProfileOnAccountConsoleHost(t *testing.T) {
+	testutil.CleanupEnvironment(t)
+	t.Setenv("PATH", "")
+
+	cfg := &config.Config{
+		Host:          "https://accounts.test/",
+		AccountID:     "abc-123",
+		Token:         "foobar",
+		Profile:       "acc",
+		HTTPTransport: noNetworkTransport,
+	}
+
+	w, err := workspaceClientOrPrompt(t.Context(), cfg, false)
+	assert.Nil(t, w)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	var accountOnly ErrAccountOnlyProfile
+	require.ErrorAs(t, err, &accountOnly)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "account console host (https://accounts.test)")
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "databricks auth login --host")
+	assert.NotContains(t, err.Error(), "set workspace_id to a real ID")
+}
+
 func TestWorkspaceClientOrPromptRejectsPATOnSPOGWithoutWorkspaceID(t *testing.T) {
 	testutil.CleanupEnvironment(t)
 	t.Setenv("PATH", "")
diff --git a/cmd/root/root.go b/cmd/root/root.go
index 6b6de2a9baa..d1b12ac7f69 100644
--- a/cmd/root/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root/root.go
@@ -149,6 +149,12 @@ Stack Trace:
 			cfg := cmdctx.ConfigUsed(cmd.Context())
 			err = auth.EnrichAuthError(cmd.Context(), cfg, err)
 		}
+		// A workspace client on the context means the command operates against
+		// a workspace; see AppendAccountHostHint for why every error from such
+		// commands gets the account-console-host note.
+		if cmdctx.HasWorkspaceClient(cmd.Context()) {
+			err = auth.AppendAccountHostHint(cmdctx.WorkspaceClient(cmd.Context()).Config, err)
+		}
 		fmt.Fprintf(cmd.ErrOrStderr(), "Error: %s\n", err.Error())
 	}
 
diff --git a/cmd/root/root_test.go b/cmd/root/root_test.go
index 44a07073984..ce1584eacd4 100644
--- a/cmd/root/root_test.go
+++ b/cmd/root/root_test.go
@@ -2,9 +2,12 @@ package root
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/databricks/cli/libs/cmdctx"
+	"github.com/databricks/databricks-sdk-go"
 	"github.com/databricks/databricks-sdk-go/apierr"
 	"github.com/databricks/databricks-sdk-go/config"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -77,6 +80,85 @@ func TestExecuteNoEnrichmentWithoutConfigUsed(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NotContains(t, output, "Next steps:")
 }
 
+func TestExecuteAppendsAccountHostHint(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		setup    func(ctx context.Context) context.Context
+		wantHint bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "workspace client on account console host",
+			setup: func(ctx context.Context) context.Context {
+				cfg := &config.Config{Host: "https://accounts.test", Profile: "acc"}
+				ctx = cmdctx.SetConfigUsed(ctx, cfg)
+				return cmdctx.SetWorkspaceClient(ctx, &databricks.WorkspaceClient{Config: cfg})
+			},
+			wantHint: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "workspace client on workspace host",
+			setup: func(ctx context.Context) context.Context {
+				cfg := &config.Config{Host: "https://adb-123.test", Profile: "ws"}
+				ctx = cmdctx.SetConfigUsed(ctx, cfg)
+				return cmdctx.SetWorkspaceClient(ctx, &databricks.WorkspaceClient{Config: cfg})
+			},
+			wantHint: false,
+		},
+		{
+			// `databricks account ...` commands configure an account client,
+			// not a workspace client, so the hint must stay silent.
+			name: "account client on account console host",
+			setup: func(ctx context.Context) context.Context {
+				cfg := &config.Config{Host: "https://accounts.test", Profile: "acc"}
+				ctx = cmdctx.SetConfigUsed(ctx, cfg)
+				return cmdctx.SetAccountClient(ctx, &databricks.AccountClient{Config: cfg})
+			},
+			wantHint: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no client on account console host",
+			setup: func(ctx context.Context) context.Context {
+				cfg := &config.Config{Host: "https://accounts.test", Profile: "acc"}
+				return cmdctx.SetConfigUsed(ctx, cfg)
+			},
+			wantHint: false,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			stderr := &bytes.Buffer{}
+			cmd := &cobra.Command{
+				Use:           "test",
+				SilenceUsage:  true,
+				SilenceErrors: true,
+				RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+					// The account console returns unstructured junk for
+					// workspace API paths; this is one real example.
+					return errors.New("received HTML response instead of JSON")
+				},
+			}
+			cmd.SetErr(stderr)
+			cmd.PersistentPreRunE = func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+				cmd.SetContext(tt.setup(cmd.Context()))
+				return nil
+			}
+
+			err := Execute(t.Context(), cmd)
+			require.Error(t, err)
+
+			output := stderr.String()
+			assert.Contains(t, output, "received HTML response instead of JSON")
+			if tt.wantHint {
+				assert.Contains(t, output, "account console host")
+				assert.Contains(t, output, "databricks auth login --host")
+			} else {
+				assert.NotContains(t, output, "account console host")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestExecuteErrAlreadyPrintedNotEnriched(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	stderr := &bytes.Buffer{}
diff --git a/libs/auth/error.go b/libs/auth/error.go
index 7cfb6b6fc76..5bd5d3d43c6 100644
--- a/libs/auth/error.go
+++ b/libs/auth/error.go
@@ -112,6 +112,27 @@ func EnrichAuthError(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.Config, err error) error {
 	return fmt.Errorf("%w\n%s", err, b.String())
 }
 
+// AppendAccountHostHint appends a note to errors from commands that ran with a
+// workspace client configured against a classic account console host. Such
+// hosts serve only account-level APIs, so a workspace command can never
+// succeed there and the note is relevant for any error. The console's
+// responses to workspace API paths are unstructured (HTML pages, bare-string
+// 400s), so there is no reliable way to detect "this API is not served here"
+// from the error itself; callers gate on the command type instead.
+func AppendAccountHostHint(cfg *config.Config, err error) error {
+	host := cfg.CanonicalHostName()
+	if !IsClassicAccountHost(host) {
+		return err
+	}
+	subject := "this configuration"
+	scope := ""
+	if cfg.Profile != "" {
+		subject = fmt.Sprintf("profile %q", cfg.Profile)
+		scope = " with this profile"
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("%w\n\nNote: %s points to a Databricks account console host (%s), which serves only account-level APIs.\nWorkspace commands need a workspace host: run `databricks auth login --host https://<workspace-url>`, or use `databricks account ...` commands%s", err, subject, host, scope)
+}
+
 // writeReauthSteps writes auth-type-aware re-authentication suggestions for 401 errors.
 func writeReauthSteps(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.Config, b *strings.Builder) {
 	switch strings.ToLower(cfg.AuthType) {
diff --git a/libs/auth/error_test.go b/libs/auth/error_test.go
index 1e724a4b251..ce8f0df1b63 100644
--- a/libs/auth/error_test.go
+++ b/libs/auth/error_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package auth
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/databricks/databricks-sdk-go/apierr"
@@ -260,3 +261,67 @@ func TestEnrichAuthError(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestAppendAccountHostHint(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name string
+		cfg  *config.Config
+		want string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "account console host with profile",
+			cfg:  &config.Config{Host: "https://accounts.test", Profile: "acc"},
+			want: "base error\n\n" +
+				"Note: profile \"acc\" points to a Databricks account console host (https://accounts.test), which serves only account-level APIs.\n" +
+				"Workspace commands need a workspace host: run `databricks auth login --host https://<workspace-url>`, or use `databricks account ...` commands with this profile",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "account console host without profile",
+			cfg:  &config.Config{Host: "https://accounts.test"},
+			want: "base error\n\n" +
+				"Note: this configuration points to a Databricks account console host (https://accounts.test), which serves only account-level APIs.\n" +
+				"Workspace commands need a workspace host: run `databricks auth login --host https://<workspace-url>`, or use `databricks account ...` commands",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "workspace host is left unchanged",
+			cfg:  &config.Config{Host: "https://adb-123.test", Profile: "ws"},
+			want: "base error",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "empty host is left unchanged",
+			cfg:  &config.Config{},
+			want: "base error",
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := AppendAccountHostHint(tt.cfg, errors.New("base error"))
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, result.Error())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAppendAccountHostHintPreservesErrorChain(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := &config.Config{Host: "https://accounts.test", Profile: "acc"}
+	original := &apierr.APIError{StatusCode: 400, Message: "Unable to load OAuth Config"}
+
+	result := AppendAccountHostHint(cfg, original)
+
+	var unwrapped *apierr.APIError
+	require.ErrorAs(t, result, &unwrapped)
+	assert.Equal(t, 400, unwrapped.StatusCode)
+}
+
+func TestAppendAccountHostHintComposesWithEnrichAuthError(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := &config.Config{Host: "https://accounts.test", Profile: "acc", AuthType: AuthTypePat}
+	original := &apierr.APIError{StatusCode: 403, Message: "permission denied"}
+
+	// Same composition order as cmd/root.Execute: enrichment first, hint last.
+	result := AppendAccountHostHint(cfg, EnrichAuthError(t.Context(), cfg, original))
+
+	msg := result.Error()
+	assert.Contains(t, msg, "permission denied")
+	assert.Contains(t, msg, "Next steps:")
+	assert.Contains(t, msg, "Note: profile \"acc\" points to a Databricks account console host")
+	assert.Less(t, strings.Index(msg, "Next steps:"), strings.Index(msg, "Note:"))
+}
diff --git a/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client.go b/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client.go
index 194beee5f66..915ea0337c7 100644
--- a/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client.go
+++ b/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client.go
@@ -20,3 +20,9 @@ func WorkspaceClient(ctx context.Context) *databricks.WorkspaceClient {
 	}
 	return v.(*databricks.WorkspaceClient)
 }
+
+// HasWorkspaceClient reports whether a workspace client was configured on the
+// context via SetWorkspaceClient.
+func HasWorkspaceClient(ctx context.Context) bool {
+	return ctx.Value(workspaceClientKey) != nil
+}
diff --git a/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client_test.go b/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client_test.go
index cd3959602f5..3f2942d8e81 100644
--- a/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client_test.go
+++ b/libs/cmdctx/workspace_client_test.go
@@ -36,3 +36,16 @@ func TestCommandWorkspaceClient(t *testing.T) {
 		cmdctx.SetWorkspaceClient(ctx, client)
 	})
 }
+
+func TestHasWorkspaceClient(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	assert.False(t, cmdctx.HasWorkspaceClient(ctx))
+
+	client := &databricks.WorkspaceClient{
+		Config: &config.Config{
+			Host: "https://test.test",
+		},
+	}
+	ctx = cmdctx.SetWorkspaceClient(ctx, client)
+	assert.True(t, cmdctx.HasWorkspaceClient(ctx))
+}