Need help with cloning my hard drive to an external

I need to clone my hard drive to an external drive so that it is bootable and able to be used still, but I also need to do a fresh system install on my macbook pro. I have alot of programs currently on my system that I don't want on the fresh install but I will still need to use them on the external if I boot off of it.
My questions are:
1. Is this possible to do
2. If so how do I do it.
Thanks in advance

So virtually 2 different systems being able to operate on the one machine?
yes and yes.
most of the prosumers here keep a pair or at least one clone of every machine they have, theyre priceless tools for recovery from HD crash, and priceless in testing and usefulness.
yes, people use a clone drive for many things including testing or 'sandboxing' new software on a clone rather than their computer.
its the best fastest way to getting back to 100% quickly after a HD crash, many many advantages.
HD clones
Advantages:
1. HD clones are the best, quickest way to get back to 100% full operation in mere seconds.
2. Once a HD clone is created, the creation software (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper) is no longer needed whatsoever, and unlike TM, which requires complex software for its operational transference of data, a HD clone is its own bootable entity.
3. HD clones are unconnected and isolated from recent corruption.
4. HD clones allow a “portable copy” of your computer that you can likewise connect to another same Mac and have all your APPS and data at hand, which is extremely useful.
5. Rather than, as many users do, thinking of a HD clone as a “complimentary backup” to the use of TM, a HD clone is superior to TM both in ease of returning to 100% quickly, and its autonomous nature; while each has its place, TM can and does fill the gap in, say, a 2 week old clone. As an analogy, the HD clone itself is the brick wall of protection, whereas TM can be thought of as the mortar, which will fill any cracks in data on a week, 2-week, or 1-month old HD clone.
6. Best-idealized 2nd platform redundancy for data protection, and 1st level for system restore of your computers internal HD. (Time machine being 2nd level for system restore of the computer’s internal HD).
HD cloning software options:
1. SuperDuper HD cloning software APP (free)
2. Carbon Copy Cloner APP (will copy the recovery partition as well)
3. Disk utility HD bootable clone.

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