diff --git a/steps/02-peers.sh b/steps/02-peers.sh
index 7e9ea91..a79f3d3 100644
--- a/steps/02-peers.sh
+++ b/steps/02-peers.sh
@@ -80,9 +80,22 @@ fi
 ok "Backups found."
 
 [ -d "$OPERATOR_DIR" ] || fail "operator-docker not found. Run 01 first."
-[ -f "$WG_CONF" ]      || fail "wg0.conf not found: $WG_CONF"
 ok "operator-docker found."
 
+# ─── Start WireGuard once to generate wg0.conf ───────────────────────────────
+if [ ! -f "$WG_CONF" ]; then
+    info "wg0.conf not found — starting WireGuard to generate it..."
+    cd "$OPERATOR_DIR"
+    docker compose up -d wireguard
+    for i in $(seq 1 15); do
+        [ -f "$WG_CONF" ] && break
+        sleep 2
+    done
+    [ -f "$WG_CONF" ] || fail "wg0.conf not generated after 30s. Check: docker logs wireguard"
+    docker compose stop wireguard
+    ok "wg0.conf generated."
+fi
+
 for CONTAINER in operator-api mysql; do
     STATUS=$(docker inspect -f '{{.State.Running}}' "$CONTAINER" 2>/dev/null || echo "false")
     [ "$STATUS" = "true" ] || fail "Container '$CONTAINER' is not running."