diff --git a/scripts/setup.sh b/scripts/setup.sh
index ce783b6c..99913700 100755
--- a/scripts/setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup.sh
@@ -903,6 +903,43 @@ else
   fi
 fi
 
+# ─── 19. start the services ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+echo ""
+echo "── Services (pm2) ──"
+
+# Installing pm2 is not the same as running anything with it. Without this the setup finishes with
+# every dependency in place and nothing actually listening — and the sidecars matter beyond the web
+# app: /desktop returns 503 until officer-vnc is connected, and chat needs officer-claude.
+if ! has pm2 || [ ! -f "$PROJECT_DIR/ecosystem.config.cjs" ]; then
+  warn "Skipping service start (pm2 or ecosystem.config.cjs missing)"
+else
+  # startOrRestart also picks up apps added to the ecosystem since the last run. These are all
+  # fork-mode apps, so reload would buy nothing over restart.
+  echo "  Starting Officer and its sidecars..."
+  if (cd "$PROJECT_DIR" && pm2 startOrRestart ecosystem.config.cjs); then
+    ok "services started"
+  else
+    fail "pm2 could not start the services — check 'pm2 logs'"
+  fi
+
+  # Persist the process list so the boot unit has something to resurrect.
+  pm2 save >/dev/null 2>&1 && ok "process list saved" || warn "pm2 save failed"
+
+  # Boot persistence. pm2 startup writes a systemd unit; it needs root, and re-running it when the
+  # unit already exists is harmless.
+  if systemctl list-unit-files 2>/dev/null | grep -q "^pm2-$(whoami)\.service"; then
+    skip "pm2 boot service (pm2-$(whoami).service)"
+  else
+    echo "  Enabling start on boot..."
+    if sudo env PATH="$PATH" pm2 startup systemd -u "$(whoami)" --hp "$HOME" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      pm2 save >/dev/null 2>&1
+      ok "services will start on boot"
+    else
+      warn "Could not enable boot startup — run: pm2 startup  (and follow its instructions)"
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
+
 # ─── verification ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 echo ""
 echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
@@ -973,6 +1010,20 @@ echo ""
 echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
 echo "  Setup complete!"
 echo "═══════════════════════════════════════════"
+# Services actually running is a better signal than the binaries being present. The list comes from
+# ecosystem.config.cjs so it cannot drift as sidecars are added.
+if has pm2 && [ -f "$PROJECT_DIR/ecosystem.config.cjs" ]; then
+  echo ""
+  echo "Services:"
+  for app in $(grep -oE "name: *'[^']+'" "$PROJECT_DIR/ecosystem.config.cjs" | sed "s/.*'\(.*\)'/\1/"); do
+    if pm2 pid "$app" >/dev/null 2>&1 && [ -n "$(pm2 pid "$app" 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[:space:]')" ]; then
+      ok "$app"
+    else
+      fail "$app — not running (pm2 logs $app)"
+    fi
+  done
+fi
+
 echo ""
 echo "Notes:"
 echo "  • PulseAudio null sink starts automatically with the server"