diff --git a/src/connection.cpp b/src/connection.cpp
index b2c46f2..444b6e9 100644
--- a/src/connection.cpp
+++ b/src/connection.cpp
@@ -27,7 +27,8 @@ ConnectionLoader::~ConnectionLoader() {
 
 void ConnectionLoader::loadConnection() {
     QTimer::singleShot(1, [=]() { this->doAutoConnect(); });
-    d->exec();
+    if (!Settings::getInstance()->isHeadless())
+        d->exec();
 }
 
 void ConnectionLoader::doAutoConnect(bool tryEzcashdStart) {
@@ -442,6 +443,7 @@ void ConnectionLoader::refreshZcashdState(Connection* connection, std::function<
         [=] (auto) {
             // Success, hide the dialog if it was shown. 
             d->hide();
+            main->logger->write("zcashd is online.");
             this->doRPCSetConnection(connection);
         },
         [=] (auto reply, auto res) {            
@@ -481,6 +483,8 @@ void ConnectionLoader::refreshZcashdState(Connection* connection, std::function<
 void ConnectionLoader::showInformation(QString info, QString detail) {
     connD->status->setText(info);
     connD->statusDetail->setText(detail);
+    
+    main->logger->write(info + ":" + detail);
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index cc899a3..e07d60a 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -1,61 +1,322 @@
 #include "mainwindow.h"
+#include "rpc.h"
 #include "settings.h"
 #include "turnstile.h"
 
 #include "version.h"
 
-int main(int argc, char *argv[])
+class SignalHandler 
 {
-    QCoreApplication::setAttribute(Qt::AA_UseHighDpiPixmaps);
-    QCoreApplication::setAttribute(Qt::AA_EnableHighDpiScaling);
+public:
+    SignalHandler(int mask = DEFAULT_SIGNALS);
+    virtual ~SignalHandler();
 
-    QApplication a(argc, argv);
+    enum SIGNALS
+    {
+        SIG_UNHANDLED   = 0,    // Physical signal not supported by this class
+        SIG_NOOP        = 1,    // The application is requested to do a no-op (only a target that platform-specific signals map to when they can't be raised anyway)
+        SIG_INT         = 2,    // Control+C (should terminate but consider that it's a normal way to do so; can delay a bit)
+        SIG_TERM        = 4,    // Control+Break (should terminate now without regarding the consquences)
+        SIG_CLOSE       = 8,    // Container window closed (should perform normal termination, like Ctrl^C) [Windows only; on Linux it maps to SIG_TERM]
+        SIG_RELOAD      = 16,   // Reload the configuration [Linux only, physical signal is SIGHUP; on Windows it maps to SIG_NOOP]
+        DEFAULT_SIGNALS = SIG_INT | SIG_TERM | SIG_CLOSE,
+    };
+    static const int numSignals = 6;
 
-    QCoreApplication::setOrganizationName("zec-qt-wallet-org");
-    QCoreApplication::setApplicationName("zec-qt-wallet");
+    virtual bool handleSignal(int signal) = 0;
 
-    QString locale = QLocale::system().name();
-    locale.truncate(locale.lastIndexOf('_'));   // Get the language code
-    qDebug() << "Loading locale " << locale;
-    
-    QTranslator translator;
-    translator.load(QString(":/translations/res/zec_qt_wallet_") + locale);
-    a.installTranslator(&translator);
+private:
+    int _mask;
+};
 
-    QIcon icon(":/icons/res/icon.ico");
-    QApplication::setWindowIcon(icon);
+#include <assert.h>
 
-    #ifdef Q_OS_LINUX
-        QFontDatabase::addApplicationFont(":/fonts/res/Ubuntu-R.ttf");
-        qApp->setFont(QFont("Ubuntu", 11, QFont::Normal, false));
-    #endif
+#ifndef _WIN32
+
+#include <signal.h>
+
+#else
+
+#include <windows.h>
+
+#endif //!_WIN32
+
+// There can be only ONE SignalHandler per process
+SignalHandler* g_handler(NULL);
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+
+BOOL WINAPI WIN32_handleFunc(DWORD);
+int WIN32_physicalToLogical(DWORD);
+DWORD WIN32_logicalToPhysical(int);
+std::set<int> g_registry;
+
+#else //_WIN32
+
+void POSIX_handleFunc(int);
+int POSIX_physicalToLogical(int);
+int POSIX_logicalToPhysical(int);
+
+#endif //_WIN32
+
+SignalHandler::SignalHandler(int mask) : _mask(mask)
+{
+    assert(g_handler == NULL);
+    g_handler = this;
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    SetConsoleCtrlHandler(WIN32_handleFunc, TRUE);
+#endif //_WIN32
+
+    for (int i=0;i<numSignals;i++)
+    {
+        int logical = 0x1 << i;
+        if (_mask & logical)
+        {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+            g_registry.insert(logical);
+#else
+            int sig = POSIX_logicalToPhysical(logical);
+            bool failed = signal(sig, POSIX_handleFunc) == SIG_ERR;
+            assert(!failed);
+            (void)failed; // Silence the warning in non _DEBUG; TODO: something better
+
+#endif //_WIN32
+        }
+    }
+
+}
+
+SignalHandler::~SignalHandler()
+{
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    SetConsoleCtrlHandler(WIN32_handleFunc, FALSE);
+#else
+    for (int i=0;i<numSignals;i++)
+    {
+        int logical = 0x1 << i;
+        if (_mask & logical)
+        {
+            signal(POSIX_logicalToPhysical(logical), SIG_DFL);
+        }
+    }
+#endif //_WIN32
+}
+
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+DWORD WIN32_logicalToPhysical(int signal)
+{
+    switch (signal)
+    {
+    case SignalHandler::SIG_INT: return CTRL_C_EVENT;
+    case SignalHandler::SIG_TERM: return CTRL_BREAK_EVENT;
+    case SignalHandler::SIG_CLOSE: return CTRL_CLOSE_EVENT;
+    default: 
+        return ~(unsigned int)0; // SIG_ERR = -1
+    }
+}
+#else
+int POSIX_logicalToPhysical(int signal)
+{
+    switch (signal)
+    {
+    case SignalHandler::SIG_INT: return SIGINT;
+    case SignalHandler::SIG_TERM: return SIGTERM;
+    // In case the client asks for a SIG_CLOSE handler, accept and
+    // bind it to a SIGTERM. Anyway the signal will never be raised
+    case SignalHandler::SIG_CLOSE: return SIGTERM;
+    case SignalHandler::SIG_RELOAD: return SIGHUP;
+    default: 
+        return -1; // SIG_ERR = -1
+    }
+}
+#endif //_WIN32
+
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+int WIN32_physicalToLogical(DWORD signal)
+{
+    switch (signal)
+    {
+    case CTRL_C_EVENT: return SignalHandler::SIG_INT;
+    case CTRL_BREAK_EVENT: return SignalHandler::SIG_TERM;
+    case CTRL_CLOSE_EVENT: return SignalHandler::SIG_CLOSE;
+    default:
+        return SignalHandler::SIG_UNHANDLED;
+    }
+}
+#else
+int POSIX_physicalToLogical(int signal)
+{
+    switch (signal)
+    {
+    case SIGINT: return SignalHandler::SIG_INT;
+    case SIGTERM: return SignalHandler::SIG_TERM;
+    case SIGHUP: return SignalHandler::SIG_RELOAD;
+    default:
+        return SignalHandler::SIG_UNHANDLED;
+    }
+}
+#endif //_WIN32
 
-    // QRandomGenerator generates a secure random number, which we use to seed.
-#if (QT_VERSION >= QT_VERSION_CHECK(5, 10, 0))
-    unsigned int seed = QRandomGenerator::securelySeeded().generate();
+#ifdef _WIN32
+BOOL WINAPI WIN32_handleFunc(DWORD signal)
+{
+    if (g_handler)
+    {
+        int signo = WIN32_physicalToLogical(signal);
+        // The std::set is thread-safe in const reading access and we never
+        // write to it after the program has started so we don't need to 
+        // protect this search by a mutex
+        std::set<int>::const_iterator found = g_registry.find(signo);
+        if (signo != -1 && found != g_registry.end())
+        {
+            return g_handler->handleSignal(signo) ? TRUE : FALSE;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            return FALSE;
+        }
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        return FALSE;
+    }
+}
 #else
-    // This will be used only during debugging for compatibility reasons 
-    unsigned int seed = std::time(0);
-#endif
-    std::srand(seed);
+void POSIX_handleFunc(int signal)
+{
+    if (g_handler)
+    {
+        int signo = POSIX_physicalToLogical(signal);
+        g_handler->handleSignal(signo);
+    }
+}
+#endif //_WIN32
+
+class Application : public SignalHandler
+{
+public:
+    Application() : SignalHandler(SignalHandler::SIG_INT), w(nullptr) {}
+
+    ~Application() { delete w; }
+
+    int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
+        QCoreApplication::setAttribute(Qt::AA_UseHighDpiPixmaps);
+        QCoreApplication::setAttribute(Qt::AA_EnableHighDpiScaling);
+
+        QApplication a(argc, argv);
 
-    Settings::init();
+        QCoreApplication::setOrganizationName("zec-qt-wallet-org");
+        QCoreApplication::setApplicationName("zec-qt-wallet");
 
-    // Set up libsodium
-    if (sodium_init() < 0) {
-        /* panic! the library couldn't be initialized, it is not safe to use */
-        qDebug() << "libsodium is not initialized!";
+        QString locale = QLocale::system().name();
+        locale.truncate(locale.lastIndexOf('_'));   // Get the language code
+        qDebug() << "Loading locale " << locale;
+        
+        QTranslator translator;
+        translator.load(QString(":/translations/res/zec_qt_wallet_") + locale);
+        a.installTranslator(&translator);
+
+        QIcon icon(":/icons/res/icon.ico");
+        QApplication::setWindowIcon(icon);
+
+        #ifdef Q_OS_LINUX
+            QFontDatabase::addApplicationFont(":/fonts/res/Ubuntu-R.ttf");
+            qApp->setFont(QFont("Ubuntu", 11, QFont::Normal, false));
+        #endif
+
+        // QRandomGenerator generates a secure random number, which we use to seed.
+    #if (QT_VERSION >= QT_VERSION_CHECK(5, 10, 0))
+        unsigned int seed = QRandomGenerator::securelySeeded().generate();
+    #else
+        // This will be used only during debugging for compatibility reasons 
+        unsigned int seed = std::time(0);
+    #endif
+        std::srand(seed);
+
+        Settings::init();
+
+        // Set up libsodium
+        if (sodium_init() < 0) {
+            /* panic! the library couldn't be initialized, it is not safe to use */
+            qDebug() << "libsodium is not initialized!";
+            exit(0);
+        }
+
+        // Command line parser
+        QCommandLineParser parser;
+        parser.setApplicationDescription("Shielded desktop wallet and embedded full node for Zcash");
+        parser.addHelpOption();
+
+        // A boolean option for running it headless
+        QCommandLineOption headlessOption(QStringList() << "headless", "Running it via GUI.");
+        parser.addOption(headlessOption);
+
+        QCommandLineOption noembeddedOption(QStringList() << "no-embedded", "Disable embedded zcashd");
+        parser.addOption(noembeddedOption);
+
+        parser.process(a);
+        if (parser.isSet(noembeddedOption)) {
+            Settings::getInstance()->setUseEmbedded(false);
+        } else {
+            Settings::getInstance()->setUseEmbedded(true);
+        }
+
+        w = new MainWindow();
+        w->setWindowTitle("zec-qt-wallet v" + QString(APP_VERSION));
+
+        if (parser.isSet(headlessOption)) {
+            Settings::getInstance()->setHeadless(true);
+            a.setQuitOnLastWindowClosed(false);    
+        } else {
+            Settings::getInstance()->setHeadless(false);
+            w->show();
+        }
+
+        return QApplication::exec();
     }
 
-    if (argc >= 2 && QString::fromStdString(argv[1]) == "--no-embedded") {
-        Settings::getInstance()->setUseEmbedded(false);
-    } else {
-        Settings::getInstance()->setUseEmbedded(true);
+    void DispatchToMainThread(std::function<void()> callback)
+    {
+        // any thread
+        QTimer* timer = new QTimer();
+        timer->moveToThread(qApp->thread());
+        timer->setSingleShot(true);
+        QObject::connect(timer, &QTimer::timeout, [=]()
+        {
+            // main thread
+            callback();
+            timer->deleteLater();
+        });
+        QMetaObject::invokeMethod(timer, "start", Qt::QueuedConnection, Q_ARG(int, 0));
     }
 
-    MainWindow w;
-    w.setWindowTitle("zec-qt-wallet v" + QString(APP_VERSION));
-    w.show();
-    
-    return QApplication::exec();
+    bool handleSignal(int signal)
+    {
+        std::cout << std::endl << "Interrupted with signal " << signal << std::endl;
+        
+        if (w && w->getRPC()) {            
+            // Blocking call to closeEvent on the UI thread.
+            DispatchToMainThread([=] { 
+                w->doClose(); 
+                QApplication::quit();
+            });
+        } else {
+            QApplication::quit();
+        }
+        
+        return true;
+    }
+
+private:
+    MainWindow* w;
+};
+
+int main(int argc, char* argv[])
+{
+    Application app;
+    return app.main(argc, argv);
 }
+
diff --git a/src/mainwindow.cpp b/src/mainwindow.cpp
index 0a243ca..26a75cc 100644
--- a/src/mainwindow.cpp
+++ b/src/mainwindow.cpp
@@ -154,6 +154,10 @@ void MainWindow::restoreSavedStates() {
     ui->transactionsTable->horizontalHeader()->restoreState(s.value("tratablegeometry").toByteArray());
 }
 
+void MainWindow::doClose() {
+    closeEvent(nullptr);
+}
+
 void MainWindow::closeEvent(QCloseEvent* event) {
     QSettings s;
 
@@ -167,7 +171,8 @@ void MainWindow::closeEvent(QCloseEvent* event) {
     rpc->shutdownZcashd();
 
     // Bubble up
-    QMainWindow::closeEvent(event);
+    if (event)
+        QMainWindow::closeEvent(event);
 }
 
 void MainWindow::turnstileProgress() {
diff --git a/src/mainwindow.h b/src/mainwindow.h
index af267b5..9173b7c 100644
--- a/src/mainwindow.h
+++ b/src/mainwindow.h
@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ public:
     void updateTAddrCombo(bool checked);
     void updateFromCombo();
 
-
     Ui::MainWindow*     ui;
 
     QLabel*             statusLabel;
@@ -63,6 +62,9 @@ public:
     QWidget*            zcashdtab;
 
     Logger*      logger;
+
+    void doClose();
+
 private:    
     void closeEvent(QCloseEvent* event);
 
diff --git a/src/rpc.cpp b/src/rpc.cpp
index 6ae217a..db1740c 100644
--- a/src/rpc.cpp
+++ b/src/rpc.cpp
@@ -1116,8 +1116,15 @@ void RPC::shutdownZcashd() {
     });
     waiter.start(1000);
 
-    // Wait for the zcash process to exit.     
-    d.exec(); 
+    // Wait for the zcash process to exit.
+    if (!Settings::getInstance()->isHeadless()) {
+        d.exec(); 
+    } else {
+        while (waiter.isActive()) {
+            QCoreApplication::processEvents();
+            std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(1));
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/settings.h b/src/settings.h
index 25a3d9a..680f363 100644
--- a/src/settings.h
+++ b/src/settings.h
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ public:
     void    setUseEmbedded(bool r) { _useEmbedded = r; }
     bool    useEmbedded() { return _useEmbedded; }
 
+    void    setHeadless(bool h) { _headless = h; }
+    bool    isHeadless() { return _headless; }
+
     int     getBlockNumber();
     void    setBlockNumber(int number);
             
@@ -103,8 +106,10 @@ private:
     bool    _isSyncing        = false;
     int     _blockNumber      = 0;
     bool    _useEmbedded      = false;
+    bool    _headless         = false;
     int     _peerConnections  = 0;
-    double zecPrice = 0.0;
+    
+    double  zecPrice          = 0.0;
 };
 
 #endif // SETTINGS_H
\ No newline at end of file