diff --git a/src/Makefile.in b/src/Makefile.in
index 1cd005c1..e0f20d18 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.in
+++ b/src/Makefile.in
@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@ QTGUI = @QTGUI@
 all: mk/sysconf common/rclversion.h
 	cd lib; ${MAKE}
 	cd index; ${MAKE} recollindex
-	cd $(QTGUI); ${QMAKE} recoll.pro; ${MAKE} depth=.. 
+	@NOQTMAKE@cd $(QTGUI); ${QMAKE} recoll.pro; ${MAKE} depth=.. 
+	@NOCMDLINE@ cd query; ${MAKE} recollq
 
 mk/sysconf:
 	@echo "You need to run configure first" ; exit 1
@@ -27,9 +28,9 @@ static: mk/sysconf common/rclversion.h
 	cd lib; ${MAKE}
 	cd index; rm -f recollindex; \
 	   ${MAKE} BSTATIC=-Wl,-Bstatic BDYNAMIC=-Wl,-Bdynamic recollindex
-	cd $(QTGUI); $(QMAKE) recoll.pro; \
-	   rm -f recoll; \
-	   ${MAKE} BSTATIC=-Wl,-Bstatic BDYNAMIC=-Wl,-Bdynamic depth=.. 
+	@NOQTMAKE@cd $(QTGUI); $(QMAKE) recoll.pro; \
+	@NOQTMAKE@ rm -f recoll; \
+	@NOQTMAKE@ ${MAKE} BSTATIC=-Wl,-Bstatic BDYNAMIC=-Wl,-Bdynamic depth=.. 
 
 clean:
 	-cd common; ${MAKE} clean
@@ -39,8 +40,9 @@ clean:
 	-cd query; ${MAKE} clean
 	-cd utils; ${MAKE} clean
         #cd doc/user; ${MAKE} clean
-	@-cd qtgui; ${MAKE} clean
-	@-cd qt4gui; ${MAKE} clean
+	@NOQTMAKE@@-cd qtgui; ${MAKE} clean
+	@NOQTMAKE@@-cd qt4gui; ${MAKE} clean
+	@NOCMDLINE@ cd query; ${MAKE} clean
 	rm -f qtgui/Makefile qtgui/confgui/Makefile qtgui/recoll
 	rm -f qt4gui/Makefile qt4gui/preview/Makefile qt4gui/recoll
 	rm -f common/rclversion.h
@@ -58,7 +60,7 @@ distclean: clean
 	   wasabi/Makefile wasabi/client/Makefile wasabi/server/Makefile
 	rm -f index/alldeps lib/alldeps query/alldeps
 	rm -rf autom4te.cache
-	(cd qt4gui; make -f uifrom3 distclean)
+	@NOQTMAKE@(cd qt4gui; make -f uifrom3 distclean)
 
 maintainer-clean: distclean
 	rm -f doc/user/*.html* doc/user/*.txt doc/user/HTML.manifest
diff --git a/src/common/autoconfig.h.in b/src/common/autoconfig.h.in
index cb7ef19a..00b8109d 100644
--- a/src/common/autoconfig.h.in
+++ b/src/common/autoconfig.h.in
@@ -43,3 +43,6 @@
 
 /* Use file extended attributes */
 #undef RCL_USE_XATTR
+
+/* No X11 */
+#undef WITHOUT_X11
diff --git a/src/configure.ac b/src/configure.ac
index ea5eb885..9b7d3d69 100644
--- a/src/configure.ac
+++ b/src/configure.ac
@@ -253,77 +253,100 @@ XAPIANCXXFLAGS=`$XAPIAN_CONFIG --cxxflags`
 # If QMAKESPEC is not set and needed, the qmake test at the previous test
 # will have failed, and we tell the user to check his environment.
 #
+AC_ARG_WITH(gui, 
+    AC_HELP_STRING([--without-gui],
+   [Disable the QT user interface and auxiliary x11 uses.]),
+        withQT=$withval, withQT="yes")
 
-if test X$QTDIR != X ; then
-   PATH=$PATH:$QTDIR/bin
-   export PATH
-fi
-
-if test X$QMAKE = X ; then
-   QMAKE=qmake
-fi
-
-AC_PATH_PROG([QMAKEPATH], $QMAKE, NOTFOUND)
-if test X$QMAKEPATH = XNOTFOUND ; then 
-   AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find the qmake program. Maybe you need to install
-qt development files and tools and/or set the QTDIR environment variable?])
-fi
-QMAKE=$QMAKEPATH
-
-# MAC OS X: we don't support this (the native search tool is more than
-# good enough), but we make things work just enough so that the program can
-# be compiled and roughly installed (not as a .app, but to /usr/local),
-# basically to enable using a Macbook for development
-if test X$sys = XDarwin ; then
-   # The default is xcode
-   QMAKE="${QMAKE} -spec macx-g++"
-fi
-
-# Discriminate qt3/4. Qt3 qmake prints its version on stderr but we don't
-# depend on this. We try to detect the qt 4 version string instead.
-qmakevers="`${QMAKE} --version 2>&1`"
-#echo "qmake version: $qmakevers"
-v4=`expr "$qmakevers" : '.*Qt[ ][ ]*version[ ][ ]*4.*'`
-if test X$v4 = X0 ; then 
-   AC_MSG_NOTICE([using qt version 3 user interface])
-   QTGUI=qtgui
+if test "$withQT" != "yes" ; then
+   AC_DEFINE(WIHOUT_X11)
+   NOQTMAKE="#"
+   NOCMDLINE=""
 else
-  AC_MSG_NOTICE([using qt version 4 user interface])
-  QTGUI=qt4gui
-  AC_PATH_PROG([UIC3], [uic3], NOTFOUND)
-  if test X$UIC3 = XNOTFOUND ; then 
-    AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find the uic3 program. Maybe you need to add
-    the qt3 compatibility libraries and tools to your qt4 installation ?])
+  NOQTMAKE=""
+  NOCMDLINE="#"
+
+  if test X$QTDIR != X ; then
+     PATH=$PATH:$QTDIR/bin
+     export PATH
   fi
+  
+  if test X$QMAKE = X ; then
+     QMAKE=qmake
+  fi
+  
+  AC_PATH_PROG([QMAKEPATH], $QMAKE, NOTFOUND)
+  if test X$QMAKEPATH = XNOTFOUND ; then 
+     AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find the qmake program. Maybe you need to install
+  qt development files and tools and/or set the QTDIR environment variable?])
+  fi
+  QMAKE=$QMAKEPATH
+  
+  # MAC OS X: we don't support this (the native search tool is more than
+  # good enough), but we make things work just enough so that the program can
+  # be compiled and roughly installed (not as a .app, but to /usr/local),
+  # basically to enable using a Macbook for development
+  if test X$sys = XDarwin ; then
+     # The default is xcode
+     QMAKE="${QMAKE} -spec macx-g++"
+  fi
+  
+  # Discriminate qt3/4. Qt3 qmake prints its version on stderr but we don't
+  # depend on this. We try to detect the qt 4 version string instead.
+  qmakevers="`${QMAKE} --version 2>&1`"
+  #echo "qmake version: $qmakevers"
+  v4=`expr "$qmakevers" : '.*Qt[ ][ ]*version[ ][ ]*4.*'`
+  if test X$v4 = X0 ; then 
+     AC_MSG_NOTICE([using qt version 3 user interface])
+     QTGUI=qtgui
+  else
+    AC_MSG_NOTICE([using qt version 4 user interface])
+    QTGUI=qt4gui
+    AC_PATH_PROG([UIC3], [uic3], NOTFOUND)
+    if test X$UIC3 = XNOTFOUND ; then 
+      AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot find the uic3 program. Maybe you need to add
+      the qt3 compatibility libraries and tools to your qt4 installation ?])
+    fi
+  fi
+  
+  cd $QTGUI
+  # We just want a .pro file: no problem with unsubstituted variables at 
+  # this point.
+  test -f uifrom3 && make -f uifrom3
+  test -f recoll.pro && chmod +w recoll.pro
+  cp recoll.pro.in recoll.pro
+  #echo QMAKE ${QMAKE}
+  ${QMAKE} recoll.pro
+  if test $? != 0 ; then
+     AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot use qmake to generate a Makefile. Maybe you need to
+  check the QTDIR and QMAKESPEC environment variables?])
+  fi
+  # is QTDIR set and do we actually need it ?
+  if test X$QTDIR = X ; then
+     QTDIRNEEDED=`grep INCPATH Makefile | grep = | grep QTDIR`
+     if test "X$QTDIRNEEDED" != "X" ; then
+         AC_MSG_ERROR([You need to set the QTDIR variable to point to the QT
+  installation. If there is no default mkspecs, you should also set QMAKESPEC])
+     fi
+  fi
+  cd ..
+
+  AC_CONFIG_FILES($QTGUI/recoll.pro)
+  ##################### End QT detection
 fi
 
-cd $QTGUI
-# We just want a .pro file: no problem with unsubstituted variables at 
-# this point.
-test -f uifrom3 && make -f uifrom3
-test -f recoll.pro && chmod +w recoll.pro
-cp recoll.pro.in recoll.pro
-#echo QMAKE ${QMAKE}
-${QMAKE} recoll.pro
-if test $? != 0 ; then
-   AC_MSG_ERROR([Cannot use qmake to generate a Makefile. Maybe you need to
-check the QTDIR and QMAKESPEC environment variables?])
-fi
-# is QTDIR set and do we actually need it ?
-if test X$QTDIR = X ; then
-   QTDIRNEEDED=`grep INCPATH Makefile | grep = | grep QTDIR`
-   if test "X$QTDIRNEEDED" != "X" ; then
-       AC_MSG_ERROR([You need to set the QTDIR variable to point to the QT
-installation. If there is no default mkspecs, you should also set QMAKESPEC])
-   fi
-fi
-cd ..
-
-##################### End QT detection
 
 ### X11: this is needed for the session monitoring code (in recollindex -m)
-AC_PATH_XTRA
-#echo X_CFLAGS "'$X_CFLAGS'" X_PRE_LIBS "'$X_PRE_LIBS'" X_LIBS "'$X_LIBS'" X_EXTRA_LIBS "'$X_EXTRA_LIBS'"
+# We disable it if without-gui has been specified, but it could be separated
+if test "$withQT" = "yes" ; then
+  AC_PATH_XTRA
+  X_LIBX11=-lX11
+else
+  X_LIBX11=""
+fi
+#echo X_CFLAGS "'$X_CFLAGS'" X_PRE_LIBS "'$X_PRE_LIBS'" X_LIBS \
+#      "'$X_LIBS'" X_LIBX11 "'$X_LIBX11'" X_EXTRA_LIBS "'$X_EXTRA_LIBS'"
+
 
 # We have to expand prefix in here, couldn't find a way to do it inside 
 # the qt gui .pro file or Makefile. This just means that you can't change
@@ -337,6 +360,7 @@ QTRECOLL_DATADIR=${m_datadir}/recoll
 AC_SUBST(X_CFLAGS)
 AC_SUBST(X_PRE_LIBS)
 AC_SUBST(X_LIBS)
+AC_SUBST(X_LIBX11)
 AC_SUBST(X_EXTRA_LIBS)
 AC_SUBST(INCICONV)
 AC_SUBST(LIBICONV)
@@ -347,11 +371,13 @@ AC_SUBST(QTGUI)
 AC_SUBST(QTRECOLL_DATADIR)
 AC_SUBST(XAPIANCXXFLAGS)
 AC_SUBST(HAVE_MKDTEMP)
+AC_SUBST(NOQTMAKE)
+AC_SUBST(NOCMDLINE)
+
 AC_CONFIG_FILES(mk/localdefs)
 AC_CONFIG_FILES(recollinstall)
 AC_CONFIG_FILES(Makefile)
 AC_CONFIG_FILES(sampleconf/recoll.conf)
-AC_CONFIG_FILES($QTGUI/recoll.pro)
 
 for d in bincimapmime index lib query
 do 
diff --git a/src/index/Makefile b/src/index/Makefile
index 46d3b4f1..5e7998e6 100644
--- a/src/index/Makefile
+++ b/src/index/Makefile
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ recollindex : $(RECOLLINDEX_OBJS)
 	$(CXX) $(ALL_CXXFLAGS) -o recollindex $(RECOLLINDEX_OBJS) \
 	       $(BSTATIC) $(LIBXAPIAN) $(LIBICONV) $(BDYNAMIC) \
 	       $(LIBFAM) \
-	       $(X_LIBS) $(X_PRE_LIBS) -lX11 $(X_EXTRA_LIBS) \
+	       $(X_LIBS) $(X_PRE_LIBS) $(X_LIBX11) $(X_EXTRA_LIBS) \
 	       $(LIBSYS)
 recollindex.o : recollindex.cpp
 	$(CXX) $(ALL_CXXFLAGS) -c -o recollindex.o $<
diff --git a/src/mk/localdefs.in b/src/mk/localdefs.in
index 893cbfcc..a99c28ed 100644
--- a/src/mk/localdefs.in
+++ b/src/mk/localdefs.in
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ X_CFLAGS=@X_CFLAGS@
 X_PRE_LIBS=@X_PRE_LIBS@
 X_LIBS=@X_LIBS@
 X_EXTRA_LIBS=@X_EXTRA_LIBS@
+X_LIBX11=@X_LIBX11@
 
 prefix = @prefix@
 exec_prefix = @exec_prefix@
diff --git a/src/utils/x11mon.cpp b/src/utils/x11mon.cpp
index 9244eeb6..4a69c92e 100644
--- a/src/utils/x11mon.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/x11mon.cpp
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 static char rcsid[] = "@(#$Id: x11mon.cpp,v 1.1 2006-12-23 12:23:15 dockes Exp $ (C) 2006 J.F.Dockes";
 #endif
 // Poll state of X11 connectibility (to detect end of user session).
-
+#include "autoconfig.h"
+#ifndef WITHOUT_X11
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <X11/Xlib.h>
 #include <signal.h>
@@ -58,7 +59,12 @@ bool x11IsAlive()
     XSynchronize(m_display, sync);
     return m_ok;
 }
-
+#else
+bool x11IsAlive() 
+{
+    return true;
+}
+#endif /* WITHOUT_X11 */
 
 #else