diff --git a/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp b/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
index bbf29c7..d9f3510 100644
--- a/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
+++ b/openbr/openbr_plugin.cpp
@@ -44,12 +44,6 @@ using namespace cv;
 
 Q_DECLARE_METATYPE(QLocalSocket::LocalSocketState)
 
-// Some globals used to transfer data to Context::messageHandler so that
-// we can restart the process if we try and fail to create a QApplication.
-static bool creating_qapp = false;
-static int * argc_ptr = NULL;
-static char ** argv_ptr = NULL;
-
 /* File - public methods */
 // Note that the convention for displaying metadata is as follows:
 // [] for lists in which argument order does not matter (e.g. [FTO=false, Index=0]),
@@ -901,42 +895,28 @@ bool br::Context::checkSDKPath(const QString &sdkPath)
 // We create our own when the user hasn't
 static QCoreApplication *application = NULL;
 
-void br::Context::initialize(int &argc, char *argv[], QString sdkPath, bool use_gui)
+void br::Context::initialize(int &argc, char *argv[], QString sdkPath)
 {
-    for (int i=0; i < argc; i ++)
-    {
-        if (strcmp("-useGui", argv[i]) == 0) {
-            const char * val = i+1 < argc ? argv[i+1] : "";
-            if (strcmp(val, "false") ==0 || strcmp(val, "0") == 0)
-                use_gui = false;
-            break;
-        }
-    }
-
     qInstallMessageHandler(messageHandler);
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    bool useGui = true;
+#else // not _WIN32
+    bool useGui = (getenv("DISPLAY") != NULL);
+#endif // _WIN32
+
     // We take in argc as a reference due to:
     //   https://bugreports.qt-project.org/browse/QTBUG-5637
     // QApplication should be initialized before anything else.
     // Since we can't ensure that it gets deleted last, we never delete it.
     if (QCoreApplication::instance() == NULL) {
 #ifndef BR_EMBEDDED
-        if (use_gui) {
-            // Set up variables to be used in the message handler if this fails.
-            // Just so you know, we
-            creating_qapp = true;
-            argc_ptr = &argc;
-            argv_ptr = argv;
-
-            application = new QApplication(argc, argv);
-            creating_qapp = false;
-        }
-        else {
-            application = new QCoreApplication(argc, argv);
-        }
-#else
+        if (useGui) application = new QApplication(argc, argv);
+        else        application = new QCoreApplication(argc, argv);
+#else // not BR_EMBEDDED
+        useGui = false;
         application = new QCoreApplication(argc, argv);
-#endif
+#endif // BR_EMBEDDED
     }
 
     QCoreApplication::setOrganizationName(COMPANY_NAME);
@@ -959,8 +939,7 @@ void br::Context::initialize(int &argc, char *argv[], QString sdkPath, bool use_
 
     Globals = new Context();
     Globals->init(File());
-    Globals->useGui = use_gui;
-
+    Globals->useGui = useGui;
 
     Common::seedRNG();
 
@@ -1029,26 +1008,6 @@ void br::Context::messageHandler(QtMsgType type, const QMessageLogContext &conte
     static QMutex generalLock;
     QMutexLocker locker(&generalLock);
 
-    // If we are trying to create a QApplication, and get a fatal, then restart the process
-    // with useGui set to 0.
-    if (creating_qapp && type == QtFatalMsg)
-    {
-        // re-launch process with useGui = 0
-        std::cout << "Failed to initialize gui, restarting with -useGui 0" << std::endl;
-        QStringList arguments;
-        arguments.append("-useGui");
-        arguments.append("0");
-        for (int i=1; i < *argc_ptr; i++)
-        {
-            arguments.append(argv_ptr[i]);
-        }
-        // QProcess::execute blocks until the other process completes.
-        QProcess::execute(argv_ptr[0], arguments);
-        // have to unlock this for some reason
-        locker.unlock();
-        std::exit(0);
-    }
-
     QString txt;
     if (type == QtDebugMsg) {
         if (Globals->quiet) return;
diff --git a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
index d74d87e..fd005d2 100644
--- a/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
+++ b/openbr/openbr_plugin.h
@@ -794,12 +794,11 @@ public:
      *                 By default <tt>share/openbr/openbr.bib</tt> will be searched for relative to:
      *                   -# The working directory
      *                   -# The executable's location
-     * \param use_gui Create a QApplication instead of a QCoreApplication.
      * \note Tiggers \em abort() on failure to locate <tt>share/openbr/openbr.bib</tt>.
      * \note <a href="http://qt-project.org/">Qt</a> users should instead call this <i>after</i> initializing QApplication.
      * \see finalize
      */
-    static void initialize(int &argc, char *argv[], QString sdkPath = "", bool use_gui = true);
+    static void initialize(int &argc, char *argv[], QString sdkPath = "");
 
     /*!
      * \brief Call \em once at the end of the application to deallocate global variables.
diff --git a/openbr/plugins/process.cpp b/openbr/plugins/process.cpp
index d5c687b..cde5d87 100644
--- a/openbr/plugins/process.cpp
+++ b/openbr/plugins/process.cpp
@@ -531,8 +531,6 @@ class ProcessWrapperTransform : public TimeVaryingTransform
         baseKey = id.toString();
 
         QStringList argumentList;
-        argumentList.append("-useGui");
-        argumentList.append("0");
         argumentList.append("-algorithm");
         argumentList.append(transform);
         if (!Globals->path.isEmpty()) {
diff --git a/scripts/evalAgeRegression-PCSO.sh b/scripts/evalAgeRegression-PCSO.sh
index 9e294fe..2f06c67 100755
--- a/scripts/evalAgeRegression-PCSO.sh
+++ b/scripts/evalAgeRegression-PCSO.sh
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ if [ ! -f evalAgeRegression-PCSO.sh ]; then
   exit
 fi
 
-export BR="../build/app/br/br -useGui 0"
+export BR=../build/app/br/br
 export PCSO_DIR=/user/pripshare/Databases/FaceDatabases/PCSO/PCSO/
 export ageAlg=AgeRegression
 
diff --git a/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-LFW.sh b/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-LFW.sh
index 4f0e6c4..53e5636 100755
--- a/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-LFW.sh
+++ b/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-LFW.sh
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ if [ ! -e Algorithm_Dataset ]; then
 fi
 
 # Run the LFW test protocol
-br -useGui 0 -algorithm $ALGORITHM -path ../data/LFW/img/ -crossValidate 10 -pairwiseCompare ../data/LFW/sigset/test_image_restricted_target.xml ../data/LFW/sigset/test_image_restricted_query.xml ${ALGORITHM}_LFW.mtx -convert Output ${ALGORITHM}_lfw.mtx Algorithm_Dataset/${ALGORITHM}_LFW%1.eval
+br -algorithm $ALGORITHM -path ../data/LFW/img/ -crossValidate 10 -pairwiseCompare ../data/LFW/sigset/test_image_restricted_target.xml ../data/LFW/sigset/test_image_restricted_query.xml ${ALGORITHM}_LFW.mtx -convert Output ${ALGORITHM}_lfw.mtx Algorithm_Dataset/${ALGORITHM}_LFW%1.eval
 
 # Plot results
-br -useGui 0 -plot Algorithm_Dataset/* 'lfw_results.pdf[smooth=Dataset,rocOptions[yLimits=(0,1)]]'
+br -plot Algorithm_Dataset/* 'lfw_results.pdf[smooth=Dataset,rocOptions[yLimits=(0,1)]]'
diff --git a/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh b/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh
index 673f674..231370f 100755
--- a/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh
+++ b/scripts/evalFaceRecognition-MEDS.sh
@@ -20,11 +20,11 @@ if [ ! -e Algorithm_Dataset ]; then
 fi
 
 if [ ! -e MEDS.mask ]; then
-  br -useGui 0 -makeMask ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_target.xml ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_query.xml MEDS.mask
+  br -makeMask ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_target.xml ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_query.xml MEDS.mask
 fi
 
 # Run Algorithm on MEDS
-br -useGui 0 -algorithm ${ALGORITHM} -path ../data/MEDS/img -compare ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_target.xml ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_query.xml ${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.mtx -eval ${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.mtx MEDS.mask Algorithm_Dataset/${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.csv
+br -algorithm ${ALGORITHM} -path ../data/MEDS/img -compare ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_target.xml ../data/MEDS/sigset/MEDS_frontal_query.xml ${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.mtx -eval ${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.mtx MEDS.mask Algorithm_Dataset/${ALGORITHM}_MEDS.csv
 
 # Plot results
-br -useGui 0 -plot Algorithm_Dataset/*_MEDS.csv MEDS
+br -plot Algorithm_Dataset/*_MEDS.csv MEDS
diff --git a/scripts/evalGenderClassification-PCSO.sh b/scripts/evalGenderClassification-PCSO.sh
index d8afbbb..b68315e 100755
--- a/scripts/evalGenderClassification-PCSO.sh
+++ b/scripts/evalGenderClassification-PCSO.sh
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ export ALGORITHM=GenderClassification
 export PCSO_DIR=../data/PCSO/img
 
 # Create a file list by querying the database
-$BR -useGui 0 -quiet -algorithm Identity -enroll "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,Gender,PersonID FROM PCSO', subset=1:8000]" terminal.txt > Input.txt
+$BR -quiet -algorithm Identity -enroll "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,Gender,PersonID FROM PCSO', subset=1:8000]" terminal.txt > Input.txt
 
 # Enroll the file list and evaluate performance
-$BR -useGui 0  -algorithm $ALGORITHM -path $PCSO_DIR -enroll Input.txt Output.txt -evalClassification Output.txt Input.txt Gender
\ No newline at end of file
+$BR -algorithm $ALGORITHM -path $PCSO_DIR -enroll Input.txt Output.txt -evalClassification Output.txt Input.txt Gender
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/pedestrianBaselineLBP.sh b/scripts/pedestrianBaselineLBP.sh
index 1ecbffe..2e02790 100755
--- a/scripts/pedestrianBaselineLBP.sh
+++ b/scripts/pedestrianBaselineLBP.sh
@@ -27,8 +27,7 @@ else
     TEST=testSmall.xml
 fi
 
-br -useGui 0 \
-   -algorithm "${ALG}" \
+br -algorithm "${ALG}" \
    -path $INRIA_PATH/img \
    -train $INRIA_PATH/sigset/train.xml pedModel \
    -enroll $INRIA_PATH/sigset/$TEST pedResults.xml
diff --git a/scripts/trainAgeRegression-PCSO.sh b/scripts/trainAgeRegression-PCSO.sh
index c1f3ef1..4c30f10 100755
--- a/scripts/trainAgeRegression-PCSO.sh
+++ b/scripts/trainAgeRegression-PCSO.sh
@@ -13,4 +13,4 @@ export ageAlg=AgeRegression
 
 export PCSO_DIR=/user/pripshare/Databases/FaceDatabases/PCSO/PCSO/
 
-$BR -useGui 0 -algorithm $ageAlg -path $PCSO_DIR/Images -train "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,Age,PersonID FROM PCSO WHERE Age >= 17 AND AGE <= 68', subset=0:200]" ../share/openbr/models/algorithms/AgeRegression
+$BR -algorithm $ageAlg -path $PCSO_DIR/Images -train "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,Age,PersonID FROM PCSO WHERE Age >= 17 AND AGE <= 68', subset=0:200]" ../share/openbr/models/algorithms/AgeRegression
diff --git a/scripts/trainFaceRecognition-PCSO.sh b/scripts/trainFaceRecognition-PCSO.sh
index ebeb056..1ef1153 100755
--- a/scripts/trainFaceRecognition-PCSO.sh
+++ b/scripts/trainFaceRecognition-PCSO.sh
@@ -14,7 +14,5 @@ export BR=../build/app/br/br
 
 export PCSO_DIR=/user/pripshare/Databases/FaceDatabases/PCSO/PCSO/
 
-
-
-$BR -useGui 0 -algorithm FaceRecognition -path "$PCSO_DIR/Images/" -train "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,PersonID as Label,PersonID FROM PCSO', subset=0:5:6000]" ../share/openbr/models/algorithms/FaceRecognition
+$BR -algorithm FaceRecognition -path "$PCSO_DIR/Images/" -train "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,PersonID as Label,PersonID FROM PCSO', subset=0:5:6000]" ../share/openbr/models/algorithms/FaceRecognition
 
diff --git a/scripts/trainGenderClassification-PCSO.sh b/scripts/trainGenderClassification-PCSO.sh
index acb8146..8875fc9 100755
--- a/scripts/trainGenderClassification-PCSO.sh
+++ b/scripts/trainGenderClassification-PCSO.sh
@@ -13,4 +13,4 @@ export genderAlg=GenderClassification
 
 export PCSO_DIR=/user/pripshare/Databases/FaceDatabases/PCSO/PCSO/
 
-$BR -useGui 0  -algorithm $genderAlg -path $PCSO_DIR/Images -train "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,Gender,PersonID FROM PCSO', subset=0:8000]" ../share/openbr/models/algorithms/GenderClassification
+$BR -algorithm $genderAlg -path $PCSO_DIR/Images -train "$PCSO_DIR/PCSO.db[query='SELECT File,Gender,PersonID FROM PCSO', subset=0:8000]" ../share/openbr/models/algorithms/GenderClassification