diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 228a641af..ccb1e60a7 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ include_directories(
     ${OPENGL_INCLUDE_DIR}
 )
 
+##############################################################################
+# main GUI application
+
 set(sdrangel_SOURCES
     app/main.cpp
 )
@@ -236,6 +239,30 @@ endif(WIN32)
 
 qt5_use_modules(sdrangel Widgets Multimedia)
 
+##############################################################################
+# main server application
+
+set(sdrangelsrv_SOURCES
+    appsrv/main.cpp
+)
+
+add_executable(sdrangelsrv
+    ${sdrangelsrv_SOURCES}
+)
+
+target_include_directories(sdrangelsrv
+    PUBLIC ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/sdrsrv
+)
+
+target_link_libraries(sdrangelsrv
+    sdrbase
+    sdrsrv
+    logging
+    ${QT_LIBRARIES}
+)
+
+qt5_use_modules(sdrangelsrv Multimedia)
+
 ##############################################################################
 
 if (BUILD_DEBIAN)
@@ -265,6 +292,7 @@ endif(LIBUSB_FOUND AND UNIX)
 
 #install targets
 install(TARGETS sdrangel DESTINATION bin)
+install(TARGETS sdrangelsrv DESTINATION bin)
 #install(TARGETS sdrbase DESTINATION lib)
 
 #install files and directories
diff --git a/appsrv/main.cpp b/appsrv/main.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b93653781
--- /dev/null
+++ b/appsrv/main.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// Copyright (C) 2017 Edouard Griffiths, F4EXB.                                  //
+//                                                                               //
+// Swagger server adapter interface                                              //
+//                                                                               //
+// This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify          //
+// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by          //
+// the Free Software Foundation as version 3 of the License, or                  //
+//                                                                               //
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,               //
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of                //
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the                  //
+// GNU General Public License V3 for more details.                               //
+//                                                                               //
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License             //
+// along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.          //
+///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+
+#include <QCoreApplication>
+
+#include "loggerwithfile.h"
+#include "maincore.h"
+
+
+static int runQtApplication(int argc, char* argv[], qtwebapp::LoggerWithFile *logger)
+{
+    QCoreApplication a(argc, argv);
+
+    QCoreApplication::setOrganizationName("f4exb");
+    QCoreApplication::setApplicationName("SDRangelSrv");
+    QCoreApplication::setApplicationVersion("3.9.0");
+
+    MainParser parser;
+    parser.parse(a);
+    MainCore m(logger, parser, &a);
+
+    // This will cause the application to exit when the main core is finished
+    QObject::connect(&m, SIGNAL(finished()), &a, SLOT(quit()));
+
+    // This will run the main core from the application event loop.
+    QTimer::singleShot(0, &m, SLOT(run()));
+
+    return a.exec();
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char* argv[])
+{
+    qtwebapp::LoggerWithFile *logger = new qtwebapp::LoggerWithFile(qApp);
+    logger->installMsgHandler();
+    int res = runQtApplication(argc, argv, logger);
+    qWarning("SDRangel quit.");
+    return res;
+}
+
+
diff --git a/sdrsrv/maincore.cpp b/sdrsrv/maincore.cpp
index 16d7b3c9f..33c1ff610 100644
--- a/sdrsrv/maincore.cpp
+++ b/sdrsrv/maincore.cpp
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@
 
 MainCore *MainCore::m_instance = 0;
 
-MainCore::MainCore(qtwebapp::LoggerWithFile *logger, const MainParser& parser) :
+MainCore::MainCore(qtwebapp::LoggerWithFile *logger, const MainParser& parser, QObject *parent) :
+    QObject(parent),
     m_settings(),
     m_masterTabIndex(-1),
     m_dspEngine(DSPEngine::instance()),
@@ -69,3 +70,11 @@ MainCore::~MainCore()
     qDebug() << "MainCore::~MainCore: end";
     delete m_logger;
 }
+
+void MainCore::run()
+{
+    qDebug() << "MainCore::run: start";
+    // TODO: the main loop is here
+    qDebug() << "MainCore::run: end";
+    emit finished();
+}
diff --git a/sdrsrv/maincore.h b/sdrsrv/maincore.h
index ff8fa8412..12ed4ddd6 100644
--- a/sdrsrv/maincore.h
+++ b/sdrsrv/maincore.h
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class SDRANGEL_API MainCore : public QObject {
     Q_OBJECT
 
 public:
-    explicit MainCore(qtwebapp::LoggerWithFile *logger, const MainParser& parser);
+    explicit MainCore(qtwebapp::LoggerWithFile *logger, const MainParser& parser, QObject *parent = 0);
     ~MainCore();
     static MainCore *getInstance() { return m_instance; } // Main Core is de facto a singleton so this just returns its reference
 
@@ -62,6 +62,12 @@ public:
 
     friend class WebAPIAdapterSrv;
 
+public slots:
+    void run();
+
+signals:
+    void finished();
+
 private:
     static MainCore *m_instance;
     MessageQueue m_inputMessageQueue;