diff --git a/src/gen_multisig/gen_multisig.cpp b/src/gen_multisig/gen_multisig.cpp
index 943589b4a..03e0a7946 100644
--- a/src/gen_multisig/gen_multisig.cpp
+++ b/src/gen_multisig/gen_multisig.cpp
@@ -174,7 +174,9 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   command_line::add_arg(desc_params, arg_stagenet);
   command_line::add_arg(desc_params, arg_create_address_file);
 
-  const auto vm = wallet_args::main(
+  boost::optional<po::variables_map> vm;
+  bool should_terminate = false;
+  std::tie(vm, should_terminate) = wallet_args::main(
    argc, argv,
    "monero-gen-multisig [(--testnet|--stagenet)] [--filename-base=<filename>] [--scheme=M/N] [--threshold=M] [--participants=N]",
     genms::tr("This program generates a set of multisig wallets - use this simpler scheme only if all the participants trust each other"),
@@ -185,6 +187,8 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   );
   if (!vm)
     return 1;
+  if (should_terminate)
+    return 0;
 
   bool testnet, stagenet;
   uint32_t threshold = 0, total = 0;
diff --git a/src/simplewallet/simplewallet.cpp b/src/simplewallet/simplewallet.cpp
index 639b394f3..ca10d3f3a 100644
--- a/src/simplewallet/simplewallet.cpp
+++ b/src/simplewallet/simplewallet.cpp
@@ -7505,7 +7505,9 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
   po::positional_options_description positional_options;
   positional_options.add(arg_command.name, -1);
 
-  const auto vm = wallet_args::main(
+  boost::optional<po::variables_map> vm;
+  bool should_terminate = false;
+  std::tie(vm, should_terminate) = wallet_args::main(
    argc, argv,
    "monero-wallet-cli [--wallet-file=<file>|--generate-new-wallet=<file>] [<COMMAND>]",
     sw::tr("This is the command line monero wallet. It needs to connect to a monero\ndaemon to work correctly.\nWARNING: Do not reuse your Monero keys on an another fork, UNLESS this fork has key reuse mitigations built in. Doing so will harm your privacy."),
@@ -7520,6 +7522,11 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
     return 1;
   }
 
+  if (should_terminate)
+  {
+    return 0;
+  }
+
   cryptonote::simple_wallet w;
   const bool r = w.init(*vm);
   CHECK_AND_ASSERT_MES(r, 1, sw::tr("Failed to initialize wallet"));
diff --git a/src/wallet/wallet_args.cpp b/src/wallet/wallet_args.cpp
index a6ff63dd3..6311e7700 100644
--- a/src/wallet/wallet_args.cpp
+++ b/src/wallet/wallet_args.cpp
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ namespace wallet_args
     return i18n_translate(str, "wallet_args");
   }
 
-  boost::optional<boost::program_options::variables_map> main(
+  std::pair<boost::optional<boost::program_options::variables_map>, bool> main(
     int argc, char** argv,
     const char* const usage,
     const char* const notice,
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ namespace wallet_args
     po::options_description desc_all;
     desc_all.add(desc_general).add(desc_params);
     po::variables_map vm;
+    bool should_terminate = false;
     bool r = command_line::handle_error_helper(desc_all, [&]()
     {
       auto parser = po::command_line_parser(argc, argv).options(desc_all).positional(positional_options);
@@ -139,12 +140,14 @@ namespace wallet_args
 												  "daemon to work correctly.") << ENDL;
         Print(print) << wallet_args::tr("Usage:") << ENDL << "  " << usage;
         Print(print) << desc_all;
-        return false;
+        should_terminate = true;
+        return true;
       }
       else if (command_line::get_arg(vm, command_line::arg_version))
       {
         Print(print) << "Monero '" << MONERO_RELEASE_NAME << "' (v" << MONERO_VERSION_FULL << ")";
-        return false;
+        should_terminate = true;
+        return true;
       }
 
       if(command_line::has_arg(vm, arg_config_file))
@@ -167,7 +170,10 @@ namespace wallet_args
       return true;
     });
     if (!r)
-      return boost::none;
+      return {boost::none, true};
+
+    if (should_terminate)
+      return {std::move(vm), should_terminate};
 
     std::string log_path;
     if (!command_line::is_arg_defaulted(vm, arg_log_file))
@@ -196,6 +202,6 @@ namespace wallet_args
 
     Print(print) << boost::format(wallet_args::tr("Logging to %s")) % log_path;
 
-    return {std::move(vm)};
+    return {std::move(vm), should_terminate};
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/wallet/wallet_args.h b/src/wallet/wallet_args.h
index af6685845..a1f251144 100644
--- a/src/wallet/wallet_args.h
+++ b/src/wallet/wallet_args.h
@@ -44,8 +44,11 @@ namespace wallet_args
   concurrency. Log file and concurrency arguments are handled, along with basic
   global init for the wallet process.
 
-  \return The list of parsed options, iff there are no errors.*/
-  boost::optional<boost::program_options::variables_map> main(
+  \return
+    pair.first: The list of parsed options, iff there are no errors.
+    pair.second: Should the execution terminate succesfully without actually launching the application
+  */
+  std::pair<boost::optional<boost::program_options::variables_map>, bool> main(
     int argc, char** argv,
     const char* const usage,
     const char* const notice,
diff --git a/src/wallet/wallet_rpc_server.cpp b/src/wallet/wallet_rpc_server.cpp
index a9d211532..8dcdfd1b3 100644
--- a/src/wallet/wallet_rpc_server.cpp
+++ b/src/wallet/wallet_rpc_server.cpp
@@ -2895,7 +2895,9 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
   command_line::add_arg(desc_params, arg_wallet_dir);
   command_line::add_arg(desc_params, arg_prompt_for_password);
 
-  const auto vm = wallet_args::main(
+  boost::optional<po::variables_map> vm;
+  bool should_terminate = false;
+  std::tie(vm, should_terminate) = wallet_args::main(
     argc, argv,
     "monero-wallet-rpc [--wallet-file=<file>|--generate-from-json=<file>|--wallet-dir=<directory>] [--rpc-bind-port=<port>]",
     tools::wallet_rpc_server::tr("This is the RPC monero wallet. It needs to connect to a monero\ndaemon to work correctly."),
@@ -2909,6 +2911,10 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
   {
     return 1;
   }
+  if (should_terminate)
+  {
+    return 0;
+  }
 
   std::unique_ptr<tools::wallet2> wal;
   try