diff --git a/src/GLib/GLib.jl b/src/GLib/GLib.jl
index c74eeda3..b70a9cb3 100644
--- a/src/GLib/GLib.jl
+++ b/src/GLib/GLib.jl
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ export set_gtk_property!, get_gtk_property
 export GConnectFlags
 export @sigatom, cfunction_
 
-const IDLE = Ref{Bool}(true)
 
 cfunction_(@nospecialize(f), r, a::Tuple) = cfunction_(f, r, Tuple{a...})
 
@@ -42,6 +41,8 @@ cfunction_(@nospecialize(f), r, a::Tuple) = cfunction_(f, r, Tuple{a...})
     end
 end
 
+const gtk_eventloop_f = Ref{Function}()
+
 # local function, handles Symbol and makes UTF8-strings easier
 const  AbstractStringLike = Union{AbstractString, Symbol}
 bytestring(s) = String(s)
diff --git a/src/GLib/signals.jl b/src/GLib/signals.jl
index 3d7f820c..a917048a 100644
--- a/src/GLib/signals.jl
+++ b/src/GLib/signals.jl
@@ -288,9 +288,7 @@ function uv_prepare(src::Ptr{Nothing}, timeout::Ptr{Cint})
     global expiration, uv_pollfd
     local tmout_ms::Cint
     evt = Base.eventloop()
-    if IDLE[]
-        return Int32(1)
-    elseif !_isempty_workqueue()
+    if !_isempty_workqueue()
         tmout_ms = 0
     elseif !uv_loop_alive(evt)
         tmout_ms = -1
@@ -318,7 +316,7 @@ end
 function uv_check(src::Ptr{Nothing})
     global expiration
     ex = expiration::UInt64
-    if !_isempty_workqueue() || IDLE[]
+    if !_isempty_workqueue()
         return Int32(1)
     elseif !uv_loop_alive(Base.eventloop())
         return Int32(0)
@@ -383,6 +381,7 @@ end
 @deprecate g_timeout_add(interval, cb, user_data) g_timeout_add(() -> cb(user_data), interval)
 
 function g_idle_add(cb::Function)
+    gtk_eventloop_f[](true)
     callback = @cfunction(_g_callback, Cint, (Ref{Function},))
     ref, deref = gc_ref_closure(cb)
     return ccall((:g_idle_add_full , libglib),Cint,
diff --git a/src/Gtk.jl b/src/Gtk.jl
index eb16da42..7908876c 100644
--- a/src/Gtk.jl
+++ b/src/Gtk.jl
@@ -128,35 +128,49 @@ function __init__()
             C_NULL, C_NULL, "Julia Gtk Bindings", C_NULL, C_NULL, error_check)
     end
 
-    # if g_main_depth > 0, a glib main-loop is already running,
-    # so we don't need to start a new one
-    if ccall((:g_main_depth, GLib.libglib), Cint, ()) == 0
-        global gtk_main_task = schedule(Task(gtk_main))
-    end
+    # if g_main_depth > 0, a glib main-loop is already running.
+    # unfortunately this call does not reliably reflect when the loop stops, or restarts, so
+    # only use it once
+    gtk_main_running[] = ccall((:g_main_depth, GLib.libglib), Cint, ()) > 0
+
+    # Given GLib provides `g_idle_add` to specify what happens during idle, this allows
+    # that call to also start the eventloop
+    GLib.gtk_eventloop_f[] = enable_eventloop
 
-    AUTO_IDLE[] = get(ENV, "GTK_AUTO_IDLE", "true") == "true"
-    idle(AUTO_IDLE[])
+    auto_idle[] = get(ENV, "GTK_AUTO_IDLE", "true") == "true"
+
+    # by default, defer starting the event loop until either `show`, `showall`, or `g_idle_add` is called
+    enable_eventloop(!auto_idle[], force = true)
 end
 
-const AUTO_IDLE = Ref{Bool}(true)
+const auto_idle = Ref{Bool}(true) # control default via ENV["GTK_AUTO_IDLE"]
+const gtk_main_running = Ref{Bool}(false)
 
 """
-    Gtk.idle(b::Bool = true)
+    Gtk.enable_eventloop(b::Bool = true)
 
-Set whether Gtk's event loop should be idle.
+Set whether Gtk's event loop is running.
 """
-function idle(b::Bool)
-    GLib.IDLE[] = b
+function enable_eventloop(b::Bool = true; force = false)
+    if b
+        if !is_eventloop_running()
+            global gtk_main_task = schedule(Task(gtk_main))
+            gtk_main_running[] = true
+        end
+    else
+        if is_eventloop_running()
+            gtk_quit()
+            gtk_main_running[] = false
+        end
+    end
 end
 
 """
-    Gtk.isidle()::Bool
+    Gtk.is_eventloop_running()::Bool
 
-Check whether Gtk's event loop is idle.
+Check whether Gtk's event loop is running.
 """
-function isidle()
-    GLib.IDLE[]
-end
+is_eventloop_running() = gtk_main_running[]
 
 const ser_version = Serialization.ser_version
 let cachedir = joinpath(splitdir(@__FILE__)[1], "..", "gen")
diff --git a/src/base.jl b/src/base.jl
index 270097bc..da456a19 100644
--- a/src/base.jl
+++ b/src/base.jl
@@ -28,14 +28,14 @@ screen_size(w::GtkWindowLeaf) = screen_size(Gtk.GAccessor.screen(w))
 visible(w::GtkWidget) = Bool(ccall((:gtk_widget_get_visible, libgtk), Cint, (Ptr{GObject},), w))
 visible(w::GtkWidget, state::Bool) = @sigatom ccall((:gtk_widget_set_visible, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject}, Cint), w, state)
 
-const SHOWN_WIDGETS = WeakKeyDict()
+const shown_widgets = WeakKeyDict()
 function handle_auto_idle(w::GtkWidget)
-    if AUTO_IDLE[]
-        idle(false)
-        SHOWN_WIDGETS[w] = nothing
+    if auto_idle[]
+        enable_eventloop(true)
+        shown_widgets[w] = nothing
         signal_connect(w, :destroy) do w
-            delete!(SHOWN_WIDGETS, w)
-            isempty(SHOWN_WIDGETS) && idle(true)
+            delete!(shown_widgets, w)
+            isempty(shown_widgets) && enable_eventloop(false)
         end
     end
 end
diff --git a/src/windows.jl b/src/windows.jl
index 0defc677..1e8198ae 100644
--- a/src/windows.jl
+++ b/src/windows.jl
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ end
 
 resize!(win::GtkWindow, w::Integer, h::Integer) = ccall((:gtk_window_resize, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject}, Int32, Int32), win, w, h)
 
-present(win::GtkWindow) = ccall((:gtk_window_present, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject},), win)
+present(win::GtkWindow) = (handle_auto_idle(win); ccall((:gtk_window_present, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject},), win))
 
-fullscreen(win::GtkWindow) = ccall((:gtk_window_fullscreen, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject},), win)
+fullscreen(win::GtkWindow) = (handle_auto_idle(win); ccall((:gtk_window_fullscreen, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject},), win))
 unfullscreen(win::GtkWindow) = ccall((:gtk_window_unfullscreen, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject},), win)
 
 maximize(win::GtkWindow) = ccall((:gtk_window_maximize, libgtk), Nothing, (Ptr{GObject},), win)