diff --git a/make/autoconf/jdk-options.m4 b/make/autoconf/jdk-options.m4
index dafac618c59..89fcbc88521 100644
--- a/make/autoconf/jdk-options.m4
+++ b/make/autoconf/jdk-options.m4
@@ -102,6 +102,13 @@ AC_DEFUN_ONCE([JDKOPT_SETUP_JDK_OPTIONS],
       CHECKING_MSG: [if we should build headless-only (no GUI)])
   AC_SUBST(ENABLE_HEADLESS_ONLY)
 
+  # Avoid headless-only on macOS and Windows, it is not supported there
+  if test "x$ENABLE_HEADLESS_ONLY" = xtrue; then
+    if test "x$OPENJDK_TARGET_OS" = xwindows || test "x$OPENJDK_TARGET_OS" = xmacosx; then
+      AC_MSG_ERROR([headless-only is not supported on macOS and Windows])
+    fi
+  fi
+
   # should we linktime gc unused code sections in the JDK build ?
   if test "x$OPENJDK_TARGET_OS" = "xlinux"; then
     if test "x$OPENJDK_TARGET_CPU" = "xs390x" || test "x$OPENJDK_TARGET_CPU" = "xppc64le"; then