diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 83a75e5f47..02b588dda9 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [0.6.6] - Unreleased
 
+### Added
+
+- Added the ability to run beams from the CLI for Generic Unix platform (it was already possible with nodejs and emscripten).
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - Fixed specifications of nifs from `esp_adc` module
@@ -14,6 +18,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 might lead to a crash in certain situations.
 - Fixed several bugs in `http_server` (#1366)
 - Fixed generic\_unix `socket_driver` to return `{gen_tcp, closed}` when socket is closed on Linux instead of `{gen_tcp, {recv, 104}}`
+- Fixed a memory leak where modules were not properly destroyed when the global context is destroyd
 
 ## [0.6.5] - 2024-10-15
 
diff --git a/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.c b/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.c
index 54a8d291e4..7cdfc020c4 100644
--- a/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.c
+++ b/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.c
@@ -194,6 +194,11 @@ COLD_FUNC void globalcontext_destroy(GlobalContext *glb)
     struct ListHead *item;
     struct ListHead *tmp;
 
+    int module_index = glb->loaded_modules_count;
+    for (int i = 0; i < module_index; i++) {
+        module_destroy(glb->modules_by_index[i]);
+    }
+
     struct ListHead *open_avm_packs = synclist_nolock(&glb->avmpack_data);
     MUTABLE_LIST_FOR_EACH (item, tmp, open_avm_packs) {
         struct AVMPackData *avmpack_data = GET_LIST_ENTRY(item, struct AVMPackData, avmpack_head);
@@ -622,6 +627,9 @@ Module *globalcontext_get_module(GlobalContext *global, AtomString module_name_a
         free(module_name);
 
         if (UNLIKELY(!loaded_module || (globalcontext_insert_module(global, loaded_module) < 0))) {
+            if (loaded_module) {
+                module_destroy(loaded_module);
+            }
             return NULL;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.h b/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.h
index 71f88b6334..617162ab61 100644
--- a/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.h
+++ b/src/libAtomVM/globalcontext.h
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ term globalcontext_existing_term_from_atom_string(GlobalContext *glb, AtomString
 /**
  * @brief Inserts a module to the modules table.
  *
- * @details Inserts an already loaded module to the modules table and assigns and index to it so it can be retrieved later by name or index.
+ * @details Inserts an already loaded module to the modules table and assigns and index to it so it can be retrieved later by name or index. The module is then owned by the global context that will destroy it when globalcontext_destroy is invoked.
  * @param global the global context.
  * @param module the module that will be added to the modules table.
  * @returns the module index if successful, otherwise -1.
diff --git a/src/platforms/emscripten/src/main.c b/src/platforms/emscripten/src/main.c
index 3c168960e8..fd3f00eef2 100644
--- a/src/platforms/emscripten/src/main.c
+++ b/src/platforms/emscripten/src/main.c
@@ -182,7 +182,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
     global = NULL;
 
     if (main_module) {
-        module_destroy(main_module);
         main_module = NULL;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/platforms/generic_unix/main.c b/src/platforms/generic_unix/main.c
index de22155f27..a5b5fbacb7 100644
--- a/src/platforms/generic_unix/main.c
+++ b/src/platforms/generic_unix/main.c
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ void print_help(const char *program_name)
         "\n"
         "Syntax:\n"
         "\n"
-        "    %s [-h] [-v] <path-to-avm-file>+\n"
+        "    %s [-h] [-v] <path-to-avm-or-beam-file>+\n"
         "\n"
         "Options:\n"
         "\n"
@@ -88,9 +88,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
     GlobalContext *glb = globalcontext_new();
 
-    const void *startup_beam = NULL;
-    uint32_t startup_beam_size;
-    const char *startup_module_name;
+    Module *startup_module = NULL;
 
     for (int i = 1; i < argc; ++i) {
         const char *ext = strrchr(argv[i], '.');
@@ -102,50 +100,56 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
             }
             synclist_append(&glb->avmpack_data, &avmpack_data->avmpack_head);
 
-            if (IS_NULL_PTR(startup_beam)) {
+            if (IS_NULL_PTR(startup_module)) {
+                const void *startup_beam = NULL;
+                const char *startup_module_name;
+                uint32_t startup_beam_size;
                 avmpack_find_section_by_flag(avmpack_data->data, 1, &startup_beam, &startup_beam_size, &startup_module_name);
 
                 if (startup_beam) {
                     avmpack_data->in_use = true;
+                    startup_module = module_new_from_iff_binary(glb, startup_beam, startup_beam_size);
+                    if (IS_NULL_PTR(startup_module)) {
+                        fprintf(stderr, "Cannot load startup module: %s\n", startup_module_name);
+                        return EXIT_FAILURE;
+                    }
+                    globalcontext_insert_module(glb, startup_module);
+                    startup_module->module_platform_data = NULL;
                 }
             }
 
-        } else if (i == 1 && ext && (strcmp(ext, ".beam") == 0)) {
+        } else if (ext && (strcmp(ext, ".beam") == 0)) {
             MappedFile *mapped_file = mapped_file_open_beam(argv[i]);
             if (!iff_is_valid_beam(mapped_file->mapped)) {
-                fprintf(stderr, "%s has invalid AVM Pack format.\n", argv[i]);
+                fprintf(stderr, "%s has invalid beam format.\n", argv[i]);
                 return EXIT_FAILURE;
             }
-            startup_module_name = basename(argv[1]);
-            startup_beam = mapped_file->mapped;
-            startup_beam_size = mapped_file->size;
-
-        } else if (i == 1) {
-            fprintf(stderr, "%s is not an AVM or a BEAM file.\n", argv[i]);
-            return EXIT_FAILURE;
+            Module *mod = module_new_from_iff_binary(glb, mapped_file->mapped, mapped_file->size);
+            if (IS_NULL_PTR(mod)) {
+                fprintf(stderr, "Cannot load module: %s\n", argv[i]);
+                return EXIT_FAILURE;
+            }
+            globalcontext_insert_module(glb, mod);
+            mod->module_platform_data = NULL;
+            if (IS_NULL_PTR(startup_module) && module_search_exported_function(mod, ATOM_STR("\5", "start"), 0, glb) != 0) {
+                startup_module = mod;
+            }
 
         } else {
-            fprintf(stderr, "%s is not an AVM file.\n", argv[i]);
+            fprintf(stderr, "%s is not an AVM or a BEAM file.\n", argv[i]);
             return EXIT_FAILURE;
         }
     }
 
-    if (IS_NULL_PTR(startup_beam)) {
+    if (IS_NULL_PTR(startup_module)) {
         fprintf(stderr, "Unable to locate entrypoint.\n");
         return EXIT_FAILURE;
     }
 
-    Module *mod = module_new_from_iff_binary(glb, startup_beam, startup_beam_size);
-    if (IS_NULL_PTR(mod)) {
-        fprintf(stderr, "Cannot load startup module: %s\n", startup_module_name);
-        return EXIT_FAILURE;
-    }
-    globalcontext_insert_module(glb, mod);
-    mod->module_platform_data = NULL;
     Context *ctx = context_new(glb);
     ctx->leader = 1;
 
-    context_execute_loop(ctx, mod, "start", 0);
+    context_execute_loop(ctx, startup_module, "start", 0);
 
     term ret_value = ctx->x[0];
     fprintf(stderr, "Return value: ");
@@ -161,7 +165,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
     context_destroy(ctx);
     globalcontext_destroy(glb);
-    module_destroy(mod);
 
     return status;
 }
diff --git a/tests/test.c b/tests/test.c
index 9b9f810353..0722f84104 100644
--- a/tests/test.c
+++ b/tests/test.c
@@ -608,7 +608,6 @@ static int test_atom(struct Test *test)
 
     context_destroy(ctx);
     globalcontext_destroy(glb);
-    module_destroy(mod);
     mapped_file_close(beam_file);
     return result;
 }