diff --git a/core/Test/Tasty.hs b/core/Test/Tasty.hs
index e34aaa8a..07587365 100644
--- a/core/Test/Tasty.hs
+++ b/core/Test/Tasty.hs
@@ -36,7 +36,9 @@ module Test.Tasty
   , sequentialTestGroup
   -- * Running tests
   , defaultMain
+  , defaultMainWithOptions
   , defaultMainWithIngredients
+  , defaultMainWithIngredientsAndOptions
   , defaultIngredients
   , includingOptions
   -- * Adjusting and querying options
@@ -66,10 +68,10 @@ module Test.Tasty
   where
 
 import Test.Tasty.Core
-import Test.Tasty.Runners
+import Test.Tasty.Ingredients.Basic
 import Test.Tasty.Options
 import Test.Tasty.Options.Core
-import Test.Tasty.Ingredients.Basic
+import Test.Tasty.Runners
 
 -- | List of the default ingredients. This is what 'defaultMain' uses.
 --
@@ -106,6 +108,36 @@ defaultIngredients = [listingTests, consoleTestReporter]
 defaultMain :: TestTree -> IO ()
 defaultMain = defaultMainWithIngredients defaultIngredients
 
+-- | Parse the command line arguments and run the tests.
+--
+-- When the tests finish, this function calls 'System.Exit.exitWith' with the exit code
+-- that indicates whether any tests have failed. Most external systems
+-- (stack, cabal, travis-ci, jenkins etc.) rely on the exit code to detect
+-- whether the tests pass. If you want to do something else after
+-- `defaultMain` returns, you need to catch the exception and then re-throw
+-- it. Example:
+--
+-- >import Test.Tasty
+-- >import Test.Tasty.HUnit
+-- >import Test.Tasty.Runners
+-- >import System.Exit
+-- >import Control.Exception
+-- >
+-- >test = testCase "Test 1" (2 @?= 3)
+-- >
+-- >opts = singleOption $ NumThreads 1
+-- >
+-- >main = defaultMainWithOptions opts test
+-- >  `catch` (\e -> do
+-- >    if e == ExitSuccess
+-- >      then putStrLn "Yea"
+-- >      else putStrLn "Nay"
+-- >    throwIO e)
+--
+-- @since 1.5.1
+defaultMainWithOptions :: OptionSet -> TestTree -> IO ()
+defaultMainWithOptions = defaultMainWithIngredientsAndOptions defaultIngredients
+
 -- | Locally adjust the option value for the given test subtree.
 --
 -- @since 0.1
diff --git a/core/Test/Tasty/CmdLine.hs b/core/Test/Tasty/CmdLine.hs
index 55d1da8f..9b7e2d3a 100644
--- a/core/Test/Tasty/CmdLine.hs
+++ b/core/Test/Tasty/CmdLine.hs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ module Test.Tasty.CmdLine
   , suiteOptionParser
   , parseOptions
   , defaultMainWithIngredients
+  , defaultMainWithIngredientsAndOptions
   ) where
 
 import Control.Arrow
@@ -171,11 +172,24 @@ parseOptions ins tree = do
 --
 -- @since 0.4
 defaultMainWithIngredients :: [Ingredient] -> TestTree -> IO ()
-defaultMainWithIngredients ins testTree = do
+defaultMainWithIngredients ins = do
+  defaultMainWithIngredientsAndOptions ins mempty
+
+-- | Parse the command line arguments and run the tests using the provided
+-- ingredient list and option set.
+--
+-- When the tests finish, this function calls 'System.Exit.exitWith' with the exit code
+-- that indicates whether any tests have failed. See 'Test.Tasty.defaultMain' for
+-- details.
+--
+-- @since 1.5.1
+defaultMainWithIngredientsAndOptions :: [Ingredient] -> OptionSet -> TestTree -> IO ()
+defaultMainWithIngredientsAndOptions ins opts testTree = do
   installSignalHandlers
-  opts <- parseOptions ins testTree
+  parsedOpts <- parseOptions ins testTree
+  let opts' = opts <> parsedOpts
 
-  case tryIngredients ins opts testTree of
+  case tryIngredients ins opts' testTree of
     Nothing -> do
       hPutStrLn stderr
         "No ingredients agreed to run. Something is wrong either with your ingredient set or the options."
diff --git a/core/Test/Tasty/Runners.hs b/core/Test/Tasty/Runners.hs
index 87937bf2..5b66fb78 100644
--- a/core/Test/Tasty/Runners.hs
+++ b/core/Test/Tasty/Runners.hs
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ module Test.Tasty.Runners
   , optionParser
   , suiteOptionParser
   , defaultMainWithIngredients
+  , defaultMainWithIngredientsAndOptions
     -- * Running tests
   , Status(..)
   , Result(..)
@@ -54,12 +55,12 @@ module Test.Tasty.Runners
   )
   where
 
+import Test.Tasty.CmdLine
 import Test.Tasty.Core
-import Test.Tasty.Run
 import Test.Tasty.Ingredients
+import Test.Tasty.Ingredients.Basic
 import Test.Tasty.Options.Core
 import Test.Tasty.Patterns
-import Test.Tasty.CmdLine
-import Test.Tasty.Ingredients.Basic
+import Test.Tasty.Run
 import Test.Tasty.Runners.Reducers
 import Test.Tasty.Runners.Utils