diff --git a/main/Defaults.scala b/main/Defaults.scala
index 0202aad8a..847d5e4be 100644
--- a/main/Defaults.scala
+++ b/main/Defaults.scala
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ object Defaults extends BuildCommon
 	def globalCore: Seq[Setting[_]] = inScope(GlobalScope)(Seq(
 		pollInterval :== 500,
 		logBuffered :== false,
+		trapExit :== false,
+		trapExit in run :== true,
 		logBuffered in testOnly :== true,
 		logBuffered in test :== true,
 		traceLevel in console :== Int.MaxValue,
@@ -83,7 +85,8 @@ object Defaults extends BuildCommon
 	))
 	def projectCore: Seq[Setting[_]] = Seq(
 		name <<= thisProject(_.id),
-		version :== "0.1"	
+		version :== "0.1",
+		runnerSetting
 	)
 	def paths = Seq(
 		baseDirectory <<= thisProject(_.base),
@@ -357,12 +360,12 @@ object Defaults extends BuildCommon
 		}
 
 	def runnerSetting =
-		runner <<= (scalaInstance, baseDirectory, javaOptions, outputStrategy, fork, javaHome) { (si, base, options, strategy, forkRun, javaHomeDir) =>
+		runner <<= (scalaInstance, baseDirectory, javaOptions, outputStrategy, fork, javaHome, trapExit) { (si, base, options, strategy, forkRun, javaHomeDir, trap) =>
 			if(forkRun) {
 				new ForkRun( ForkOptions(scalaJars = si.jars, javaHome = javaHomeDir, outputStrategy = strategy,
 					runJVMOptions = options, workingDirectory = Some(base)) )
 			} else
-				new Run(si)
+				new Run(si, trap)
 		}
 
 	def docTask: Initialize[Task[File]] =
diff --git a/main/Keys.scala b/main/Keys.scala
index da02ee977..997027707 100644
--- a/main/Keys.scala
+++ b/main/Keys.scala
@@ -143,6 +143,7 @@ object Keys
 	val runMain = InputKey[Unit]("run-main", "Runs the main class selected by the first argument, passing the remaining arguments to the main method.")
 	val discoveredMainClasses = TaskKey[Seq[String]]("discovered-main-classes", "Auto-detects main classes.")
 	val runner = SettingKey[ScalaRun]("runner", "Implementation used to run a main class.")
+	val trapExit = SettingKey[Boolean]("trap-exit", "If true, enables exit trapping and thread management for 'run'-like tasks.  This is currently only suitable for serially-executed 'run'-like tasks.")
 
 	val fork = SettingKey[Boolean]("fork", "If true, forks a new JVM when running.  If false, runs in the same JVM as the build.")
 	val outputStrategy = SettingKey[Option[sbt.OutputStrategy]]("output-strategy", "Selects how to log output when running a main class.")
diff --git a/run/Run.scala b/run/Run.scala
index d92dd8538..afb04eadb 100644
--- a/run/Run.scala
+++ b/run/Run.scala
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ class ForkRun(config: ForkScalaRun) extends ScalaRun
 			Some("Nonzero exit code returned from " + label + ": " + exitCode)
 	}
 }
-class Run(instance: ScalaInstance) extends ScalaRun
+class Run(instance: ScalaInstance, trapExit: Boolean) extends ScalaRun
 {
 	/** Runs the class 'mainClass' using the given classpath and options using the scala runner.*/
 	def run(mainClass: String, classpath: Seq[File], options: Seq[String], log: Logger) =
@@ -41,8 +41,9 @@ class Run(instance: ScalaInstance) extends ScalaRun
 		def execute = 
 			try { run0(mainClass, classpath, options, log) }
 			catch { case e: java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException => throw e.getCause }
+		def directExecute = try { execute; None } catch { case e: Exception => log.trace(e); Some(e.toString) }
 
-		Run.executeTrapExit( execute, log )
+		if(trapExit) Run.executeTrapExit( execute, log ) else directExecute
 	}
 	private def run0(mainClassName: String, classpath: Seq[File], options: Seq[String], log: Logger)
 	{