diff --git a/include/sta/tacos.hpp b/include/sta/tacos.hpp
index 3ca9f85..b92f699 100644
--- a/include/sta/tacos.hpp
+++ b/include/sta/tacos.hpp
@@ -68,9 +68,13 @@ namespace sta
 		 * @ingroup tacos_api
 		 */
 		template<typename T, typename ... Args>
-		void addThread(std::list<uint16_t> states, Args ... args)
+		std::shared_ptr<T> addThread(std::list<uint16_t> states, Args ... args)
 		{
-            Manager::instance()->registerThread(std::make_shared<T>(args...), states);
+			std::shared_ptr<T> thread_ptr = std::make_shared<T>(args...);
+
+            Manager::instance()->registerThread(thread_ptr, states);
+
+            return thread_ptr;
         }
 	}  // namespace tacos
 }
diff --git a/include/sta/tacos/thread.hpp b/include/sta/tacos/thread.hpp
index ca01469..4cebf27 100644
--- a/include/sta/tacos/thread.hpp
+++ b/include/sta/tacos/thread.hpp
@@ -32,10 +32,13 @@ namespace sta
 		public:
 			/**
 			 * @brief Create a new thread with the given name and priority.
+			 * 
+			 * @param name The thread's name. This is used for debugging.
+			 * @param prio The thread's priority. Generally, this should be lower than the manager and statemachine priority.
+			 * @param stack_size The stack size for the task. The default is 0, i.e. the stack size specified in the FreeRTOS settings.
+			 * @param cb_size The control block size for the task. The default is 0, i.e. the size specified in the FreeRTOS settings.
 			 */
-			TacosThread(const char* name, osPriority_t prio);
-
-			TacosThread();
+			TacosThread(const char* name, osPriority_t prio, uint32_t stack_size = 0, uint32_t cb_size = 0);
 
 			virtual ~TacosThread();
 
diff --git a/src/thread.cpp b/src/thread.cpp
index 49c6b14..a392422 100644
--- a/src/thread.cpp
+++ b/src/thread.cpp
@@ -19,19 +19,15 @@ namespace sta
 {
 	namespace tacos
 	{
-		TacosThread::TacosThread(const char* name, osPriority_t prio)
+		TacosThread::TacosThread(const char* name, osPriority_t prio, uint32_t stack_size /* = 0 */, uint32_t cb_size /* = 0 */)
 				: RtosThread(RtosHandle<osThreadId_t>(Handle::Deferred(&instance_))),
 				  instance_{ NULL },
-				  attribs_{ .name = name, .priority = prio },
+				  attribs_{ .name=name, .cb_size=cb_size, .stack_size=stack_size, .priority=prio },
 				  running_{false}
-		{}
-
-		TacosThread::TacosThread()
-				: RtosThread(RtosHandle<osThreadId_t>(Handle::Deferred(&instance_))),
-				  instance_{ NULL },
-				  attribs_{ },
-				  running_{false}
-		{}
+		{
+			STA_ASSERT(stack_size >= 0);
+			STA_ASSERT(cb_size >= 0);
+		}
 
 		void TacosThread::entry_point(void* arg)
 		{