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>The binary it produces is still dependency free.

But the project now depends on Python, pip and Meson.

As opposed to cmake or autotools?

I mean it's not like Python is a rarity on Linux systems, or a difficult thing to install (assuming it wasn't installed by default)

Python might not be rare but Meson for sure is. Cmake and autotools are very common compared to that.

Rare yes, but no more effort to install, and significantly more pleasant to use.