I think that `python` may not actually be a mandatory dependency for this package. Here are a few reasons why: * its [README.md](https://github.com/libvips/libvips?tab=readme-ov-file#building-from-source) doesn't mention `python` as a dependency; * looking for dependencies from other distros shows no trace of `python` (e.g., [Debian](https://packages.debian.org/bookworm/libvips42), [Alpine](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/package/edge/community/x86/vips-dev)); * building in a clean chroot without `python` succeeds; * running `meson test -C build` succeeds; However, I'd say that we should add the `check()` function. I have already developed one (see below) and it seems that the package comes with two suits of tests, one of which requires `pip` and `pytest`. ```sh checkdepends=('python-pip' 'python-pytest') check() { export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$srcdir/build/libvips" meson test -C build pip install pyvips[test] --break-system-packages pytest -k "not test_text" -sv --log-cli-level=WARNING vips-$pkgver/test/test-suite } ``` I was thinking of contributing two separate patches, one for removing the `python` dependency and a second one to add `check()` and `checkdepends`. I would contribute the second one after the first one to avoid merge conflicts. Let me know what you think!