Note that msys2 isn't just for building programs, it provides a full bash environment with many unix tools and a package manager (pacman, same as in Arch Linux)

Note that msys2 isn't just for building programs, it provides a full bash environment with many unix tools and a package manager (pacman, same as in Arch Linux) to install more. The build environment is unixy enough to be able to build more tools from source using the classic ./configure; make; make install route (more or less, may need some modifications in the code). For me my main use of msys2 is as a shell where i run scripts and command-line utilities with the build stuff being a distant secondary use.