A better question is why wouldn't I use the docker image? The docker image is an official work output of the project, handles all dependencies without messing u

A better question is why wouldn't I use the docker image? The docker image is an official work output of the project, handles all dependencies without messing up my target machines (I use the pandoc/extra which includes pretty much every ancillary need such as Latex), and is trivial to keep up to date and current holistically. It is by default isolated and controlled to a degree, and allows me to trivially tape together as necessary. The other comment nailed it pretty well, though they hedged it by citing habit (presumably to counter the weird anti-docker trend that has arisen). Dockerizing (or simply containerizing) most vendored products is a choice that is often beneficial, and the marginal overhead is a rounding error.