The package itself is arbitrary code. You're running arbitrary code either way whether it's preinstall, install, post install, or when the package code gets ran

The package itself is arbitrary code. You're running arbitrary code either way whether it's preinstall, install, post install, or when the package code gets ran. It's common to need to setup tool chains for code that gets compiled (i.e. a node module that adds language bindings to a C library)