diff --git a/examples/meson.build b/examples/meson.build
index 71a036a4..4cef7d15 100644
--- a/examples/meson.build
+++ b/examples/meson.build
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+if get_option('enable_examples')
+
 app = executable('example-app', 'app.c',
   dependencies: [dependency('glib-2.0'), libsysprof_capture_dep],
 )
+
+endif
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 6550126a..92c49ee5 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -52,30 +52,6 @@ if get_option('default_library') != 'static'
   endif
 endif
 
-glib_dep = dependency('glib-2.0', version: glib_req_version)
-gio_dep = dependency('gio-2.0', version: glib_req_version)
-gio_unix_dep = dependency('gio-unix-2.0', version: glib_req_version)
-pangoft2_dep = dependency('pangoft2', required: false)
-
-if get_option('enable_gtk')
-  gtk_dep = dependency('gtk+-3.0', version: gtk_req_version)
-  dazzle_dep = dependency('libdazzle-1.0', version: dazzle_req_version, fallback: ['libdazzle', 'libdazzle_dep'])
-endif
-
-polkit_dep = dependency('polkit-gobject-1', version: '>= 0.114', required: false)
-if polkit_dep.found()
-  config_h.set10('HAVE_POLKIT_AUTOPTR', true)
-endif
-polkit_dep = dependency('polkit-gobject-1', version: polkit_req_version, required: false)
-
-if polkit_dep.found()
-  config_h.set10('HAVE_POLKIT', true)
-else
-  if get_option('with_sysprofd') == 'bundled'
-    error('sysprofd requires polkit @0@'.format(polkit_req_version))
-  endif
-endif
-
 debugdir = get_option('debugdir')
 if debugdir == ''
   debugdir = join_paths(get_option('prefix'), get_option('libdir'), 'debug')
@@ -86,21 +62,14 @@ config_h.set_quoted('GETTEXT_PACKAGE', 'sysprof')
 config_h.set10('ENABLE_NLS', true)
 config_h.set_quoted('PACKAGE_LOCALE_DIR', join_paths(get_option('prefix'), get_option('datadir'), 'locale'))
 config_h.set('LOCALEDIR', 'PACKAGE_LOCALE_DIR')
-
-if cc.has_header('execinfo.h')
-  config_h.set10('HAVE_EXECINFO_H', true)
-endif
+config_h.set('HAVE_EXECINFO_H', cc.has_header('execinfo.h'))
 
 config_h.set('HAVE_STRLCPY', cc.has_function('strlcpy'))
 
 if get_option('libunwind')
   libunwind_dep = dependency('libunwind-generic', required: false)
-  if libunwind_dep.found()
-    config_h.set10('ENABLE_LIBUNWIND', libunwind_dep.found())
-    if cc.has_header_symbol('libunwind.h', 'unw_set_cache_size', dependencies: [libunwind_dep])
-      config_h.set10('HAVE_UNW_SET_CACHE_SIZE', 1)
-    endif
-  endif
+  config_h.set('ENABLE_LIBUNWIND', libunwind_dep.found())
+  config_h.set('HAVE_UNW_SET_CACHE_SIZE', libunwind_dep.found() and cc.has_header_symbol('libunwind.h', 'unw_set_cache_size', dependencies: [libunwind_dep]))
 endif
 
 # Development build setup
@@ -108,9 +77,7 @@ config_h.set('DEVELOPMENT_BUILD', version_split[1].to_int().is_odd())
 
 has_use_clockid = cc.has_member('struct perf_event_attr', 'use_clockid', prefix: '#include <linux/perf_event.h>')
 has_clockid = cc.has_member('struct perf_event_attr', 'clockid', prefix: '#include <linux/perf_event.h>')
-if has_use_clockid and has_clockid
-  config_h.set10('HAVE_PERF_CLOCKID', true)
-endif
+config_h.set('HAVE_PERF_CLOCKID', has_use_clockid and has_clockid)
 
 add_project_arguments([
   '-I' + meson.build_root(), # config.h
diff --git a/meson_options.txt b/meson_options.txt
index 623945c7..10f90fb1 100644
--- a/meson_options.txt
+++ b/meson_options.txt
@@ -32,3 +32,15 @@ option('help', type: 'boolean')
 
 # Disable use of libunwind
 option('libunwind', type: 'boolean')
+
+# Optionally disable the tools (this is mostly only useful for building only
+# libsysprof-capture as a subproject)
+option('enable_tools', type: 'boolean')
+
+# Optionally disable the tests (this is mostly only useful for building only
+# libsysprof-capture as a subproject)
+option('enable_tests', type: 'boolean')
+
+# Optionally disable the examples (this is mostly only useful for building only
+# libsysprof-capture as a subproject)
+option('enable_examples', type: 'boolean')
diff --git a/src/libsysprof-capture/meson.build b/src/libsysprof-capture/meson.build
index c8cd6895..5f5b7ca2 100644
--- a/src/libsysprof-capture/meson.build
+++ b/src/libsysprof-capture/meson.build
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ libsysprof_capture_headers = files([
   'sysprof-version-macros.h',
 ])
 
-install_headers(libsysprof_capture_headers, subdir: sysprof_header_subdir)
+if not meson.is_subproject()
+  install_headers(libsysprof_capture_headers, subdir: sysprof_header_subdir)
+endif
 
 libsysprof_capture_sources = files([
   'mapped-ring-buffer.c',
@@ -34,6 +36,7 @@ configure_file(
          output: 'sysprof-version.h',
   configuration: sysprof_version_conf,
     install_dir: join_paths(get_option('includedir'), sysprof_header_subdir),
+        install: not meson.is_subproject(),
 )
 
 libsysprof_capture_deps = [
@@ -47,7 +50,7 @@ libsysprof_capture = static_library(
            dependencies: libsysprof_capture_deps,
                  c_args: [ '-DSYSPROF_CAPTURE_COMPILATION' ],
             install_dir: get_option('libdir'),
-                install: true,
+                install: not meson.is_subproject(),
   gnu_symbol_visibility: 'hidden',
 )
 
@@ -59,15 +62,17 @@ libsysprof_capture_dep = declare_dependency(
   include_directories: libsysprof_capture_include_dirs,
 )
 
-pkgconfig.generate(
-    libraries: [libsysprof_capture],
-      subdirs: [ sysprof_header_subdir ],
-      version: meson.project_version(),
-         name: 'sysprof-capture-@0@'.format(libsysprof_api_version),
-     filebase: 'sysprof-capture-@0@'.format(libsysprof_api_version),
-  description: 'The static capture library for tools that generate profiling capture data',
-  install_dir: join_paths(get_option('libdir'), 'pkgconfig'),
-     variables: [
-       'datadir=' + datadir_for_pc_file,
-     ],
-)
+if not meson.is_subproject()
+  pkgconfig.generate(
+      libraries: [libsysprof_capture],
+        subdirs: [ sysprof_header_subdir ],
+        version: meson.project_version(),
+           name: 'sysprof-capture-@0@'.format(libsysprof_api_version),
+       filebase: 'sysprof-capture-@0@'.format(libsysprof_api_version),
+    description: 'The static capture library for tools that generate profiling capture data',
+    install_dir: join_paths(get_option('libdir'), 'pkgconfig'),
+       variables: [
+         'datadir=' + datadir_for_pc_file,
+       ],
+  )
+endif
diff --git a/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.c b/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.c
index d95aee8c..6d9e6b1c 100644
--- a/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.c
+++ b/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.c
@@ -621,6 +621,73 @@ sysprof_collector_mark (int64_t     time,
   } COLLECTOR_END;
 }
 
+void
+sysprof_collector_mark_printf (int64_t     time,
+                               int64_t     duration,
+                               const char *group,
+                               const char *mark,
+                               const char *message_format,
+                               ...)
+{
+  va_list args;
+
+  va_start (args, message_format);
+  sysprof_collector_mark_vprintf (time, duration, group, mark, message_format, args);
+  va_end (args);
+}
+
+void
+sysprof_collector_mark_vprintf (int64_t     time,
+                                int64_t     duration,
+                                const char *group,
+                                const char *mark,
+                                const char *message_format,
+                                va_list     args)
+{
+  COLLECTOR_BEGIN {
+    SysprofCaptureMark *ev;
+    size_t len;
+    size_t sl;
+    va_list args2;
+
+    /* Need to take a copy of @args since we iterate through it twice, once to
+     * work out the formatted string length, and once to format it. */
+    va_copy (args2, args);
+
+    if (group == NULL)
+      group = "";
+
+    if (mark == NULL)
+      mark = "";
+
+    if (message_format == NULL)
+      message_format = "";
+
+    /* Work out the formatted message length */
+    sl = vsnprintf (NULL, 0, message_format, args);
+
+    len = realign (sizeof *ev + sl + 1);
+
+    if ((ev = mapped_ring_buffer_allocate (collector->buffer, len)))
+      {
+        ev->frame.len = len;
+        ev->frame.type = SYSPROF_CAPTURE_FRAME_MARK;
+        ev->frame.cpu = _do_getcpu ();
+        ev->frame.pid = collector->pid;
+        ev->frame.time = time;
+        ev->duration = duration;
+        _sysprof_strlcpy (ev->group, group, sizeof ev->group);
+        _sysprof_strlcpy (ev->name, mark, sizeof ev->name);
+        vsnprintf (ev->message, sl + 1, message_format, args2);
+        ev->message[sl] = 0;
+
+        mapped_ring_buffer_advance (collector->buffer, ev->frame.len);
+      }
+
+    va_end (args2);
+  } COLLECTOR_END;
+}
+
 void
 sysprof_collector_log (int             severity,
                        const char     *domain,
diff --git a/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.h b/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.h
index b91a5a7c..577c3bf7 100644
--- a/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.h
+++ b/src/libsysprof-capture/sysprof-collector.h
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
+#include <stdarg.h>
+
 #include "sysprof-capture-types.h"
 #include "sysprof-macros.h"
 
@@ -77,6 +79,20 @@ void sysprof_collector_mark     (int64_t                time,
                                  const char            *group,
                                  const char            *mark,
                                  const char            *message);
+SYSPROF_AVAILABLE_IN_3_38
+void sysprof_collector_mark_printf  (int64_t     time,
+                                     int64_t     duration,
+                                     const char *group,
+                                     const char *mark,
+                                     const char *message_format,
+                                     ...) SYSPROF_PRINTF(5, 6);
+SYSPROF_AVAILABLE_IN_3_38
+void sysprof_collector_mark_vprintf (int64_t     time,
+                                     int64_t     duration,
+                                     const char *group,
+                                     const char *mark,
+                                     const char *message_format,
+                                     va_list     args) SYSPROF_PRINTF(5, 0);
 SYSPROF_AVAILABLE_IN_3_36
 void sysprof_collector_log      (int                    severity,
                                  const char            *domain,
diff --git a/src/libsysprof-ui/meson.build b/src/libsysprof-ui/meson.build
index 1151f391..bb3655f8 100644
--- a/src/libsysprof-ui/meson.build
+++ b/src/libsysprof-ui/meson.build
@@ -85,9 +85,9 @@ libsysprof_ui_resources = gnome.compile_resources(
 )
 
 libsysprof_ui_deps = [
-  gio_dep,
-  gtk_dep,
-  dazzle_dep,
+  dependency('gio-2.0', version: glib_req_version),
+  dependency('gtk+-3.0', version: gtk_req_version),
+  dependency('libdazzle-1.0', version: dazzle_req_version, fallback: ['libdazzle', 'libdazzle_dep']),
   libsysprof_dep,
 ]
 
diff --git a/src/libsysprof/meson.build b/src/libsysprof/meson.build
index cc5f96ff..a8ecaae1 100644
--- a/src/libsysprof/meson.build
+++ b/src/libsysprof/meson.build
@@ -100,10 +100,19 @@ librax_dep = declare_dependency(
   include_directories: include_directories('.'),
 )
 
+polkit_dep = dependency('polkit-gobject-1', version: polkit_req_version, required: false)
+if polkit_dep.found()
+  libsysprof_c_args += ['-DHAVE_POLKIT']
+endif
+
+if dependency('polkit-gobject-1', version: '>= 0.114', required: false).found()
+  libsysprof_c_args += ['-DHAVE_POLKIT_AUTOPTR']
+endif
+
 libsysprof_deps = [
   libsysprof_capture_deps,
-  gio_dep,
-  gio_unix_dep,
+  dependency('gio-2.0', version: glib_req_version),
+  dependency('gio-unix-2.0', version: glib_req_version),
   polkit_dep,
   librax_dep,
 ]
diff --git a/src/meson.build b/src/meson.build
index f464cbba..65ab3bae 100644
--- a/src/meson.build
+++ b/src/meson.build
@@ -7,25 +7,25 @@ sysprof_version_conf.set('MINOR_VERSION', sysprof_version[1])
 sysprof_version_conf.set('MICRO_VERSION', sysprof_version[2])
 sysprof_version_conf.set('VERSION', meson.project_version())
 
-ipc_profiler_src = gnome.gdbus_codegen('ipc-profiler',
-           sources: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.Profiler.xml',
-  interface_prefix: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.',
-         namespace: 'Ipc',
-)
+if get_option('with_sysprofd') == 'bundled' or get_option('libsysprof')
+  ipc_profiler_src = gnome.gdbus_codegen('ipc-profiler',
+             sources: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.Profiler.xml',
+    interface_prefix: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.',
+           namespace: 'Ipc',
+  )
 
-ipc_service_src = gnome.gdbus_codegen('ipc-service',
-           sources: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.Service.xml',
-  interface_prefix: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.',
-         namespace: 'Ipc',
-)
+  ipc_service_src = gnome.gdbus_codegen('ipc-service',
+             sources: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.Service.xml',
+    interface_prefix: 'org.gnome.Sysprof3.',
+           namespace: 'Ipc',
+  )
 
-ipc_legacy_src = gnome.gdbus_codegen('ipc-legacy',
-           sources: 'org.gnome.Sysprof2.xml',
-  interface_prefix: 'org.gnome.',
-         namespace: 'IpcLegacy',
-)
+  ipc_legacy_src = gnome.gdbus_codegen('ipc-legacy',
+             sources: 'org.gnome.Sysprof2.xml',
+    interface_prefix: 'org.gnome.',
+           namespace: 'IpcLegacy',
+  )
 
-if get_option('with_sysprofd') == 'bundled'
   install_data(['org.gnome.Sysprof3.Service.xml',
                 'org.gnome.Sysprof2.xml'],
     install_dir: join_paths(datadir, 'dbus-1/interfaces'),
diff --git a/src/sysprof/meson.build b/src/sysprof/meson.build
index 7fb58f11..b4e5ea51 100644
--- a/src/sysprof/meson.build
+++ b/src/sysprof/meson.build
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ sysprof_deps = [
   libsysprof_capture_dep,
   libsysprof_dep,
   libsysprof_ui_dep,
-  pangoft2_dep,
+  dependency('pangoft2', required: false),
 ]
 
 sysprof = executable('sysprof', sysprof_resources + sysprof_sources,
diff --git a/src/sysprofd/meson.build b/src/sysprofd/meson.build
index bf1a652d..719d3af9 100644
--- a/src/sysprofd/meson.build
+++ b/src/sysprofd/meson.build
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ sysprofd_sources = [
 pkglibexecdir = join_paths(get_option('prefix'), get_option('libexecdir'))
 
 sysprofd_deps = [
-  glib_dep,
-  gio_dep,
-  gio_unix_dep,
-  polkit_dep,
+  dependency('glib-2.0', version: glib_req_version),
+  dependency('gio-2.0', version: glib_req_version),
+  dependency('gio-unix-2.0', version: glib_req_version),
+  dependency('polkit-gobject-1', version: polkit_req_version),
   libsysprof_capture_dep,
 ]
 
diff --git a/src/tests/meson.build b/src/tests/meson.build
index 1a450aef..e2c1d65a 100644
--- a/src/tests/meson.build
+++ b/src/tests/meson.build
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+if get_option('enable_tests')
+
 test_env = [
   'G_TEST_SRCDIR="@0@"'.format(meson.current_source_dir()),
   'G_TEST_BUILDDIR="@0@"'.format(meson.current_build_dir()),
@@ -116,9 +118,9 @@ if get_option('enable_gtk')
   test_ui_deps = [
     libsysprof_dep,
     libsysprof_ui_dep,
-    gtk_dep,
-    dazzle_dep,
-    pangoft2_dep,
+    dependency('gtk+-3.0', version: gtk_req_version),
+    dependency('libdazzle-1.0', version: dazzle_req_version, fallback: ['libdazzle', 'libdazzle_dep']),
+    dependency('pangoft2', required: false),
   ]
 
   test_model_filter = executable('test-model-filter', 'test-model-filter.c',
@@ -147,3 +149,4 @@ if get_option('enable_gtk')
 
 endif
 endif
+endif
diff --git a/src/tools/meson.build b/src/tools/meson.build
index 7cd69279..6b49511d 100644
--- a/src/tools/meson.build
+++ b/src/tools/meson.build
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+if get_option('enable_tools')
+
 tools_deps = [
   dependency('glib-2.0'),
   libsysprof_capture_dep,
@@ -7,6 +9,7 @@ tools_cflags = [ '-DSYSPROF_COMPILATION ']
 
 if get_option('libsysprof') and host_machine.system() == 'linux'
   polkit_agent_dep = dependency('polkit-agent-1')
+  polkit_dep = dependency('polkit-gobject-1', version: polkit_req_version, required: false)
   sysprof_cli = executable('sysprof-cli', 'sysprof-cli.c',
     dependencies: tools_deps + [libsysprof_dep, polkit_dep, polkit_agent_dep],
           c_args: tools_cflags,
@@ -27,15 +30,19 @@ sysprof_dump = executable('sysprof-dump', 'sysprof-dump.c',
        install: false,
 )
 
-sysprof_profiler_ctl = executable('sysprof-profiler-ctl',
-  [ 'sysprof-profiler-ctl.c', ipc_profiler_src ],
-  dependencies: [ tools_deps, gio_unix_dep ],
-        c_args: tools_cflags,
-       install: false,
-)
+if get_option('with_sysprofd') == 'bundled' or get_option('libsysprof')
+  sysprof_profiler_ctl = executable('sysprof-profiler-ctl',
+    [ 'sysprof-profiler-ctl.c', ipc_profiler_src ],
+    dependencies: [ tools_deps, dependency('gio-unix-2.0', version: glib_req_version) ],
+          c_args: tools_cflags,
+         install: false,
+  )
+endif
 
 list_threads = executable('list-threads', ['list-threads.c'],
   dependencies: [ tools_deps ],
         c_args: tools_cflags,
        install: false,
 )
+
+endif