diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/harfbuzz/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/harfbuzz/default.nix
index 7376611e1db9..db142286fe4e 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/harfbuzz/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/harfbuzz/default.nix
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 , pkg-config
 , glib
 , freetype
-, cairo
+, fontconfig
 , libintl
 , meson
 , ninja
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 }:
 
 let
-  version = "2.8.0";
+  version = "2.8.1";
   inherit (lib) optional optionals optionalString;
   mesonFeatureFlag = opt: b:
     "-D${opt}=${if b then "enabled" else "disabled"}";
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     owner = "harfbuzz";
     repo = "harfbuzz";
     rev = version;
-    sha256 = "sha256-JnvOFGK2HWIpzuwgZtyt0IfKfnoXD1LMeVb3RzMmyY4=";
+    sha256 = "107l9jhvwy6pnq5032kr7r21md65qg09j7iikr4jihf9pvh7gn5w";
   };
 
   postPatch = ''
@@ -54,9 +54,16 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   outputBin = "dev";
 
   mesonFlags = [
+    # upstream recommends cairo, but it is only used for development purposes
+    # and is not part of the library.
+    # Cairo causes transitive (build) dependencies on various X11 or other
+    # GUI-related libraries, so it shouldn't be re-added lightly.
+    (mesonFeatureFlag "cairo" false)
+    # chafa is only used in a development utility, not in the library
+    (mesonFeatureFlag "chafa" false)
+    (mesonFeatureFlag "coretext" withCoreText)
     (mesonFeatureFlag "graphite" withGraphite2)
     (mesonFeatureFlag "icu" withIcu)
-    (mesonFeatureFlag "coretext" withCoreText)
     (mesonFeatureFlag "introspection" isNativeCompilation)
   ];
 
@@ -72,7 +79,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     docbook_xml_dtd_43
   ];
 
-  buildInputs = [ glib freetype cairo ] # recommended by upstream
+  buildInputs = [ glib freetype ]
     ++ lib.optionals withCoreText [ ApplicationServices CoreText ]
     ++ lib.optionals isNativeCompilation [ gobject-introspection ];