Are there any risks or disadvantages to building software from source, compared to installing a package? Can it mess with my system in any way?
I usually avoid it because I’ve found it to be a faff and often doesn’t work anyway but in a couple of cases it has been necessary.
If you are using pkgsrc like system it will be easier. Even NASA uses it with their OpenSUSE system for NAS. Compiling has it’s own advantages but normal people don’t need it