diff --git a/meson_options.txt b/meson_options.txt
index ca00c78e8..7a9aecfc6 100644
--- a/meson_options.txt
+++ b/meson_options.txt
@@ -61,5 +61,5 @@ option('v4l2',
 
 option('pycamera',
         type : 'feature',
-        value : 'auto',
+        value : 'disabled',
         description : 'Enable libcamera Python bindings (experimental)')