We use [protobuf](https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/) to encode messages as binary data to send across the network.
## Generating protobuf
## Generating protobuf
We use protobuf to encode messages as binary data to send across the network.
The protobuf is generated by using the [protoc](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf) compiler.
This can be installed by downloading one of the [pre-built binaries](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases/) and placing it in your `$PATH`. The version used to build the current protobuf is [v3.20.1](https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases/tag/v3.20.1).
Once installed, the protobuf can be generated by running the below commands.
To generate the protobuf: I forget, will document this soon.