diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index d4acfceb..e69de29b 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-include proto_cmd.py
-include src/*.proto
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 152cd7a0..6c0a9086 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -31,10 +31,12 @@ erl_test: erl_compile
 # Python specific build steps
 python_compile:
 	@echo "==> Python (compile)"
+	@protoc -Isrc --python_out=riak_pb src/*.proto
 	@./setup.py build
 
 python_clean:
 	@echo "==> Python (clean)"
+	@rm -f riak_pb/*_pb2.py
 	@./setup.py clean
 
 python_release: python_compile
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index cf9be168..0496d033 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python
 
 from setuptools import setup
-from proto_cmd import build_proto, clean_proto
 
 setup(name='riak_pb',
       version='1.2.1',
@@ -19,7 +18,5 @@
       classifiers=['License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License',
                    'Intended Audience :: Developers',
                    'Operating System :: OS Independent',
-                   'Topic :: Database'],
-      cmdclass={'build_proto': build_proto,
-                'clean': clean_proto}
+                   'Topic :: Database']
       )