diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index d67aa1f2..0d8ca81a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -69,6 +69,8 @@ PYI = $(PB:.proto=_pb2.pyi)
 ## Set default to `protobufs`, otherwise `format` is called when typing only `make`
 all: protobufs
 
+.PHONY: protobufs clean-proto
+
 protobufs: $(PY)
 
 %_pb2.py: %.proto
@@ -77,6 +79,11 @@ protobufs: $(PY)
 clean-proto:
 	rm -f $(PY) $(PYI)
 
+# Force protobuf regeneration by making them always out of date
+$(PY): FORCE
+
+FORCE:
+
 # docs commands
 
 docs: check-docs