---
title: protoc
description: Activate a managed Protobuf compiler for dependent tasks.
---

# `protoc`

`protoc` is a dependency that provisions an official Protobuf compiler package and puts its executable directory first in `PATH`. It is not a function and takes no arguments. Use [`protobuf_generate`](protobuf_generate.md) for built-in code generators.

Load an exact stable release version in canonical `x.y` or `x.y.z` form, without a leading `v`. Versions before `3.0.0` are unsupported because their packages use a different layout. Package availability also varies by host:

- Linux x86-64 packages start at `3.0.0`.
- Linux ARM64 packages start at `3.5.0`.
- Windows x86-64 packages start at `3.7.0`.
- Windows ARM64 uses the x86-64 `win64` package through Windows 11 emulation and starts at `3.7.0`; no native Windows ARM64 package exists yet.
- macOS ARM64 packages exist for `3.20.0` through `3.20.2`, disappear for later `3.20.x` releases, and return at `21.0`.

xx retains the package's bundled `include` tree for code generation, validates archive paths and extracted sizes, and verifies the installed compiler's reported version. GitHub release digests are verified when metadata provides one. Older packages published before GitHub added digests rely on the authenticated release metadata, HTTPS transport, exact official URL, and exact byte size.

## Example

```starlark
load("@protobuf@35.1", "protoc")
load("@os@1", "run")

run(("protoc", "--version"), deps=[protoc])
```

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