These are the protobuf definition files used by hbase Coprocessor Endpoints. HBase core uses protos found at hbase-protocol-shaded/src/main/protos. The protos here are also in hbase-module-shaded though they are not exactly the same files (they generate into different location; where to generate to is part of the .proto file). Consider whether any changes made belong both here and over in hbase-module-shaded. The produced java classes are generated and then checked in. The reasoning is that they change infrequently and it saves generating anew on each build. To regenerate the classes after making definition file changes, ensure first that the protobuf protoc tool is in your $PATH. You may need to download it and build it first; its part of the protobuf package. For example, if using v2.5.0 of protobuf, it is obtainable from here: https://github.com/google/protobuf/releases/tag/v2.5.0 HBase uses hadoop-maven-plugins:protoc goal to invoke the protoc command. You can compile the protoc definitions by invoking maven with profile compile-protobuf or passing in compile-protobuf property. mvn compile -Dcompile-protobuf or mvn compile -Pcompile-protobuf You may also want to define protoc.path for the protoc binary mvn compile -Dcompile-protobuf -Dprotoc.path=/opt/local/bin/protoc If you have added a new proto file, you should add it to the pom.xml file first. Other modules also support the maven profile. NOTE: The protoc used here is probably NOT the same as the hbase-protocol-shaded module uses; here we use a more palatable version -- 2.5.0 -- wherease over in the internal hbase-protocol-shaded module, we'd use something newer. Be conscious of this when running your protoc being sure to apply the appropriate version per module. After you've done the above, check it in and then check it in (or post a patch on a JIRA with your definition file changes and the generated files).