diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 13882ffb..21e7b851 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -147,9 +147,6 @@ jobs:
             lnd-${{ runner.os }}-download-${{ hashFiles('**/install_protoc.sh') }}
             lnd-${{ runner.os }}-download-
 
-      - name: install protoc and protobuf libraries
-        run: ./scripts/install_protoc.sh
-
       - name: get yarn cache dir
         id: yarn-cache-dir
         run: echo "::set-output name=dir::$(yarn cache dir)"
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 37e99973..0ed017c9 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ list:
 
 protos:
 	@$(call print, "Compiling protos.")
-	cd ./app; yarn protos
+	cd proto; ./gen_protos_docker.sh
 
 protos-check: protos
 	@$(call print, "Verifying compiled protos.")
diff --git a/doc/compile.md b/doc/compile.md
index 33632b5b..501994e8 100644
--- a/doc/compile.md
+++ b/doc/compile.md
@@ -76,18 +76,13 @@ Terminal are updated.
 
 To compile the proto files into JS/TS code, follow the following steps:
 
-1. Install `protoc` **v3.4.0** if you do not already have it installed. Follow the
-   instructions in
-   [this guide](https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd/tree/master/lnrpc#generate-protobuf-definitions).
-   Be sure to install the specific **v3.4.0** version of `protoc`. Newer versions will not
-   work properly.
-   
-   > Note: if you are running on a Mac, you only need to perform step 1
-1. Run the following command to download the proto files from each repo and compile the
-   JS/TS code using the updated protos.
-   ```shell script
-   $ cd app
-   $ yarn protos
+1. Install `docker` if you do not already have it installed. Follow the
+   instructions in [this guide](https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/).
+
+1. Run the following command to download the proto files from each repo and
+   compile the JS/TS code using the updated protos.
+   ```shell
+   $ make protos
    ```
 1. Fix any typing, linting, or unit test failures introduced by the update. Run the
    commands below to find and fix these errors in the app code.
diff --git a/proto/Dockerfile b/proto/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9ec83b31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/proto/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# Start with a NodeJS base image that also contains yarn.
+FROM node:12.17.0-buster as nodejsbuilder
+
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
+  git \
+  protobuf-compiler='3.6*' \
+  clang-format='1:7.0*'
+
+RUN mkdir /build
+
+WORKDIR /build
+
+CMD ["/bin/bash", "-c", "cd app && yarn install && yarn protos"]
diff --git a/proto/gen_protos_docker.sh b/proto/gen_protos_docker.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..6f598c9e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/proto/gen_protos_docker.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+# Directory of the script file, independent of where it's called from.
+DIR="$(cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd)"
+
+echo "Building protobuf compiler docker image..."
+docker build -q -t lit-protobuf-builder .
+
+echo "Compiling and formatting *.proto files..."
+docker run \
+  --rm \
+  --user $UID:$UID \
+  -e UID=$UID \
+  -v "$DIR/../:/build" \
+  lit-protobuf-builder
diff --git a/scripts/install_protoc.sh b/scripts/install_protoc.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 562ab055..00000000
--- a/scripts/install_protoc.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# Abort on error (-e) and print commands (-v).
-set -ev
-
-# See README.md in lnrpc (of the lnd repository) why we need these specific
-# versions/commits.
-PROTOC_VERSION=3.4.0
-
-# This script is specific to GitHub Actions so we only need to support linux x64.
-PROTOC_URL="https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases/download/v${PROTOC_VERSION}/protoc-${PROTOC_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.zip"
-PROTOC_DL_CACHE_DIR="${DOWNLOAD_CACHE:-/tmp/download_cache}/protoc"
-
-# install_protoc copies the cached protoc binary to the $PATH or downloads it
-# if no cached version is found.
-install_protoc() {
-  if [ -f "${PROTOC_DL_CACHE_DIR}/bin/protoc" ]; then
-    echo "Using cached version of protoc"
-  else
-    wget -O /tmp/protoc.zip $PROTOC_URL
-    mkdir -p "${PROTOC_DL_CACHE_DIR}"
-    unzip -o /tmp/protoc.zip -d "${PROTOC_DL_CACHE_DIR}"
-    chmod -R a+rx "${PROTOC_DL_CACHE_DIR}/"
-  fi
-  sudo cp "${PROTOC_DL_CACHE_DIR}/bin/protoc" /usr/local/bin
-  sudo cp -r "${PROTOC_DL_CACHE_DIR}/include" /usr/local
-}
-
-install_protoc