diff --git a/wpimath/CMakeLists.txt b/wpimath/CMakeLists.txt
index 32e4ef12b78..9f6e3fe5756 100644
--- a/wpimath/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/wpimath/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ include(CompileWarnings)
 include(AddTest)
 include(DownloadAndCheck)
 
+# workaround for makefiles 
+file(MAKE_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/protobuf")
 file(GLOB wpimath_proto_src src/main/proto/*.proto)
 protobuf_generate_cpp(WPIMATH_PROTO_SRCS WPIMATH_PROTO_HDRS PROTOC_OUT_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/protobuf" PROTOS ${wpimath_proto_src})