diff --git a/services/commtest/build.rs b/services/commtest/build.rs
--- a/services/commtest/build.rs
+++ b/services/commtest/build.rs
@@ -1,26 +1,21 @@
 use std::fs;
-use std::io::{Error, ErrorKind};
+use std::io::Error;
+
+const PROTO_DIR: &'static str = "../../shared/protos";
 
 fn main() -> Result<(), Error> {
-  const PROTO_FILES_PATH: &str = "../../shared/protos";
-  let proto_files = fs::read_dir(PROTO_FILES_PATH)?;
+  let proto_files = fs::read_dir(PROTO_DIR)?;
   for path in proto_files {
-    let path_str = path?
-      .path()
-      .file_name()
-      .ok_or(Error::new(
-        ErrorKind::Other,
-        "failed to obtain the file name",
-      ))?
-      .to_string_lossy()
-      .into_owned();
-    println!("{}", path_str.as_str());
-    // skip CMakeLists.txt and _generated directory
-    if path_str.contains("CMakeLists.txt") || path_str.eq("_generated") {
+    let filename: String = path?.file_name().to_string_lossy().to_string();
+
+    // Avoid passing non protobuf files to tonic
+    if !filename.ends_with(".proto") {
       continue;
     }
-    assert!(path_str.contains(".proto"));
-    tonic_build::compile_protos(format!("{}/{}", PROTO_FILES_PATH, path_str))?;
+
+    println!("Compiling protobuf file: {}", filename);
+    println!("cargo:rerun-if-changed={}/{}", PROTO_DIR, filename);
+    tonic_build::compile_protos(format!("{}/{}", PROTO_DIR, filename))?;
   }
   Ok(())
 }