diff --git a/src/api_hdfs_base.jl b/src/api_hdfs_base.jl
index 2a9e842..5569224 100644
--- a/src/api_hdfs_base.jl
+++ b/src/api_hdfs_base.jl
@@ -135,9 +135,7 @@ function _walkdir(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, process_entry::Funct
     cont = true
     start_after = UInt8[]
     while cont
-        inp = protobuild(GetListingRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                    :startAfter => start_after,
-                    :needLocation => false))
+        inp = GetListingRequestProto(src=path, startAfter=start_after, needLocation=false)
         resp = getListing(client.nn_conn, inp)
 
         if isfilled(resp, :dirList)
@@ -164,7 +162,7 @@ end
 
 function _get_file_info(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString)
     path = abspath(client, path)
-    inp = protobuild(GetFileInfoRequestProto, Dict(:src => path))
+    inp = GetFileInfoRequestProto(src=path)
     resp = getFileInfo(client.nn_conn, inp)
     isfilled(resp, :fs) ? resp.fs : nothing
 end
@@ -174,9 +172,7 @@ function _get_block_locations(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, offset::
     if length == 0
         length = UInt64(1024)
     end
-    inp = protobuild(GetBlockLocationsRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                :offset => offset,
-                :length => length))
+    inp = GetBlockLocationsRequestProto(src=path, offset=offset, length=length)
     resp = getBlockLocations(client.nn_conn, inp)
     isfilled(resp, :locations) ? resp.locations : nothing
 end
@@ -269,7 +265,7 @@ end
 hdfs_set_replication(file::HDFSFile, replication::Integer) = hdfs_set_replication(file.client, file.path, replication)
 function hdfs_set_replication(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, replication::Integer)
     path = abspath(client, path)
-    inp = protobuild(SetReplicationRequestProto, Dict(:src => path, :replication => replication))
+    inp = SetReplicationRequestProto(src=path, replication=replication)
 
     resp = setReplication(client.nn_conn, inp)
     resp.result
@@ -279,7 +275,7 @@ end
 # Disk Usage
 function _get_content_summary(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString)
     path = abspath(client, path)
-    inp = protobuild(GetContentSummaryRequestProto, Dict(:path => path))
+    inp = GetContentSummaryRequestProto(path=path)
 
     resp = getContentSummary(client.nn_conn, inp)
     resp.summary
@@ -310,10 +306,8 @@ mkdir(file::HDFSFile, mode::UInt32) = mkdir(file, false, mode)
 mkdir(file::HDFSFile, create_parents::Bool=false, mode::UInt32=DEFAULT_FOLDER_MODE) = mkdir(file.client, file.path, create_parents, mode)
 function mkdir(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, create_parents::Bool=false, mode::UInt32=DEFAULT_FOLDER_MODE)
     path = abspath(client, path)
-    perms = protobuild(FsPermissionProto, Dict(:perm => mode))
-    inp = protobuild(MkdirsRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                :createParent => create_parents,
-                :masked => perms))
+    perms = FsPermissionProto(perm=mode)
+    inp = MkdirsRequestProto(src=path, createParent=create_parents, masked=perms)
 
     resp = mkdirs(client.nn_conn, inp)
     resp.result
@@ -326,9 +320,7 @@ mv(src::HDFSFile, dst::AbstractString, overwrite::Bool) = mv(src.client, src.pat
 function mv(client::HDFSClient, src::AbstractString, dst::AbstractString, overwrite::Bool)
     src = abspath(client, src)
     dst = abspath(client, dst)
-    inp = protobuild(Rename2RequestProto, Dict(:src => src,
-                :dst => dst,
-                :overwriteDest => overwrite))
+    inp = Rename2RequestProto(src=src, dst=dst, overwriteDest=overwrite)
 
     rename2(client.nn_conn, inp)
     true
@@ -338,8 +330,7 @@ mv(src::HDFSFile, dst::AbstractString) = mv(src.client, src.path, dst)
 function mv(client::HDFSClient, src::AbstractString, dst::AbstractString)
     src = abspath(client, src)
     dst = abspath(client, dst)
-    inp = protobuild(RenameRequestProto, Dict(:src => src,
-                :dst => dst))
+    inp = RenameRequestProto(src=src, dst=dst)
 
     resp = rename(client.nn_conn, inp)
     resp.result
@@ -348,8 +339,7 @@ end
 rm(file::HDFSFile, recursive::Bool=false) = rm(file.client, file.path, recursive)
 function rm(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, recursive::Bool=false)
     path = abspath(client, path)
-    inp = protobuild(DeleteRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                :recursive => recursive))
+    inp = DeleteRequestProto(src=path, recursive=recursive)
 
     resp = delete(client.nn_conn, inp)
     resp.result
@@ -366,16 +356,10 @@ function _create_file(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, overwrite::Bool=
         (replication == 0) && (replication = defaults.replication)
     end
 
-    perms = protobuild(FsPermissionProto, Dict(:perm => mode))
+    perms = FsPermissionProto(perm=mode)
     createFlag = UInt32(overwrite ? CreateFlagProto.OVERWRITE : CreateFlagProto.CREATE)
 
-    inp = protobuild(CreateRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                :masked => perms,
-                :clientName => ELLY_CLIENTNAME,
-                :createFlag => createFlag,
-                :createParent => false,
-                :replication => replication,
-                :blockSize => blocksz))
+    inp = CreateRequestProto(src=path, masked=perms, clientName=ELLY_CLIENTNAME, createFlag=createFlag, createParent=false, replication=replication, blockSize=blocksz)
 
     resp = create(client.nn_conn, inp)
     isfilled(resp, :fs) || (return nothing)
@@ -390,8 +374,7 @@ end
 function _complete_file(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, last::Union{Nothing,ExtendedBlockProto}=nothing)
     path = abspath(client, path)
 
-    endinp = protobuild(CompleteRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                :clientName => ELLY_CLIENTNAME))
+    endinp = CompleteRequestProto(src=path, clientName=ELLY_CLIENTNAME)
     if last !== nothing
         setproperty!(endinp, :last, last)
         @debug("setting last block as", last)
@@ -409,8 +392,7 @@ end
 function _add_block(::Type{T}, client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, previous::Union{Nothing,T}=nothing) where T<:ExtendedBlockProto
     path = abspath(client, path)
 
-    inp = protobuild(AddBlockRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                :clientName => ELLY_CLIENTNAME))
+    inp = AddBlockRequestProto(src=path, clientName=ELLY_CLIENTNAME)
     (previous === nothing) || setproperty!(inp, :previous, previous)
 
     resp = addBlock(client.nn_conn, inp)
@@ -423,7 +405,7 @@ the namenode from assuming the client from having abandoned the file or some oth
 from recovering the lease.
 """
 function hdfs_renewlease(client::HDFSClient)
-    inp = protobuild(RenewLeaseRequestProto, Dict(:clientName => ELLY_CLIENTNAME))
+    inp = RenewLeaseRequestProto(clientName=ELLY_CLIENTNAME)
     renewLease(client.nn_conn, inp)
     nothing
 end
@@ -433,9 +415,7 @@ function touch(client::HDFSClient, path::AbstractString, replication::UInt32=zer
     if exists(client, path)
         path = abspath(client, path)
         t = UInt64(datetime2unix(now(UTC))*1000)
-        inp = protobuild(SetTimesRequestProto, Dict(:src => path,
-                    :mtime => t,
-                    :atime => t))
+        inp = SetTimesRequestProto(src=path, mtime=t, atime=t)
 
         setTimes(client.nn_conn, inp)
     else
diff --git a/src/api_yarn_appmaster.jl b/src/api_yarn_appmaster.jl
index 5ccd247..5a3ed8c 100644
--- a/src/api_yarn_appmaster.jl
+++ b/src/api_yarn_appmaster.jl
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ function can_schedule(yam::YarnAppMaster, restype::Int32)
 end
 
 function _unregister(yam::YarnAppMaster, finalstatus::Int32, diagnostics::AbstractString)
-    inp = protobuild(FinishApplicationMasterRequestProto, Dict(:final_application_status => finalstatus))
+    inp = FinishApplicationMasterRequestProto(final_application_status=finalstatus)
     !isempty(yam.tracking_url) && setproperty!(inp, :tracking_url, yam.tracking_url)
     !isempty(diagnostics) && setproperty!(inp, :diagnostics, diagnostics)
   
@@ -187,8 +187,8 @@ container_release(yam::YarnAppMaster, cids::ContainerIdProto...) = request_relea
 container_start(yam::YarnAppMaster, cid::ContainerIdProto, container_spec::ContainerLaunchContextProto) = container_start(yam, yam.containers.containers[cid], container_spec)
 function container_start(yam::YarnAppMaster, container::ContainerProto, container_spec::ContainerLaunchContextProto)
     @debug("starting", container)
-    req = protobuild(StartContainerRequestProto, Dict(:container_launch_context => container_spec, :container_token => container.container_token))
-    inp = protobuild(StartContainersRequestProto, Dict(:start_container_request => [req]))
+    req = StartContainerRequestProto(container_launch_context=container_spec, container_token=container.container_token)
+    inp = StartContainersRequestProto(start_container_request=[req])
 
     nodeid = container.nodeId
     nm_conn = get_connection(yam.nodes, nodeid)
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ container_stop(yam::YarnAppMaster, cid::ContainerIdProto) = container_stop(yam,
 function container_stop(yam::YarnAppMaster, container::ContainerProto)
     @debug("stopping", container)
 
-    inp = protobuild(StopContainersRequestProto, Dict(:container_id => [container.id]))
+    inp = StopContainersRequestProto(container_id=[container.id])
     nodeid = container.nodeId
     nm_conn = get_connection(yam.nodes, nodeid)
     success = false
diff --git a/src/api_yarn_base.jl b/src/api_yarn_base.jl
index fd2f9e6..960ffc8 100644
--- a/src/api_yarn_base.jl
+++ b/src/api_yarn_base.jl
@@ -340,12 +340,9 @@ end
 function request_alloc(containers::YarnContainers, numcontainers::Int; 
                     mem::Integer=YARN_CONTAINER_MEM_DEFAULT, cpu::Integer=YARN_CONTAINER_CPU_DEFAULT, 
                     loc::AbstractString=YARN_CONTAINER_LOCATION_DEFAULT, priority::Integer=YARN_CONTAINER_PRIORITY_DEFAULT)
-    prio = protobuild(PriorityProto, Dict(:priority => priority))
-    capability = protobuild(ResourceProto, Dict(:memory => mem, :virtual_cores => cpu))
-    req = protobuild(ResourceRequestProto, Dict(:priority => prio,
-            :resource_name => loc,
-            :num_containers => numcontainers,
-            :capability => capability))
+    prio = PriorityProto(priority=priority)
+    capability = ResourceProto(memory=mem, virtual_cores=cpu)
+    req = ResourceRequestProto(priority=prio, resource_name=loc, num_containers=numcontainers, capability=capability)
     pending(containers.alloc_pipeline, req)
     containers.ndesired += numcontainers
     nothing
diff --git a/src/api_yarn_client.jl b/src/api_yarn_client.jl
index df6942c..640a1a3 100644
--- a/src/api_yarn_client.jl
+++ b/src/api_yarn_client.jl
@@ -194,20 +194,20 @@ function submit(client::YarnClient, container_spec::ContainerLaunchContextProto,
 
     appid, maxmem, maxcores = _new_app(client)
 
-    prio = protobuild(PriorityProto, Dict(:priority => priority))
-    res = protobuild(ResourceProto, Dict(:memory => mem, :virtual_cores => cores))
-    asc = protobuild(ApplicationSubmissionContextProto, Dict(:application_id => appid,
-                :application_name => appname,
-                :queue => queue,
-                :priority => prio,
-                :unmanaged_am => unmanaged,
-                :am_container_spec => container_spec,
-                :resource => res,
-                :maxAppAttempts => 2,
-                :applicationType => apptype,
-                :keep_containers_across_application_attempts => reuse))
+    prio = PriorityProto(priority=priority)
+    res = ResourceProto(memory=mem, virtual_cores=cores)
+    asc = ApplicationSubmissionContextProto(application_id = appid,
+                application_name = appname,
+                queue = queue,
+                priority = prio,
+                unmanaged_am = unmanaged,
+                am_container_spec = container_spec,
+                resource = res,
+                maxAppAttempts = 2,
+                applicationType = apptype,
+                keep_containers_across_application_attempts = reuse)
   
-    inp = protobuild(SubmitApplicationRequestProto, Dict(:application_submission_context => asc))
+    inp = SubmitApplicationRequestProto(application_submission_context=asc)
 
     submitApplication(client.rm_conn, inp)
     YarnApp(client, appid)
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ end
 
 function kill(app::YarnApp)
     client = app.client
-    inp = protobuild(KillApplicationRequestProto, Dict(:application_id => app.appid))
+    inp = KillApplicationRequestProto(application_id=app.appid)
 
     resp = forceKillApplication(client.rm_conn, inp)
     resp.is_kill_completed
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ end
 function status(app::YarnApp, refresh::Bool=true)
     if refresh || (app.status === nothing)
         client = app.client
-        inp = protobuild(GetApplicationReportRequestProto, Dict(:application_id => app.appid))
+        inp = GetApplicationReportRequestProto(application_id=app.appid)
 
         resp = getApplicationReport(client.rm_conn, inp) 
         app.status = isfilled(resp.application_report) ?  YarnAppStatus(resp.application_report) : nothing
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ end
 function attempts(app::YarnApp, refresh::Bool=true)
     if refresh || isempty(app.attempts)
         client = app.client
-        inp = protobuild(GetApplicationAttemptsRequestProto, Dict(:application_id => app.appid))
+        inp = GetApplicationAttemptsRequestProto(application_id=app.appid)
 
         resp = getApplicationAttempts(client.rm_conn, inp)
         atmptlist = app.attempts
diff --git a/src/rpc.jl b/src/rpc.jl
index b2a6e00..6016cfa 100644
--- a/src/rpc.jl
+++ b/src/rpc.jl
@@ -152,17 +152,17 @@ end
 
 function buffer_connctx(channel::HadoopRpcChannel)
     protocol = channel.protocol_attribs[:id]
-    connctx = protobuild(IpcConnectionContextProto, Dict(:userInfo => channel.ugi.userinfo, :protocol => protocol))
+    connctx = IpcConnectionContextProto(userInfo=channel.ugi.userinfo, protocol=protocol)
 
     buffer_size_delimited(channel.iob, connctx)
 end
 
 function buffer_reqhdr(channel::HadoopRpcChannel, call_id::Int32)
-    hdr = protobuild(RpcRequestHeaderProto, Dict(:rpcKind => HRPC_PROTOBUFF_TYPE,
-                :rpcOp => HRPC_FINAL_PACKET,
-                :callId => call_id,
-                #:retryCount => -1,
-                :clientId => convert(Vector{UInt8}, codeunits(channel.clnt_id))))
+    hdr = RpcRequestHeaderProto(rpcKind = HRPC_PROTOBUFF_TYPE,
+                rpcOp = HRPC_FINAL_PACKET,
+                callId = call_id,
+                #retryCount = -1,
+                clientId = convert(Vector{UInt8}, codeunits(channel.clnt_id)))
 
     buffer_size_delimited(channel.iob, hdr)
 end
@@ -173,9 +173,9 @@ buffer_conctx_reqhdr(channel::HadoopRpcChannel) = (channel.sent_call_id = channe
 function buffer_method_reqhdr(channel::HadoopRpcChannel, method::MethodDescriptor)
     protocol = channel.protocol_attribs[:id]
     protocol_ver = channel.protocol_attribs[:ver]
-    hdr = protobuild(RequestHeaderProto, Dict(:methodName => method.name,
-                :declaringClassProtocolName => protocol,
-                :clientProtocolVersion => protocol_ver))
+    hdr = RequestHeaderProto(methodName = method.name,
+                declaringClassProtocolName = protocol,
+                clientProtocolVersion = protocol_ver)
 
     buffer_size_delimited(channel.iob, hdr)
 end
@@ -480,9 +480,9 @@ function buffer_readblock(reader::HDFSBlockReader)
         setproperty!(exblock, fld, get_field(block.b, fld))
     end
 
-    basehdr = protobuild(BaseHeaderProto, Dict(:block => exblock, :token => token))
-    hdr = protobuild(ClientOperationHeaderProto, Dict(:baseHeader => basehdr, :clientName => ELLY_CLIENTNAME))
-    readblock = protobuild(OpReadBlockProto, Dict(:offset => offset, :len => len, :header => hdr))
+    basehdr = BaseHeaderProto(block=exblock, token=token)
+    hdr = ClientOperationHeaderProto(baseHeader=basehdr, clientName=ELLY_CLIENTNAME)
+    readblock = OpReadBlockProto(offset=offset, len=len, header=hdr)
     @debug("sending block read message", offset, len)
 
     buffer_size_delimited(channel.iob, readblock)
@@ -490,7 +490,7 @@ end
 
 function buffer_client_read_status(reader::HDFSBlockReader, status::Int32)
     channel = reader.channel
-    read_status = protobuild(ClientReadStatusProto, Dict(:status => status))
+    read_status = ClientReadStatusProto(status=status)
     buffer_size_delimited(channel.iob, read_status)
 end
 
@@ -972,24 +972,24 @@ function buffer_writeblock(writer::HDFSBlockWriter)
     end
     setproperty!(exblock, :numBytes, zero(UInt64))
 
-    basehdr = protobuild(BaseHeaderProto, Dict(:block => exblock, :token => token))
-    hdr = protobuild(ClientOperationHeaderProto, Dict(:baseHeader => basehdr, :clientName => ELLY_CLIENTNAME))
-    chksum = protobuild(ChecksumProto, Dict(:_type => defaults.checksumType, :bytesPerChecksum => defaults.bytesPerChecksum))
+    basehdr = BaseHeaderProto(block=exblock, token=token)
+    hdr = ClientOperationHeaderProto(baseHeader=basehdr, clientName=ELLY_CLIENTNAME)
+    chksum = ChecksumProto(_type=defaults.checksumType, bytesPerChecksum=defaults.bytesPerChecksum)
 
     targets = DatanodeInfoProto[]
     for loc in block.locs
         (loc.id != writer.source_node.id) && push!(targets, loc)
     end
 
-    writeblock = protobuild(OpWriteBlockProto, Dict(:header => hdr,
-                    :targets => targets,
-                    :source => writer.source_node,
-                    :stage => OpWriteBlockProto_BlockConstructionStage.PIPELINE_SETUP_CREATE,
-                    :pipelineSize => length(block.locs),
-                    :minBytesRcvd => 0,
-                    :maxBytesRcvd => 0,
-                    :latestGenerationStamp => exblock.generationStamp,
-                    :requestedChecksum => chksum))
+    writeblock = OpWriteBlockProto(header = hdr,
+                    targets = targets,
+                    source = writer.source_node,
+                    stage = OpWriteBlockProto_BlockConstructionStage.PIPELINE_SETUP_CREATE,
+                    pipelineSize = length(block.locs),
+                    minBytesRcvd = 0,
+                    maxBytesRcvd = 0,
+                    latestGenerationStamp = exblock.generationStamp,
+                    requestedChecksum = chksum)
     @debug("sending block write message", offset=block.offset)
 
     buffer_size_delimited(channel.iob, writeblock)
@@ -1051,10 +1051,10 @@ function prepare_packet(writer::HDFSBlockWriter)
     seq_no = Int64(writer.pkt_seq += 1)
     #@debug("packet seqno $seq_no with $(bytes_in_packet)/$(defaults.writePacketSize) bytes is last packet: $last_pkt")
 
-    pkt_hdr = protobuild(PacketHeaderProto, Dict(:offsetInBlock => writer.total_written,
-                    :seqno => seq_no,
-                    :lastPacketInBlock => last_pkt,
-                    :dataLen => bytes_in_packet))
+    pkt_hdr = PacketHeaderProto(offsetInBlock = writer.total_written,
+                    seqno = seq_no,
+                    lastPacketInBlock = last_pkt,
+                    dataLen = bytes_in_packet)
 
     writer.total_written += bytes_in_packet
 
diff --git a/src/sasl.jl b/src/sasl.jl
index 158d394..6e5da44 100644
--- a/src/sasl.jl
+++ b/src/sasl.jl
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ buffer_sasl_reqhdr(channel::HadoopRpcChannel) = (channel.sent_call_id = channel.
 
 function buffer_sasl_message(channel::HadoopRpcChannel, state::Int32, auths::Vector{RpcSaslProto_SaslAuth}=RpcSaslProto_SaslAuth[], token::Vector{UInt8}=UInt8[])
     @debug("buffer SASL message", state, nauths=length(auths), token=!isempty(token))
-    saslmsg = protobuild(RpcSaslProto, Dict(:version => 0, :state => state))
+    saslmsg = RpcSaslProto(version=0, state=state)
     isempty(auths) || setproperty!(saslmsg, :auths, auths)
     isempty(token) || setproperty!(saslmsg, :token, token)
     buffer_size_delimited(channel.iob, saslmsg)
@@ -150,10 +150,10 @@ function sasl_auth(channel::HadoopRpcChannel, token::TokenProto)
     @debug("response", response)
 
     # send response as a sasl initiate request
-    respauth = protobuild(RpcSaslProto_SaslAuth, Dict(:method => auth.method,
-                :mechanism => auth.mechanism,
-                :protocol => auth.protocol,
-                :serverId => auth.serverId))
+    respauth = RpcSaslProto_SaslAuth(method = auth.method,
+                mechanism = auth.mechanism,
+                protocol = auth.protocol,
+                serverId = auth.serverId)
 
     begin_send(channel)
     buffer_sasl_reqhdr(channel)
diff --git a/src/ugi.jl b/src/ugi.jl
index 19cce59..19581fb 100644
--- a/src/ugi.jl
+++ b/src/ugi.jl
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ mutable struct UserGroupInformation
     credentials::Credentials
 
     function UserGroupInformation(username::AbstractString=default_username(); proxy::Bool=false, proxyuser::AbstractString=username)
-        userinfo = proxy ? protobuild(UserInformationProto, Dict(:realUser => username, :effectiveUser => proxyuser)) : protobuild(UserInformationProto, Dict(:realUser => username))
+        userinfo = proxy ? UserInformationProto(realUser=username, effectiveUser=proxyuser) : UserInformationProto(realUser=username)
         ugi = new(userinfo, Credentials())
         haskey(ENV, "HADOOP_TOKEN_FILE_LOCATION") && read_credentials!(ENV["HADOOP_TOKEN_FILE_LOCATION"]; credentials=ugi.credentials)
         ugi