For non-C++ users, the simplest way to install the protocol compiler is to download a pre-built binary from our release page:
https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases
git clone https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf.git
cd protobuf
git submodule update --init --recursive
cd /path/to/protobuf/vsprojects
cmake -G "Visual Studio 15 2017 Win64" -Dprotobuf_MSVC_STATIC_RUNTIME=ON -Dprotobuf_BUILD_TESTS=OFF ../cmake