diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 238d87f4..103ddfeb 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,18 +14,6 @@
 
 .PHONY: default help test-unit test-integration test-remote upload-coverage upload-pypi clean prepare
 
-PACKAGE_NAME = rethinkdb
-
-PROTO_FILE_NAME = ql2.proto
-PROTO_FILE_URL = https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rethinkdb/rethinkdb/next/src/rdb_protocol/${PROTO_FILE_NAME}
-TARGET_PROTO_FILE = ${PACKAGE_NAME}/${PROTO_FILE_NAME}
-
-FILE_CONVERTER_NAME = ./scripts/convert_protofile.py
-REMOTE_TEST_SETUP_NAME = ./scripts/prepare_remote_test.py
-
-CONVERTED_PROTO_FILE_NAME = ql2_pb2.py
-TARGET_CONVERTED_PROTO_FILE = ${PACKAGE_NAME}/${CONVERTED_PROTO_FILE_NAME}
-
 
 default: help
 
@@ -37,45 +25,42 @@ help:
 	@echo "	make test-integration	Run integration tests"
 	@echo "	make test-remote		Run tests on digital ocean"
 	@echo "	make upload-coverage	Upload unit test coverage"
-	@echo "	make upload-pypi		Release ${PACKAGE_NAME} package to PyPi"
+	@echo "	make upload-pypi		Release rethinkdb package to PyPi"
 	@echo "	make clean				Cleanup source directory"
-	@echo "	make prepare			Prepare ${PACKAGE_NAME} for build"
+	@echo "	make prepare			Prepare rethinkdb for build"
 
-test-unit:
+test-unit: prepare
 	pytest -v -m unit
 
-test-integration:
-	@rebirthdb&
+test-integration: prepare
+	@rethinkdb&
 	pytest -v -m integration
-	@killall rebirthdb
+	@killall rethinkdb
 
-test-ci:
-	@rebirthdb&
+test-ci: prepare
+	@rethinkdb&
 	pytest -v --cov rethinkdb --cov-report xml
-	@killall rebirthdb
+	@killall rethinkdb
 
-test-remote:
-	curl -qo ${REMOTE_TEST_SETUP_NAME} ${REMOTE_TEST_SETUP_URL}
-	python ${REMOTE_TEST_SETUP_NAME} pytest -m integration
+test-remote: prepare scripts/prepare_remote_test.py
+	python scripts/prepare_remote_test.py pytest -m integration
 
 install-db:
-	@sh scripts/install-db.sh
+	scripts/install-db.sh
 
-upload-coverage:
-	@sh scripts/upload-coverage.sh
+upload-coverage: prepare
+	scripts/upload-coverage.sh
 
 upload-pypi: prepare
-	@sh scripts/upload-pypi.sh
+	scripts/upload-pypi.sh
 
 clean:
-	@rm -rf \
-		${TARGET_PROTO_FILE} \
-		${TARGET_CONVERTED_PROTO_FILE} \
-		.pytest_cache \
-		.eggs \
-		.dist \
-		*.egg-info
+	git clean -dfx
+
+rethinkdb/ql2.proto:
+	curl -qo $@ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rethinkdb/rethinkdb/next/src/rdb_protocol/ql2.proto
+
+rethinkdb/ql2_pb2.py: scripts/convert_protofile.py rethinkdb/ql2.proto
+	python scripts/convert_protofile.py -l python -i rethinkdb/ql2.proto -o rethinkdb/ql2_pb2.py
 
-prepare:
-	curl -qo ${TARGET_PROTO_FILE} ${PROTO_FILE_URL}
-	python ${FILE_CONVERTER_NAME} -l python -i ${TARGET_PROTO_FILE} -o ${TARGET_CONVERTED_PROTO_FILE}
+prepare: rethinkdb/ql2_pb2.py
diff --git a/tests/mock_server.py b/tests/mock_server.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fc567320
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/mock_server.py
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# this is mocking at the layer just above the protocol
+# testing of the protocol is left to integration tests
+
+class RethinkDBMock:
+    pass