diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 4c33c8c0e..f37f75695 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -80,6 +80,10 @@ ENDIF()
 
 #add depends to include path
 INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ( library/depends )
+INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ( library/depends/protobuf/ )
+
+# use shared libraries for protobuf
+ADD_DEFINITIONS(-DPROTOBUF_USE_DLLS)
 
 # build the static lua for dfusion
 INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES ( lua/include )
diff --git a/library/CMakeLists.txt b/library/CMakeLists.txt
index 94704beba..e310268a7 100644
--- a/library/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/library/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -141,6 +141,26 @@ ELSE()
     LIST(APPEND PROJECT_SRCS ${PROJECT_SRCS_WINDOWS})
 ENDIF()
 
+# Protobuf
+
+FILE(GLOB PROJECT_PROTOS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/proto/*.proto)
+
+STRING(REPLACE ".proto" ".pb.cc" PROJECT_PROTO_SRCS ${PROJECT_PROTOS})
+STRING(REPLACE ".proto" ".pb.h" PROJECT_PROTO_HDRS ${PROJECT_PROTOS})
+
+LIST(APPEND PROJECT_HDRS ${PROJECT_PROTO_HDRS})
+LIST(APPEND PROJECT_SRCS ${PROJECT_PROTO_SRCS})
+
+ADD_CUSTOM_COMMAND(
+    OUTPUT ${PROJECT_PROTO_SRCS} ${PROJECT_PROTO_HDRS}
+    COMMAND protoc-bin -I=${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/proto/
+            --cpp_out=dllexport_decl=DFHACK_EXPORT:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/proto/
+            ${PROJECT_PROTOS}
+    DEPENDS protoc-bin ${PROJECT_PROTOS}
+)
+
+#
+
 SET_SOURCE_FILES_PROPERTIES( ${PROJECT_HDRS} PROPERTIES HEADER_FILE_ONLY TRUE )
 
 LIST(APPEND PROJECT_SRCS ${PROJECT_HDRS})
@@ -193,10 +213,16 @@ else()
     ENDIF()
 endif()
 
+IF(WIN32)
+    SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(dfhack PROPERTIES COMPILE_FLAGS "/FI\"Export.h\"" )
+ELSE()
+    SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(dfhack PROPERTIES COMPILE_FLAGS "-include Export.h" )
+ENDIF()
+
 #effectively disables debug builds...
 SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(dfhack  PROPERTIES DEBUG_POSTFIX "-debug" )
 
-TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(dfhack ${PROJECT_LIBS})
+TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(dfhack protobuf-lite ${PROJECT_LIBS})
 
 IF(UNIX)
     # On linux, copy our version of the df launch script which sets LD_PRELOAD
diff --git a/library/depends/protobuf/CMakeLists.txt b/library/depends/protobuf/CMakeLists.txt
index 46711b418..cdd85014f 100644
--- a/library/depends/protobuf/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/library/depends/protobuf/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ google/protobuf/wire_format_lite.h
 google/protobuf/wire_format_lite_inl.h
 google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream.h
 google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream_impl_lite.h
+google/protobuf/io/gzip_stream.h
+google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream_impl.h
 )
 
 SET(LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_HDRS
@@ -99,7 +101,6 @@ google/protobuf/descriptor.pb.h
 google/protobuf/descriptor_database.h
 google/protobuf/dynamic_message.h
 google/protobuf/generated_message_reflection.h
-google/protobuf/io/gzip_stream.h
 google/protobuf/compiler/importer.h
 google/protobuf/message.h
 google/protobuf/compiler/parser.h
@@ -112,7 +113,6 @@ google/protobuf/text_format.h
 google/protobuf/io/tokenizer.h
 google/protobuf/unknown_field_set.h
 google/protobuf/wire_format.h
-google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream_impl.h
 )
 
 LIST(APPEND LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_HDRS ${LIBPROTOBUF_LITE_HDRS})
@@ -128,6 +128,8 @@ google/protobuf/repeated_field.cc
 google/protobuf/wire_format_lite.cc
 google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream.cc
 google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream_impl_lite.cc
+google/protobuf/io/gzip_stream.cc
+google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream_impl.cc
 )
 
 SET(LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_SRCS
@@ -137,7 +139,6 @@ google/protobuf/descriptor_database.cc
 google/protobuf/dynamic_message.cc
 google/protobuf/extension_set_heavy.cc
 google/protobuf/generated_message_reflection.cc
-google/protobuf/io/gzip_stream.cc
 google/protobuf/compiler/importer.cc
 google/protobuf/message.cc
 google/protobuf/compiler/parser.cc
@@ -151,7 +152,6 @@ google/protobuf/text_format.cc
 google/protobuf/io/tokenizer.cc
 google/protobuf/unknown_field_set.cc
 google/protobuf/wire_format.cc
-google/protobuf/io/zero_copy_stream_impl.cc
 )
 
 SET(LIBPROTOC_HDRS
@@ -201,9 +201,36 @@ LIST(APPEND LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_SRCS ${LIBPROTOBUF_LITE_SRCS})
 INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})
 INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(${dfhack_SOURCE_DIR}/library/depends/zlib)
 
-ADD_LIBRARY(protobuf-lite ${LIBPROTOBUF_LITE_SRCS} ${LIBPROTOBUF_LITE_HDRS})
-ADD_LIBRARY(protobuf ${LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_SRCS} ${LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_HDRS})
-ADD_LIBRARY(protoc ${LIBPROTOC_SRCS} ${LIBPROTOC_HDRS})
+# Protobuf shared libraries
+
+ADD_LIBRARY(protobuf SHARED ${LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_SRCS} ${LIBPROTOBUF_FULL_HDRS})
+ADD_LIBRARY(protobuf-lite SHARED ${LIBPROTOBUF_LITE_SRCS} ${LIBPROTOBUF_LITE_HDRS})
+
+SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(protobuf PROPERTIES COMPILE_DEFINITIONS LIBPROTOBUF_EXPORTS)
+SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(protobuf-lite PROPERTIES COMPILE_DEFINITIONS LIBPROTOBUF_EXPORTS)
+
+IF(WIN32)
+    TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(protobuf ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT} zlib)
+    TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(protobuf-lite ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT} zlib)
+ELSE()
+    TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(protobuf ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT} z)
+    TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(protobuf-lite ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT} z)
+ENDIF()
+
+install(TARGETS protobuf-lite
+        LIBRARY DESTINATION ${DFHACK_LIBRARY_DESTINATION}/deplibs
+        RUNTIME DESTINATION ${DFHACK_LIBRARY_DESTINATION}/deplibs)
+
+# Protobuf compiler shared library
+
+ADD_LIBRARY(protoc SHARED ${LIBPROTOC_SRCS} ${LIBPROTOC_HDRS})
+
+SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(protoc PROPERTIES COMPILE_DEFINITIONS LIBPROTOC_EXPORTS)
+TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(protoc protobuf)
+
+# Protobuf compiler executable
+
 ADD_EXECUTABLE(protoc-bin google/protobuf/compiler/main.cc google/protobuf/compiler/command_line_interface.h google/protobuf/compiler/cpp/cpp_generator.h)
+
 SET_TARGET_PROPERTIES(protoc-bin PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME protoc)
-TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(protoc-bin protoc protobuf ${CMAKE_THREAD_LIBS_INIT})
+TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES(protoc-bin protoc)
diff --git a/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/generated_message_util.h b/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/generated_message_util.h
index 1a2343d44..239daea59 100644
--- a/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/generated_message_util.h
+++ b/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/generated_message_util.h
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ double Infinity();
 double NaN();
 
 // Constant used for empty default strings.
-extern const ::std::string kEmptyString;
+extern LIBPROTOBUF_EXPORT const ::std::string kEmptyString;
 
 
 }  // namespace internal
diff --git a/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/stubs/common.h b/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/stubs/common.h
index 7173a84d1..832973574 100644
--- a/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/stubs/common.h
+++ b/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/stubs/common.h
@@ -96,6 +96,9 @@ namespace protobuf {
   #else
     #define LIBPROTOC_EXPORT   __declspec(dllimport)
   #endif
+#elif defined(PROTOBUF_USE_DLLS)
+  #define LIBPROTOBUF_EXPORT __attribute__ ((visibility("default")))
+  #define LIBPROTOC_EXPORT __attribute__ ((visibility("default")))
 #else
   #define LIBPROTOBUF_EXPORT
   #define LIBPROTOC_EXPORT
diff --git a/library/proto/.gitignore b/library/proto/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a1fb10cce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/library/proto/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+*.pb.cc
+*.pb.h
diff --git a/library/proto/CoreProtocol.proto b/library/proto/CoreProtocol.proto
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..33ec0f4a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/library/proto/CoreProtocol.proto
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+package dfproto;
+
+option optimize_for = LITE_RUNTIME;
+
+message CoreTextFragment {
+    required string text = 1;
+
+    enum Color {
+        COLOR_BLACK = 0;
+        COLOR_BLUE = 1;
+        COLOR_GREEN = 2;
+        COLOR_CYAN = 3;
+        COLOR_RED = 4;
+        COLOR_MAGENTA = 5;
+        COLOR_BROWN = 6;
+        COLOR_GREY = 7;
+        COLOR_DARKGREY = 8;
+        COLOR_LIGHTBLUE = 9;
+        COLOR_LIGHTGREEN = 10;
+        COLOR_LIGHTCYAN = 11;
+        COLOR_LIGHTRED = 12;
+        COLOR_LIGHTMAGENTA = 13;
+        COLOR_YELLOW = 14;
+        COLOR_WHITE = 15;
+    };
+    optional Color color = 2;
+}
+
+message CoreTextNotification {
+    repeated CoreTextFragment fragments = 1;
+}
+
+message CoreErrorNotification {
+    enum ErrorCode {
+        CR_WOULD_BREAK = -2;
+        CR_NOT_IMPLEMENTED = -1;
+        CR_FAILURE = 0;
+        CR_OK = 1;
+        CR_WRONG_USAGE = 2;
+    };
+
+    required ErrorCode code = 1;
+}
+
+message CoreBindRequest {
+    required string method = 1;
+    optional string plugin = 2;
+    optional int32 min_version = 3;
+}
+
+message CoreBindReply {
+    required int32 assigned_id = 1;
+    required int32 version = 2;
+}
+
+message CoreRunStringRequest {
+    required string command = 1;
+    repeated string arguments = 2;
+}
diff --git a/plugins/mapexport/CMakeLists.txt b/plugins/mapexport/CMakeLists.txt
index d3ff25857..bebdd08ee 100644
--- a/plugins/mapexport/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/plugins/mapexport/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,15 +1,5 @@
 PROJECT(mapexport)
 
-INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES (
-    ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
-    ${dfhack_SOURCE_DIR}/library/depends/protobuf/
-    ${dfhack_SOURCE_DIR}/library/depends/zlib/
-)
-
-LINK_DIRECTORIES(
-    ${dfhack_SOURCE_DIR}/library/depends/zlib/
-)
-
 #The protobuf sources we generate will require these headers
 SET(PROJECT_HDRS
 ${dfhack_SOURCE_DIR}/library/depends/protobuf/google/protobuf/stubs/once.h
@@ -51,7 +41,7 @@ DEPENDS protoc-bin ${PROJECT_PROTOS}
 )
 
 IF(WIN32)
-    DFHACK_PLUGIN(mapexport ${PROJECT_SRCS} ${PROJECT_HDRS} LINK_LIBRARIES protobuf zlib)
+    DFHACK_PLUGIN(mapexport ${PROJECT_SRCS} ${PROJECT_HDRS} LINK_LIBRARIES protobuf-lite)
 ELSE()
-    DFHACK_PLUGIN(mapexport ${PROJECT_SRCS} ${PROJECT_HDRS} LINK_LIBRARIES protobuf z)
+    DFHACK_PLUGIN(mapexport ${PROJECT_SRCS} ${PROJECT_HDRS} LINK_LIBRARIES protobuf-lite)
 ENDIF()
diff --git a/plugins/mapexport/mapexport.cpp b/plugins/mapexport/mapexport.cpp
index 2e5197718..ea7b8894c 100644
--- a/plugins/mapexport/mapexport.cpp
+++ b/plugins/mapexport/mapexport.cpp
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ DFhackCExport command_result plugin_init ( Core * c, std::vector <PluginCommand>
 
 DFhackCExport command_result plugin_shutdown ( Core * c )
 {
-    google::protobuf::ShutdownProtobufLibrary();
     return CR_OK;
 }