Kogito auto generate protobuf files which is used for persistence and stream events with kafka.

When the expected dependencies are found on the classpath, kogito will create the needed protobuf files and save it at target/classes/persistence.

However, when you create a process and add a custom Process Variable, the protobuf is generated even if no persistence or kafka dependecies are available on classpath.

reproducer is available here: https://github.com/spolti/aleatory-projects/tree/master/kogito-protobuf-reproducer

just run mvn clean package and check for the protobuf files.