diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 92c42ad95310..a6e86008719d 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -8240,6 +8240,8 @@ with pkgs;
 
   prospector = callPackage ../development/tools/prospector { };
 
+  # this version should align with the static protobuf version linked into python3.pkgs.tensorflow
+  # $ nix-shell -I nixpkgs=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) -p python3.pkgs.tensorflow --run "python3 -c 'import google.protobuf; print(google.protobuf.__version__)'"
   protobuf = protobuf_32;
 
   inherit