diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 689d7e29f..1f0d1cde2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -216,8 +216,9 @@ $(THRIFT_GEN): $(THRIFT_FILES) $(BIN)/thriftrw $(BIN)/thriftrw-plugin-yarpc
 	$Q touch $@
 
 # mockery is quite noisy so it's worth being kinda precise with the files.
-# this needs to be both the files defining the generate command, AND the files that define the interfaces.
-$(BUILD)/generate: client/client.go encoded/encoded.go internal/internal_workflow_client.go internal/internal_public.go internal/internal_task_pollers.go $(BIN)/mockery
+# as long as the //go:generate line is in the file that defines the thing to mock, this will auto-discover it.
+# if we build any fancier generators, like the server's wrappers, this might need adjusting / switch to completely manual.
+$(BUILD)/generate: $(shell grep --files-with-matches -E '^//go:generate' $(ALL_SRC)) $(BIN)/mockery
 	$Q $(BIN_PATH) go generate ./...
 	$Q touch $@
 
@@ -303,7 +304,8 @@ errcheck: $(BIN)/errcheck $(BUILD)/fmt ## (re)run errcheck
 	$(BIN)/errcheck ./...
 
 .PHONY: generate
-generate: $(BUILD)/generate ## run go-generate
+generate: ## run go-generate (build, lint, fmt, tests all do this for you if needed)
+	$(call remake,generate)
 
 .PHONY: tidy
 tidy:
@@ -372,7 +374,7 @@ UT_DIRS := $(filter-out $(INTEG_TEST_ROOT)%, $(sort $(dir $(filter %_test.go,$(A
 .PHONY: unit_test integ_test_sticky_off integ_test_sticky_on integ_test_grpc cover
 test: unit_test integ_test_sticky_off integ_test_sticky_on ## run all tests (requires a running cadence instance)
 
-unit_test: $(ALL_SRC) ## run all unit tests
+unit_test: $(BUILD)/fmt ## run all unit tests
 	$Q mkdir -p $(COVER_ROOT)
 	$Q echo "mode: atomic" > $(UT_COVER_FILE)
 	$Q FAIL=""; \
@@ -383,15 +385,15 @@ unit_test: $(ALL_SRC) ## run all unit tests
 	done; test -z "$$FAIL" || (echo "Failed packages; $$FAIL"; exit 1)
 	cat $(UT_COVER_FILE) > .build/cover.out;
 
-integ_test_sticky_off: $(ALL_SRC)
+integ_test_sticky_off: $(BUILD)/fmt
 	$Q mkdir -p $(COVER_ROOT)
 	STICKY_OFF=true go test $(TEST_ARG) ./test -coverprofile=$(INTEG_STICKY_OFF_COVER_FILE) -coverpkg=./...
 
-integ_test_sticky_on: $(ALL_SRC)
+integ_test_sticky_on: $(BUILD)/fmt
 	$Q mkdir -p $(COVER_ROOT)
 	STICKY_OFF=false go test $(TEST_ARG) ./test -coverprofile=$(INTEG_STICKY_ON_COVER_FILE) -coverpkg=./...
 
-integ_test_grpc: $(ALL_SRC)
+integ_test_grpc: $(BUILD)/fmt
 	$Q mkdir -p $(COVER_ROOT)
 	STICKY_OFF=false go test $(TEST_ARG) ./test -coverprofile=$(INTEG_GRPC_COVER_FILE) -coverpkg=./...
 
diff --git a/client/client.go b/client/client.go
index f67ff0f88..a614571ea 100644
--- a/client/client.go
+++ b/client/client.go
@@ -21,8 +21,6 @@
 // when adding any, make sure you update the files that it checks in the makefile
 //go:generate mockery --srcpkg . --name Client --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
 //go:generate mockery --srcpkg . --name DomainClient --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
-//go:generate mockery --srcpkg go.uber.org/cadence/internal --name HistoryEventIterator --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
-//go:generate mockery --srcpkg go.uber.org/cadence/internal --name WorkflowRun --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
 
 // Package client contains functions to create Cadence clients used to communicate to Cadence service.
 //
diff --git a/encoded/encoded.go b/encoded/encoded.go
index be5283a1b..0e30282ac 100644
--- a/encoded/encoded.go
+++ b/encoded/encoded.go
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@
 // OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
 // THE SOFTWARE.
 
-//go:generate mockery --srcpkg go.uber.org/cadence/internal --name Value --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
-
 // Package encoded contains wrappers that are used for binary payloads deserialization.
 package encoded
 
diff --git a/internal/encoded.go b/internal/encoded.go
index fd4688a67..3dff2eb00 100644
--- a/internal/encoded.go
+++ b/internal/encoded.go
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ import (
 	"go.uber.org/cadence/internal/common/util"
 )
 
+//go:generate mockery --name Value --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
+
 type (
 	// Value is used to encapsulate/extract encoded value from workflow/activity.
 	Value interface {
diff --git a/internal/internal_workflow_client.go b/internal/internal_workflow_client.go
index 8021c7744..7618be9b6 100644
--- a/internal/internal_workflow_client.go
+++ b/internal/internal_workflow_client.go
@@ -41,6 +41,9 @@ import (
 	"go.uber.org/cadence/internal/common/metrics"
 )
 
+//go:generate mockery --name HistoryEventIterator --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
+//go:generate mockery --name WorkflowRun --output ../mocks --boilerplate-file ../LICENSE
+
 // Assert that structs do indeed implement the interfaces
 var _ Client = (*workflowClient)(nil)