diff --git a/gnes/proto/__init__.py b/gnes/proto/__init__.py
index d8a114b9..48798a7f 100644
--- a/gnes/proto/__init__.py
+++ b/gnes/proto/__init__.py
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ def query(query: bytes, top_k: int, start_id: int = 0, *args, **kwargs):
             raise ValueError('"top_k: %d" is not a valid number' % top_k)
 
         req = gnes_pb2.Request()
-        req.request_id = start_id
+        req.request_id = str(start_id)
         req.search.query.raw_bytes = query
         req.search.top_k = top_k
         yield req