diff --git a/docs/generated/http/BUILD.bazel b/docs/generated/http/BUILD.bazel
index f171a56bfd1b..dbe77dafbf91 100644
--- a/docs/generated/http/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/docs/generated/http/BUILD.bazel
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ genrule(
         "//pkg/util/timeutil/pgdate:pgdate_proto",
         "//pkg/sql/sessiondatapb:sessiondatapb_proto",
         "//pkg/sql/inverted:inverted_proto",
+        "//pkg/sql/lex:lex_proto",
         "//pkg/sql/pgwire/pgerror:pgerror_proto",
         "//pkg/sql/contentionpb:contentionpb_proto",
         "//pkg/sql/execinfrapb:execinfrapb_proto",
diff --git a/pkg/gen/protobuf.bzl b/pkg/gen/protobuf.bzl
index df87c11dff58..92ea6d55516c 100644
--- a/pkg/gen/protobuf.bzl
+++ b/pkg/gen/protobuf.bzl
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ PROTOBUF_SRCS = [
   "//pkg/sql/contentionpb:contentionpb_go_proto",
   "//pkg/sql/execinfrapb:execinfrapb_go_proto",
   "//pkg/sql/inverted:inverted_go_proto",
+  "//pkg/sql/lex:lex_go_proto",
   "//pkg/sql/pgwire/pgerror:pgerror_go_proto",
   "//pkg/sql/protoreflect/test:protoreflecttest_go_proto",
   "//pkg/sql/rowenc/rowencpb:rowencpb_go_proto",
diff --git a/pkg/sql/BUILD.bazel b/pkg/sql/BUILD.bazel
index 76d8272c53be..1837c8679619 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/pkg/sql/BUILD.bazel
@@ -328,6 +328,7 @@ go_library(
         "//pkg/sql/gcjob/gcjobnotifier",
         "//pkg/sql/idxusage",
         "//pkg/sql/inverted",
+        "//pkg/sql/lex",
         "//pkg/sql/lexbase",
         "//pkg/sql/memsize",
         "//pkg/sql/mutations",
diff --git a/pkg/sql/exec_util.go b/pkg/sql/exec_util.go
index def33aefaa57..8bee02199c27 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/exec_util.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/exec_util.go
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/execinfra"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/execinfrapb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/gcjob/gcjobnotifier"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/opt"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/optionalnodeliveness"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/parser"
@@ -2806,7 +2807,7 @@ func (m *sessionDataMutator) SetAvoidBuffering(b bool) {
 	m.data.AvoidBuffering = b
 }
 
-func (m *sessionDataMutator) SetBytesEncodeFormat(val sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat) {
+func (m *sessionDataMutator) SetBytesEncodeFormat(val lex.BytesEncodeFormat) {
 	m.data.DataConversionConfig.BytesEncodeFormat = val
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/sql/lex/BUILD.bazel b/pkg/sql/lex/BUILD.bazel
index c5523afe3b6a..25b7b0463f4e 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/lex/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/pkg/sql/lex/BUILD.bazel
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
+load("@rules_proto//proto:defs.bzl", "proto_library")
+load("@io_bazel_rules_go//proto:def.bzl", "go_proto_library")
 load("@io_bazel_rules_go//go:def.bzl", "go_library", "go_test")
 
 go_library(
     name = "lex",
     srcs = ["encode.go"],
+    embed = [":lex_go_proto"],
     importpath = "github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex",
     visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
     deps = [
         "//pkg/sql/pgwire/pgcode",
         "//pkg/sql/pgwire/pgerror",
-        "//pkg/sql/sessiondatapb",
         "@com_github_cockroachdb_errors//:errors",
         "@org_golang_x_text//language",
     ],
@@ -16,9 +18,27 @@ go_library(
 
 go_test(
     name = "lex_test",
-    srcs = ["encode_test.go"],
-    deps = [
-        ":lex",
-        "//pkg/sql/sessiondatapb",
+    srcs = [
+        "dep_test.go",
+        "encode_test.go",
     ],
+    embed = [":lex"],
+    deps = ["//pkg/testutils/buildutil"],
+)
+
+proto_library(
+    name = "lex_proto",
+    srcs = ["encode.proto"],
+    strip_import_prefix = "/pkg",
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+    deps = ["@com_github_gogo_protobuf//gogoproto:gogo_proto"],
+)
+
+go_proto_library(
+    name = "lex_go_proto",
+    compilers = ["//pkg/cmd/protoc-gen-gogoroach:protoc-gen-gogoroach_compiler"],
+    importpath = "github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex",
+    proto = ":lex_proto",
+    visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
+    deps = ["@com_github_gogo_protobuf//gogoproto"],
 )
diff --git a/pkg/sql/lex/dep_test.go b/pkg/sql/lex/dep_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b6f5d9b4ed7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/sql/lex/dep_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+// Copyright 2022 The Cockroach Authors.
+//
+// Use of this software is governed by the Business Source License
+// included in the file licenses/BSL.txt.
+//
+// As of the Change Date specified in that file, in accordance with
+// the Business Source License, use of this software will be governed
+// by the Apache License, Version 2.0, included in the file
+// licenses/APL.txt.
+
+package lex
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/testutils/buildutil"
+)
+
+func TestNoLinkForbidden(t *testing.T) {
+	buildutil.VerifyNoImports(t,
+		"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex", true,
+		[]string{
+			"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb",
+		}, nil,
+	)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/sql/lex/encode.go b/pkg/sql/lex/encode.go
index ee0fa03bdcc9..e02b9effdd93 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/lex/encode.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/lex/encode.go
@@ -23,11 +23,12 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/base64"
 	"encoding/hex"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 	"unicode"
 
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/pgcode"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/pgerror"
-	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/errors"
 	"golang.org/x/text/language"
 )
@@ -92,11 +93,9 @@ func LocaleNamesAreEqual(a, b string) bool {
 // If the skipHexPrefix argument is set, the hexadecimal encoding does not
 // prefix the output with "\x". This is suitable e.g. for the encode()
 // built-in.
-func EncodeByteArrayToRawBytes(
-	data string, be sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat, skipHexPrefix bool,
-) string {
+func EncodeByteArrayToRawBytes(data string, be BytesEncodeFormat, skipHexPrefix bool) string {
 	switch be {
-	case sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex:
+	case BytesEncodeHex:
 		head := 2
 		if skipHexPrefix {
 			head = 0
@@ -109,7 +108,7 @@ func EncodeByteArrayToRawBytes(
 		hex.Encode(res[head:], []byte(data))
 		return string(res)
 
-	case sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeEscape:
+	case BytesEncodeEscape:
 		// PostgreSQL does not allow all the escapes formats recognized by
 		// CockroachDB's scanner. It only recognizes octal and \\ for the
 		// backslash itself.
@@ -131,7 +130,7 @@ func EncodeByteArrayToRawBytes(
 		}
 		return string(res)
 
-	case sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeBase64:
+	case BytesEncodeBase64:
 		return base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(data))
 
 	default:
@@ -144,12 +143,12 @@ func EncodeByteArrayToRawBytes(
 // When using the Hex format, the caller is responsible for skipping the
 // "\x" prefix, if any. See DecodeRawBytesToByteArrayAuto() below for
 // an alternative.
-func DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(data string, be sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat) ([]byte, error) {
+func DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(data string, be BytesEncodeFormat) ([]byte, error) {
 	switch be {
-	case sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex:
+	case BytesEncodeHex:
 		return hex.DecodeString(data)
 
-	case sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeEscape:
+	case BytesEncodeEscape:
 		// PostgreSQL does not allow all the escapes formats recognized by
 		// CockroachDB's scanner. It only recognizes octal and \\ for the
 		// backslash itself.
@@ -188,7 +187,7 @@ func DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(data string, be sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat)
 		}
 		return res, nil
 
-	case sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeBase64:
+	case BytesEncodeBase64:
 		return base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(data)
 
 	default:
@@ -201,7 +200,34 @@ func DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(data string, be sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat)
 // and escape.
 func DecodeRawBytesToByteArrayAuto(data []byte) ([]byte, error) {
 	if len(data) >= 2 && data[0] == '\\' && (data[1] == 'x' || data[1] == 'X') {
-		return DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(string(data[2:]), sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex)
+		return DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(string(data[2:]), BytesEncodeHex)
+	}
+	return DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(string(data), BytesEncodeEscape)
+}
+
+func (f BytesEncodeFormat) String() string {
+	switch f {
+	case BytesEncodeHex:
+		return "hex"
+	case BytesEncodeEscape:
+		return "escape"
+	case BytesEncodeBase64:
+		return "base64"
+	default:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("invalid (%d)", f)
+	}
+}
+
+// BytesEncodeFormatFromString converts a string into a BytesEncodeFormat.
+func BytesEncodeFormatFromString(val string) (_ BytesEncodeFormat, ok bool) {
+	switch strings.ToUpper(val) {
+	case "HEX":
+		return BytesEncodeHex, true
+	case "ESCAPE":
+		return BytesEncodeEscape, true
+	case "BASE64":
+		return BytesEncodeBase64, true
+	default:
+		return -1, false
 	}
-	return DecodeRawBytesToByteArray(string(data), sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeEscape)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/sql/lex/encode.proto b/pkg/sql/lex/encode.proto
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..732872675c71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/sql/lex/encode.proto
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+// Copyright 2022 The Cockroach Authors.
+//
+// Use of this software is governed by the Business Source License
+// included in the file licenses/BSL.txt.
+//
+// As of the Change Date specified in that file, in accordance with
+// the Business Source License, use of this software will be governed
+// by the Apache License, Version 2.0, included in the file
+// licenses/APL.txt.
+
+syntax = "proto3";
+package cockroach.sql.sessiondatapb;
+option go_package = "lex";
+
+import "gogoproto/gogo.proto";
+
+// BytesEncodeFormat is the configuration for bytes to string conversions.
+enum BytesEncodeFormat {
+  option (gogoproto.goproto_enum_prefix) = false;
+  option (gogoproto.goproto_enum_stringer) = false;
+
+  // BytesEncodeHex uses the hex format: e'abc\n'::BYTES::STRING -> '\x61626312'.
+  // This is the default, for compatibility with PostgreSQL.
+  BytesEncodeHex = 0;
+  // BytesEncodeEscape uses the escaped format: e'abc\n'::BYTES::STRING -> 'abc\012'.
+  BytesEncodeEscape = 1;
+  // BytesEncodeBase64 uses base64 encoding.
+  BytesEncodeBase64 = 2;
+}
diff --git a/pkg/sql/lex/encode_test.go b/pkg/sql/lex/encode_test.go
index 4f22f8be454c..f36bfb82e683 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/lex/encode_test.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/lex/encode_test.go
@@ -15,19 +15,18 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex"
-	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb"
 )
 
 func TestByteArrayDecoding(t *testing.T) {
 	const (
-		fmtHex = sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex
-		fmtEsc = sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeEscape
-		fmtB64 = sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeBase64
+		fmtHex = lex.BytesEncodeHex
+		fmtEsc = lex.BytesEncodeEscape
+		fmtB64 = lex.BytesEncodeBase64
 	)
 	testData := []struct {
 		in    string
 		auto  bool
-		inFmt sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat
+		inFmt lex.BytesEncodeFormat
 		out   string
 		err   string
 	}{
@@ -103,10 +102,10 @@ func TestByteArrayEncoding(t *testing.T) {
 
 	for _, s := range testData {
 		t.Run(s.in, func(t *testing.T) {
-			for _, format := range []sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat{
-				sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex,
-				sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeEscape,
-				sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeBase64,
+			for _, format := range []lex.BytesEncodeFormat{
+				lex.BytesEncodeHex,
+				lex.BytesEncodeEscape,
+				lex.BytesEncodeBase64,
 			} {
 				t.Run(format.String(), func(t *testing.T) {
 					enc := lex.EncodeByteArrayToRawBytes(s.in, format, false)
@@ -116,7 +115,7 @@ func TestByteArrayEncoding(t *testing.T) {
 						t.Fatalf("encoded %q, expected %q", enc, expEnc)
 					}
 
-					if format == sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex {
+					if format == lex.BytesEncodeHex {
 						// Check that the \x also can be skipped.
 						enc2 := lex.EncodeByteArrayToRawBytes(s.in, format, true)
 						if enc[2:] != enc2 {
diff --git a/pkg/sql/pgwire/BUILD.bazel b/pkg/sql/pgwire/BUILD.bazel
index 13034e217132..9280f03303e7 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/pgwire/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/pkg/sql/pgwire/BUILD.bazel
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ go_test(
         "//pkg/sql",
         "//pkg/sql/catalog/colinfo",
         "//pkg/sql/colconv",
+        "//pkg/sql/lex",
         "//pkg/sql/parser",
         "//pkg/sql/pgwire/hba",
         "//pkg/sql/pgwire/identmap",
diff --git a/pkg/sql/pgwire/conn_test.go b/pkg/sql/pgwire/conn_test.go
index 48023ab3661d..812c70c46df7 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/pgwire/conn_test.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/pgwire/conn_test.go
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/security"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/catalog/colinfo"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/hba"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/pgcode"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/pgerror"
@@ -569,7 +570,7 @@ func getSessionArgs(ln net.Listener, trustRemoteAddr bool) (net.Conn, sql.Sessio
 
 func makeTestingConvCfg() (sessiondatapb.DataConversionConfig, *time.Location) {
 	return sessiondatapb.DataConversionConfig{
-		BytesEncodeFormat: sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex,
+		BytesEncodeFormat: lex.BytesEncodeHex,
 	}, time.UTC
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/sql/pgwire/types_test.go b/pkg/sql/pgwire/types_test.go
index a67046627a80..ac35e79577be 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/pgwire/types_test.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/pgwire/types_test.go
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/col/coldataext"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/col/coldatatestutils"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/settings/cluster"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/pgwirebase"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/randgen"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sem/tree"
-	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/types"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/duration"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/util/leaktest"
@@ -203,9 +203,9 @@ func TestByteArrayRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
 		randValues = append(randValues, d)
 	}
 
-	for _, be := range []sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormat{
-		sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex,
-		sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeEscape,
+	for _, be := range []lex.BytesEncodeFormat{
+		lex.BytesEncodeHex,
+		lex.BytesEncodeEscape,
 	} {
 		t.Run(be.String(), func(t *testing.T) {
 			for i, d := range randValues {
diff --git a/pkg/sql/sem/builtins/builtins.go b/pkg/sql/sem/builtins/builtins.go
index d59f26e797eb..6b208ed3ce6e 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/sem/builtins/builtins.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/sem/builtins/builtins.go
@@ -1098,7 +1098,7 @@ var builtins = map[string]builtinDefinition{
 			ReturnType: tree.FixedReturnType(types.String),
 			Fn: func(evalCtx *tree.EvalContext, args tree.Datums) (_ tree.Datum, err error) {
 				data, format := *args[0].(*tree.DBytes), string(tree.MustBeDString(args[1]))
-				be, ok := sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormatFromString(format)
+				be, ok := lex.BytesEncodeFormatFromString(format)
 				if !ok {
 					return nil, pgerror.New(pgcode.InvalidParameterValue,
 						"only 'hex', 'escape', and 'base64' formats are supported for encode()")
@@ -1117,7 +1117,7 @@ var builtins = map[string]builtinDefinition{
 			ReturnType: tree.FixedReturnType(types.Bytes),
 			Fn: func(evalCtx *tree.EvalContext, args tree.Datums) (_ tree.Datum, err error) {
 				data, format := string(tree.MustBeDString(args[0])), string(tree.MustBeDString(args[1]))
-				be, ok := sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormatFromString(format)
+				be, ok := lex.BytesEncodeFormatFromString(format)
 				if !ok {
 					return nil, pgerror.New(pgcode.InvalidParameterValue,
 						"only 'hex', 'escape', and 'base64' formats are supported for decode()")
diff --git a/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/BUILD.bazel b/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/BUILD.bazel
index 5f618bec4bad..e27929266ef5 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/BUILD.bazel
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ proto_library(
     strip_import_prefix = "/pkg",
     visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
     deps = [
+        "//pkg/sql/lex:lex_proto",
         "//pkg/util/duration:duration_proto",
         "//pkg/util/timeutil/pgdate:pgdate_proto",
         "@com_github_gogo_protobuf//gogoproto:gogo_proto",
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ go_proto_library(
     proto = ":sessiondatapb_proto",
     visibility = ["//visibility:public"],
     deps = [
+        "//pkg/sql/lex",
         "//pkg/util/duration",
         "//pkg/util/timeutil/pgdate",
         "@com_github_gogo_protobuf//gogoproto",
diff --git a/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.go b/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.go
index eaf8dbec3fa4..e895bbb70e3d 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.go
@@ -51,33 +51,6 @@ func (c DataConversionConfig) GetFloatPrec() int {
 	return int(nDigits)
 }
 
-func (f BytesEncodeFormat) String() string {
-	switch f {
-	case BytesEncodeHex:
-		return "hex"
-	case BytesEncodeEscape:
-		return "escape"
-	case BytesEncodeBase64:
-		return "base64"
-	default:
-		return fmt.Sprintf("invalid (%d)", f)
-	}
-}
-
-// BytesEncodeFormatFromString converts a string into a BytesEncodeFormat.
-func BytesEncodeFormatFromString(val string) (_ BytesEncodeFormat, ok bool) {
-	switch strings.ToUpper(val) {
-	case "HEX":
-		return BytesEncodeHex, true
-	case "ESCAPE":
-		return BytesEncodeEscape, true
-	case "BASE64":
-		return BytesEncodeBase64, true
-	default:
-		return -1, false
-	}
-}
-
 func (m VectorizeExecMode) String() string {
 	switch m {
 	case VectorizeOn, VectorizeUnset:
diff --git a/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.proto b/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.proto
index eff5503e026f..8e4529c034ea 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.proto
+++ b/pkg/sql/sessiondatapb/session_data.proto
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ syntax = "proto3";
 package cockroach.sql.sessiondatapb;
 option go_package = "sessiondatapb";
 
+import "sql/lex/encode.proto";
 import "util/duration/duration.proto";
 import "util/timeutil/pgdate/pgdate.proto";
 import "gogoproto/gogo.proto";
@@ -106,20 +107,6 @@ message DataConversionConfig {
   util.timeutil.pgdate.DateStyle date_style = 4 [(gogoproto.nullable) = false];
 }
 
-// BytesEncodeFormat is the configuration for bytes to string conversions.
-enum BytesEncodeFormat {
-  option (gogoproto.goproto_enum_prefix) = false;
-  option (gogoproto.goproto_enum_stringer) = false;
-
-  // BytesEncodeHex uses the hex format: e'abc\n'::BYTES::STRING -> '\x61626312'.
-  // This is the default, for compatibility with PostgreSQL.
-  BytesEncodeHex = 0;
-  // BytesEncodeEscape uses the escaped format: e'abc\n'::BYTES::STRING -> 'abc\012'.
-  BytesEncodeEscape = 1;
-  // BytesEncodeBase64 uses base64 encoding.
-  BytesEncodeBase64 = 2;
-}
-
 // VectorizeExecMode controls if an when the Executor executes queries using
 // the columnar execution engine.
 enum VectorizeExecMode {
diff --git a/pkg/sql/vars.go b/pkg/sql/vars.go
index 775c84eda3ab..3b4d867ed1eb 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/vars.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/vars.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/settings/cluster"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/catalog/schemaexpr"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/delegate"
+	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/lex"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/paramparse"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/pgcode"
 	"github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/pkg/sql/pgwire/pgerror"
@@ -199,7 +200,7 @@ var varGen = map[string]sessionVar{
 		Set: func(
 			_ context.Context, m sessionDataMutator, s string,
 		) error {
-			mode, ok := sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeFormatFromString(s)
+			mode, ok := lex.BytesEncodeFormatFromString(s)
 			if !ok {
 				return newVarValueError(`bytea_output`, s, "hex", "escape", "base64")
 			}
@@ -209,7 +210,7 @@ var varGen = map[string]sessionVar{
 		Get: func(evalCtx *extendedEvalContext) (string, error) {
 			return evalCtx.SessionData().DataConversionConfig.BytesEncodeFormat.String(), nil
 		},
-		GlobalDefault: func(sv *settings.Values) string { return sessiondatapb.BytesEncodeHex.String() },
+		GlobalDefault: func(sv *settings.Values) string { return lex.BytesEncodeHex.String() },
 	},
 
 	`client_min_messages`: {