BIDS Apps execution specification

The Problem

Neuroimaging is a field with an enormous library of powerful tools and openly available datasets that can be difficult to get to work together.

What is BIDS?

The Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) is a community-driven standardized data organization protocol that gives analysis tools a common specification for data input, see this link. BIDS solves the dataset complexity problem by providing a consistent representation for data sharing and adoption.

So why do we need the BIDS Application Specification?

While BIDS is great for standardizing datasets, analytical tools can take a variety of forms, arguments, and complexities, limiting their ability to be applied interchangeably. The BIDS Application Specification solves this problem by creating a community-driven standardized structure for software definitions and their execution.

What is this document?

This document is a draft for the BIDS Application specification for the purposes of tool description, provenance and reproducibility. This is a working document in draft stage and any comments are welcome. This document inherits all components of the original specification (for example how to store imaging data, events, stimuli and behavioral data), and should be seen as an extension of it, not a replacement.

How can I help?

There are many open comments on the document, and all of them would benefit from your input. As you read this document, please feel free to ask questions, complete remaining tasks, or reach out to any of the listed contributors and moderators.