Welcome to the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) participation in the OHBM BrainHack 2026! This repository coordinates our workshop and hackathon activities.
BIDS is participating in the OHBM hackathon to showcase ongoing developments, gather community feedback, and foster collaboration on advancing neuroimaging data standards. Our activities will present various ongoing developments including schema enhancements and BIDS Extension Proposals (BEPs), with opportunities to contribute through hackathon projects.
Reference: OHBM Hackathon 2025 Website
As soon as registration opens, we will point to the official hackathon project submissions. In the meantime:
- File an issue in this repository to propose or discuss project ideas
- Open a pull request to improve or add to these materials (README, documentation, etc.)
- Check out previous year's hackathon projects for inspiration
Note: This schedule is tentative and subject to change based on the main hackathon program.
BIDS activities begin after the main OHBM hackathon opening session.
- Welcome and Introduction to BIDS
- Overview of BIDS standards and community
- Recent updates and roadmap
- BIDS Schema Developments
- Current schema architecture
- Ongoing improvements and refactoring efforts
- Community contributions and how to get involved
- Active BIDS Extension Proposals (BEPs)
- Overview of the BEP process
- Spotlight on active BEPs seeking community input
- Q&A and discussion
Note: Hackathon project pitches will be presented during the main event sessions.
- BEP Deep Dives
- Detailed presentations of specific BEPs
- Technical discussions and implementation considerations
- Hackathon Work Session
- Begin work on selected projects
- Mentors available for guidance
- Project development and collaboration
- Mentors available for guidance
- Afternoonish Session: BIDS Maintainers and Steering Group Meeting
- Non-public, dedicated to BIDS maintainers and steering group
- Internal discussions and planning
- Continue through early Day 3
- Morning Session: BIDS Maintainers and Steering Group Meeting (continued)
- Wrap up internal discussions
- Afternoon Session: Join Main BrainHack Event
- Participate in final presentations and community activities
- Share outcomes and celebrate successes
The BIDS schema is the machine-readable representation of the BIDS specification.
- Repository: bids-standard/bids-specification
- Documentation: bidsschematools package docs
- Key Focus Areas:
- Schema validation and tooling improvements
- Enhanced metadata specifications
- Cross-modality harmonization
BEPs are proposals for extending BIDS to new data modalities or use cases.
Interested in working on a BEP during the hackathon? Any active BEP can be taken as a hackathon project!
Placeholder list of BEPs that may be featured:
- To be determined based on community interest
- Open a PR to propose a BEP you'd like to work on
For a complete list and status of all BEPs, see: BIDS Extension Proposals
Hackathon projects can take many forms. Here are some types of projects that have been successful in the past:
Contribute to the BIDS validator with new rules or performance improvements.
- Skills: Python, JavaScript, schema validation
- Repository: bids-standard/bids-validator
Help implement or advance a specific BEP. Any active BEP can be taken as a hackathon project!
- Skills: Python, data structure design, domain knowledge
- Resources: BIDS Extension Proposals
Create example datasets or tutorials for new BIDS users.
- Skills: Documentation, data organization, teaching
- Repository: bids-standard/bids-examples
Enhance schema documentation and developer guides.
- Skills: Technical writing, JSON schema, documentation tools
Develop or improve converters for specific data formats to BIDS.
- Skills: Python, data format knowledge, neuroimaging
Update or create BIDS Apps for specific analysis pipelines.
- Skills: Docker, neuroimaging analysis, pipeline development
- Reference: BIDS Apps
Check out projects from previous OHBM hackathons for inspiration:
Have an idea or want to discuss a potential project?
- File an issue in this repository to propose or discuss project ideas
- Open a pull request to add information or resources that would help with a project
- Include in your proposal:
- Project title and description
- Required skills
- Expected outcomes
- Any relevant links or resources
- Mailing List: [email protected]
- GitHub Discussions: bids-standard discussions
- Neurostars Forum: neurostars.org/tag/bids
- Slack Workspace: TBD (will be shared closer to the event)
- Video Conferencing: TBD
- In-Person Location: TBD
- BIDS Steering Group: List of members
- Workshop Leads: TBD
- Project Mentors: TBD
- TBD: Registration opens
- TBD: Project proposal deadline
- TBD: OHBM Hackathon 2026 dates
- TBD: BIDS Workshop (1.5 days within hackathon)
All participants are expected to follow the BIDS Code of Conduct and the OHBM Hackathon Code of Conduct.
This repository and its contents are licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
Questions? Open an issue in this repository or reach out on the Neurostars forum.