---
id: bids-validator
version: "1.14.7.post0"
license: MIT License
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# bids-validator — Validator for the Brain Imaging Data Structure

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 117.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

BIDS-Validator is a tool that checks whether brain imaging datasets conform to the Brain Imaging Data Structure specification. It works across multiple interfaces—web browser, command line, Docker, and as a Python library—making it accessible to researchers with different workflows. The Python library provides programmatic access to validation checks, allowing you to integrate BIDS compliance testing into data processing pipelines or quality-control scripts.

The validator examines file organization, naming conventions, metadata in JSON sidecars, and data format integrity (NIfTI headers, TSV structure, JSON syntax). It supports configuration via `.bidsignore` files and JSON config files to customize which issues are ignored, warned about, or treated as errors. The package depends on bidsschematools to enforce the current BIDS specification rules.

Use it for:

- Validate a neuroimaging dataset before uploading to a data repository or sharing with collaborators.
- Integrate BIDS validation into a data acquisition pipeline to catch formatting errors immediately after scanning.
- Check individual files or entire directories programmatically within a Python-based data processing workflow.
- Configure dataset-specific validation rules by adding a `.bids-validator-config.json` file to customize error severity.
- Validate datasets in automated CI/CD workflows to ensure BIDS compliance before archival or publication.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Validates that brain imaging datasets conform to the BIDS (Brain Imaging Data Structure) specification, checking file organization, naming, metadata, and format compliance.

Yes. BIDS-Validator is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with minimal friction, and is the standard tool for ensuring neuroimaging datasets meet BIDS specification requirements. It is essential for researchers working with brain imaging data who need to validate compliance programmatically or before sharing datasets.

## Install

pip install bids-validator
uv add bids-validator
poetry add bids-validator

## Installing bids-validator

Before you install: Low friction install with a single runtime dependency (bidsschematools). The package is actively maintained with a recent release and no known vulnerabilities, making it straightforward to add to a Python environment.

License in practice: MIT License permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both academic and commercial neuroimaging workflows without licensing concerns.

Quickstart:

pip install bids-validator
from bids_validator import BIDSValidator
validator = BIDSValidator()
validator.is_bids('/relative/path/to/a/bids/file')

File path must be relative to the root of the BIDS dataset and must include a leading forward slash.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the Python library supports all validation features available in the command-line and web versions, or if some checks are CLI/browser-only.
- Performance characteristics when validating large datasets (thousands of files or multi-gigabyte sizes).
- Whether custom validation rules beyond the standard BIDS specification can be enforced programmatically.

## Package facts

- License: MIT License (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 117.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

BIDS dataset validation, brain imaging data structure checker, neuroimaging dataset compliance, BIDS file format validator, brain MRI dataset validation, fMRI data structure checker, BIDS specification compliance, neuroimaging, data-validation, bids

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