Enhancement Proposals

NWB Enhancement Proposals (NWBEP) are the official, formal way to propose major additions or changes to the NWB standard. They are used when a new feature, data type, or change is broadly useful to the community and should become part of the official NWB specification.

NWBEPs undergo a structured review and approval process facilitated by the NWB Technical Advisory Board (TAB) to ensure quality, consensus, and long-term maintainability.

NWBEPs often leverage NWB extensions (NDX) as a testing ground, implementing and evaluating proposed changes first as an NDX. This allows the community to use, test, and refine the extension in real-world scenarios before being considered for inclusion in the core NWB standard.

Create an NWBEP when a new feature or data type would benefit the entire NWB community and should be standardized.

Use an NWBEP when changes to existing core types are needed or when standardization across the community is important for the proposed functionality.

For lab-specific or experimental data types that don’t need community-wide standardization, consider creating an NWB Extension (NDX) instead.