The INSDC has published a set of minimum specifications for the exchange of nucleotide sequence data, described in Kodama et al. (2026) and available in full at the INSDC website. They cover which data types the collaboration supports, including sample records, raw sequence data, analyses, annotations and genome assemblies, together with the minimum metadata that must accompany each of them.

The specifications describe practice that the three INSDC data archives (ENA at EMBL-EBI, GenBank at NCBI and DDBJ) already follow. Most of the effect is behind the scenes, where working to a single stated baseline supports more consistent processing of new datasets across the participating archives.

They also support the INSDC’s work to welcome new members into the collaboration, so that it better represents the global community of data providers and users. Alongside the Membership Acceptance and Performance Guidelines published in 2024, they help prospective members understand what is required to contribute data within INSDC.

Overall, the specifications are meant to grow with the collaboration, and we welcome comments from submitters and prospective members as sequencing technologies and submission types continue to change.