The INSDC minimal specifications define the core technical and data requirements that all INSDC databases must meet to ensure consistent, interoperable, and reliable sharing of nucleotide sequence data. They were formalised by the INSDC Implementation Committee in 2025, with the objective of reconciling historical standards and validation practices with modern data generation and use. Variations in how specifications had been implemented across member databases highlighted the need to clearly articulate a shared data model and minimum criteria for data inclusion. These specifications support both the founding members and the broader goals of the INSDC Global Participation Initiative by providing a common foundation for current and future participants. Importantly, the minimal specifications are intended to be living documents that will evolve over time in response to advances in technology, changing user needs, and the growing diversity of the global sequence data community.

A detailed description of how the specifications were developed is pending publication.

List of minimal specifications:

• Analysis
• Annotations
• Assembly
• Compressed Reads
• Experiment
• Package-Checklist
• Project
• Raw Reads
• Sample
• Sequence