Add check for NWB schema version to ensure official releases

src/nwbinspector/_internal_configs/dandi.inspector_config.yaml

@@ -8,5 +8,6 @@ CRITICAL:  # All the fields under CRITICAL will be required for dandi validate t
   - check_subject_age
   - check_subject_proper_age_range
   - check_session_id_no_slashes
+  - check_nwb_schema_version_official_release
 BEST_PRACTICE_VIOLATION:
   - check_data_orientation  # not 100% accurate, so need to deelevate from CRITICAL to skip it in dandi validate

src/nwbinspector/checks/__init__.py

@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
     check_experimenter_form,
     check_institution,
     check_keywords,
+    check_nwb_schema_version_official_release,
     check_processing_module_name,
     check_session_id_no_slashes,
     check_session_start_time_future_date,
@@ -108,6 +109,7 @@
     "check_large_dataset_compression",
     "check_keywords",
     "check_institution",
+    "check_nwb_schema_version_official_release",
     "check_subject_age",
     "check_subject_sex",
     "check_subject_exists",

src/nwbinspector/checks/_nwbfile_metadata.py

@@ -20,6 +20,54 @@
 PROCESSING_MODULE_CONFIG = ["ophys", "ecephys", "icephys", "behavior", "misc", "ogen", "retinotopy"]
 
 
+@register_check(importance=Importance.BEST_PRACTICE_VIOLATION, neurodata_type=NWBFile)
+def check_nwb_schema_version_official_release(nwbfile: NWBFile) -> Optional[InspectorMessage]:
+    """
+    Check if the NWB schema version used is an official release version.
+
+    Unofficial versions include development versions (e.g., '2.8.0-dev'),
+    pre-release versions (e.g., '2.8.0-alpha', '2.8.0-beta', '2.8.0-rc1'),
+    or any version containing non-standard suffixes.
+
+    Best Practice: Use only official, released versions of the NWB schema for
+    production data to ensure compatibility and reproducibility.
+    """
+    try:
+        import pynwb
+
+        # Get the schema version from the namespace catalog
+        manager = pynwb.get_manager()
+        core_namespace = manager.namespace_catalog.get_namespace("core")
+        schema_version = core_namespace.version
+
+        # Define pattern for official release versions (semantic versioning)
+        # Official versions should match pattern: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (e.g., "2.8.0")
+        official_version_pattern = r"^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$"
+
+        # Check if the version matches the official pattern
+        if not re.match(official_version_pattern, schema_version):
+            # Define common unofficial version patterns for better error messages
+            if re.match(r"^\d+\.\d+\.\d+-(dev|alpha|beta|rc\d*|pre).*$", schema_version):
+                version_type = "development or pre-release"
+            else:
+                version_type = "non-standard"
+
+            return InspectorMessage(
+                message=(
+                    f"The NWB schema version '{schema_version}' appears to be a {version_type} version. "
+                    f"For production data, it is recommended to use only official release versions "
+                    f"(e.g., '2.8.0') to ensure compatibility and reproducibility."
+                )
+            )
+
+    except Exception as exception:
+        # If we can't determine the schema version, don't report an error
+        # This could happen with very old versions of PyNWB or in unusual setups
+        return None
+
+    return None
+
+
 @register_check(importance=Importance.BEST_PRACTICE_SUGGESTION, neurodata_type=NWBFile)
 def check_session_start_time_old_date(nwbfile: NWBFile) -> Optional[InspectorMessage]:
     """

tests/test_check_configuration.py

@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ def test_load_config(self):
                     "check_subject_age",
                     "check_subject_proper_age_range",
                     "check_session_id_no_slashes",
+                    "check_nwb_schema_version_official_release",
                 ],
                 BEST_PRACTICE_VIOLATION=[
                     "check_data_orientation",

tests/unit_tests/test_nwbfile_metadata.py

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
     check_experimenter_form,
     check_institution,
     check_keywords,
+    check_nwb_schema_version_official_release,
     check_processing_module_name,
     check_session_id_no_slashes,
     check_session_start_time_future_date,
@@ -619,3 +620,75 @@ def test_check_subject_id_with_slashes():
         object_name="subject",
         location="/general/subject",
     )
+
+
+def test_check_nwb_schema_version_official_release_pass():
+    """Test that official schema versions pass the check."""
+    # The current schema version (2.8.0) should be considered official
+    assert check_nwb_schema_version_official_release(minimal_nwbfile) is None
+
+
+def test_check_nwb_schema_version_official_release_fail():
+    """Test that unofficial schema versions fail the check."""
+    # We need to mock the schema version to test different scenarios
+    import unittest.mock
+
+    # Test development version
+    with unittest.mock.patch("pynwb.get_manager") as mock_manager:
+        mock_catalog = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+        mock_namespace = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+        mock_namespace.version = "2.8.0-dev"
+        mock_catalog.get_namespace.return_value = mock_namespace
+        mock_manager.return_value.namespace_catalog = mock_catalog
+
+        result = check_nwb_schema_version_official_release(minimal_nwbfile)
+        assert result == InspectorMessage(
+            message=(
+                "The NWB schema version '2.8.0-dev' appears to be a development or pre-release version. "
+                "For production data, it is recommended to use only official release versions "
+                "(e.g., '2.8.0') to ensure compatibility and reproducibility."
+            ),
+            importance=Importance.BEST_PRACTICE_VIOLATION,
+            check_function_name="check_nwb_schema_version_official_release",
+            object_type="NWBFile",
+            object_name="root",
+            location="/",
+        )
+
+
+def test_check_nwb_schema_version_pre_release_versions():
+    """Test that various pre-release versions are detected."""
+    import unittest.mock
+
+    test_cases = [
+        ("2.8.0-alpha", "development or pre-release"),
+        ("2.8.0-beta", "development or pre-release"),
+        ("2.8.0-rc1", "development or pre-release"),
+        ("2.8.0-dev", "development or pre-release"),
+        ("2.8.0-pre", "development or pre-release"),
+        ("2.8.0.custom", "non-standard"),
+        ("v2.8.0", "non-standard"),
+    ]
+
+    for version, version_type in test_cases:
+        with unittest.mock.patch("pynwb.get_manager") as mock_manager:
+            mock_catalog = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+            mock_namespace = unittest.mock.MagicMock()
+            mock_namespace.version = version
+            mock_catalog.get_namespace.return_value = mock_namespace
+            mock_manager.return_value.namespace_catalog = mock_catalog
+
+            result = check_nwb_schema_version_official_release(minimal_nwbfile)
+            assert result is not None
+            assert version in result.message
+            assert version_type in result.message
+
+
+def test_check_nwb_schema_version_exception_handling():
+    """Test that exceptions in schema version detection are handled gracefully."""
+    import unittest.mock
+
+    with unittest.mock.patch("pynwb.get_manager", side_effect=Exception("Mock error")):
+        # Should return None when unable to determine schema version
+        result = check_nwb_schema_version_official_release(minimal_nwbfile)
+        assert result is None