diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 3ed25686..1fe2e779 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 version: 2.1
 orbs:
-  codecov: codecov/codecov@1.0.5
+  codecov: codecov/codecov@3.2.4
 
 jobs:
   run_pytests:
@@ -31,10 +31,8 @@ jobs:
             source activate cubids
             conda install -c conda-forge -y datalad
 
-            # Add nodejs and the validator
-            conda install nodejs
-            npm install -g yarn && \
-            npm install -g bids-validator@1.14.14-dev.0
+            # Add deno to run the schema validator
+            conda install deno
 
             # Install CuBIDS
             pip install -e .[tests]
@@ -64,7 +62,8 @@ jobs:
 
             # We need curl for the codecov upload
             apt-get update
-            apt-get install -yqq curl
+            apt-get install -y -qq curl
+            apt-get install -y gnupg
 
             cd /home/circleci/src/coverage/
             echo "Merge coverage files"
diff --git a/cubids/cli.py b/cubids/cli.py
index f87ffc6c..cf48cf9a 100644
--- a/cubids/cli.py
+++ b/cubids/cli.py
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ def _parse_validate():
         type=PathExists,
         action="store",
         help=(
-            "the root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
             "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
         ),
     )
@@ -107,6 +107,41 @@ def _enter_validate(argv=None):
     workflows.validate(**args)
 
 
+def _parse_bids_version():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        description="cubids bids-version: Get BIDS Validator and Schema version",
+        formatter_class=argparse.ArgumentDefaultsHelpFormatter,
+    )
+    PathExists = partial(_path_exists, parser=parser)
+
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "bids_dir",
+        type=PathExists,
+        action="store",
+        help=(
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
+        ),
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--write",
+        action="store_true",
+        default=False,
+        help=(
+            "Save the validator and schema version to 'dataset_description.json' "
+            "when using `cubids bids-version /bids/path --write`. "
+            "By default, `cubids bids-version /bids/path` prints to the terminal."
+        ),
+    )
+    return parser
+
+
+def _enter_bids_version(argv=None):
+    options = _parse_bids_version().parse_args(argv)
+    args = vars(options).copy()
+    workflows.bids_version(**args)
+
+
 def _parse_bids_sidecar_merge():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description=("bids-sidecar-merge: merge critical keys from one sidecar to another"),
@@ -153,7 +188,7 @@ def _parse_group():
         type=PathExists,
         action="store",
         help=(
-            "the root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
             "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
         ),
     )
@@ -220,7 +255,7 @@ def _parse_apply():
         type=PathExists,
         action="store",
         help=(
-            "the root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
             "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
         ),
     )
@@ -316,7 +351,7 @@ def _parse_datalad_save():
         type=PathExists,
         action="store",
         help=(
-            "the root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
             "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
         ),
     )
@@ -358,7 +393,7 @@ def _parse_undo():
         type=PathExists,
         action="store",
         help=(
-            "the root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
             "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
         ),
     )
@@ -582,7 +617,7 @@ def _parse_remove_metadata_fields():
         type=PathExists,
         action="store",
         help=(
-            "the root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
             "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
         ),
     )
@@ -628,7 +663,7 @@ def _parse_print_metadata_fields():
         type=PathExists,
         action="store",
         help=(
-            "the root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
+            "The root of a BIDS dataset. It should contain "
             "sub-X directories and dataset_description.json"
         ),
     )
@@ -655,6 +690,7 @@ def _enter_print_metadata_fields(argv=None):
 
 COMMANDS = [
     ("validate", _parse_validate, workflows.validate),
+    ("bids-version", _parse_bids_version, workflows.bids_version),
     ("sidecar-merge", _parse_bids_sidecar_merge, workflows.bids_sidecar_merge),
     ("group", _parse_group, workflows.group),
     ("apply", _parse_apply, workflows.apply),
diff --git a/cubids/cubids.py b/cubids/cubids.py
index 44c57fdc..81781596 100644
--- a/cubids/cubids.py
+++ b/cubids/cubids.py
@@ -1336,9 +1336,20 @@ def get_all_metadata_fields(self):
         found_fields = set()
         for json_file in Path(self.path).rglob("*.json"):
             if ".git" not in str(json_file):
-                with open(json_file, "r") as jsonr:
-                    metadata = json.load(jsonr)
-                found_fields.update(metadata.keys())
+                # add this in case `print-metadata-fields` is run before validate
+                try:
+                    with open(json_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as jsonr:
+                        content = jsonr.read().strip()
+                        if not content:
+                            print(f"Empty file: {json_file}")
+                            continue
+                        metadata = json.loads(content)
+                    found_fields.update(metadata.keys())
+                except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
+                    warnings.warn(f"Error decoding JSON in {json_file}: {e}")
+                except Exception as e:
+                    warnings.warn(f"Unexpected error with file {json_file}: {e}")
+
         return sorted(found_fields)
 
     def remove_metadata_fields(self, fields_to_remove):
diff --git a/cubids/tests/test_bond.py b/cubids/tests/test_bond.py
index 28211cc2..d33107be 100644
--- a/cubids/tests/test_bond.py
+++ b/cubids/tests/test_bond.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import numpy as np
 import pandas as pd
 import pytest
+from packaging.version import Version
 
 from cubids.cubids import CuBIDS
 from cubids.metadata_merge import merge_json_into_json, merge_without_overwrite
@@ -22,7 +23,15 @@
     file_hash,
     get_data,
 )
-from cubids.validator import build_validator_call, parse_validator_output, run_validator
+from cubids.validator import (
+    build_validator_call,
+    parse_validator_output,
+    run_validator,
+    get_bids_validator_version,
+    extract_summary_info,
+    update_dataset_description,
+    bids_validator_version,
+)
 
 COMPLETE_KEY_GROUPS = [
     "acquisition-HASC55AP_datatype-dwi_suffix-dwi",
@@ -1028,6 +1037,39 @@ def test_validator(tmp_path):
     assert isinstance(parsed, pd.DataFrame)
 
 
+def test_bids_version(tmp_path):
+    """Test workflows.bids_version."""
+    data_root = get_data(tmp_path)
+    bids_dir = Path(data_root) / "complete"
+
+    # Ensure the test directory exists
+    assert bids_dir.exists()
+
+    # test the validator in valid dataset
+    call = build_validator_call(bids_dir)
+    ret = run_validator(call)
+
+    assert ret.returncode == 0
+
+    decoded = ret.stdout.decode("UTF-8")
+
+    # Get the BIDS validator version
+    validator_version = Version(get_bids_validator_version()["ValidatorVersion"])
+    # Extract schemaVersion
+    schema_version = Version(extract_summary_info(decoded)["SchemaVersion"])
+
+    # Set baseline versions to compare against
+    min_validator_version = Version("2.0.0")
+    min_schema_version = Version("0.11.3")
+
+    assert (
+        validator_version >= min_validator_version
+    ), f"Validator version {validator_version} is less than minimum {min_validator_version}"
+    assert (
+        schema_version >= min_schema_version
+    ), f"Schema version {schema_version} is less than minimum {min_schema_version}"
+
+
 def test_docker():
     """Verify that docker is installed and the user has permission to run docker images.
 
diff --git a/cubids/tests/test_cli.py b/cubids/tests/test_cli.py
index a0e9066a..06d3af2a 100644
--- a/cubids/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/cubids/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -14,9 +14,10 @@
 """
 
 import argparse
+
 import pytest
 
-from cubids.cli import _path_exists, _is_file, _get_parser, _main
+from cubids.cli import _get_parser, _is_file, _main, _path_exists
 
 
 def _test_path_exists():
diff --git a/cubids/validator.py b/cubids/validator.py
index d7e52fe4..a4feeba5 100644
--- a/cubids/validator.py
+++ b/cubids/validator.py
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@
 import logging
 import os
 import pathlib
+import re
 import subprocess
+import warnings
 
 import pandas as pd
 
@@ -14,9 +16,9 @@
 
 def build_validator_call(path, ignore_headers=False):
     """Build a subprocess command to the bids validator."""
-    # build docker call
-    # CuBIDS automatically ignores subject consistency.
-    command = ["bids-validator", path, "--verbose", "--json", "--ignoreSubjectConsistency"]
+    # New schema BIDS validator doesn't have option to ignore subject consistency.
+    # Build the deno command to run the BIDS validator.
+    command = ["deno", "run", "-A", "jsr:@bids/validator", path, "--verbose", "--json"]
 
     if ignore_headers:
         command.append("--ignoreNiftiHeaders")
@@ -24,6 +26,23 @@ def build_validator_call(path, ignore_headers=False):
     return command
 
 
+def get_bids_validator_version():
+    """Get the version of the BIDS validator.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    version : :obj:`str`
+        Version of the BIDS validator.
+    """
+    command = ["deno", "run", "-A", "jsr:@bids/validator", "--version"]
+    result = subprocess.run(command, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
+    output = result.stdout.decode("utf-8").strip()
+    version = output.split()[-1]
+    # Remove ANSI color codes
+    clean_ver = re.sub(r"\x1b\[[0-9;]*m", "", version)
+    return {"ValidatorVersion": clean_ver}
+
+
 def build_subject_paths(bids_dir):
     """Build a list of BIDS dirs with 1 subject each."""
     bids_dir = str(bids_dir)
@@ -52,6 +71,26 @@ def build_subject_paths(bids_dir):
     return subjects_dict
 
 
+def build_first_subject_path(bids_dir, subject):
+    """Build a list of BIDS dirs with 1 subject each."""
+    bids_dir = str(bids_dir)
+    if not bids_dir.endswith("/"):
+        bids_dir += "/"
+
+    root_files = [x for x in glob.glob(bids_dir + "*") if os.path.isfile(x)]
+
+    subject_dict = {}
+
+    purepath = pathlib.PurePath(subject)
+    sub_label = purepath.name
+
+    files = [x for x in glob.glob(subject + "**", recursive=True) if os.path.isfile(x)]
+    files.extend(root_files)
+    subject_dict[sub_label] = files
+
+    return subject_dict
+
+
 def run_validator(call):
     """Run the validator with subprocess.
 
@@ -87,32 +126,6 @@ def parse_validator_output(output):
         Dataframe of validator output.
     """
 
-    def get_nested(dct, *keys):
-        """Get a nested value from a dictionary.
-
-        Parameters
-        ----------
-        dct : :obj:`dict`
-            Dictionary to get value from.
-        keys : :obj:`list`
-            List of keys to get value from.
-
-        Returns
-        -------
-        :obj:`dict`
-            The nested value.
-        """
-        for key in keys:
-            try:
-                dct = dct[key]
-            except (KeyError, TypeError):
-                return None
-        return dct
-
-    data = json.loads(output)
-
-    issues = data["issues"]
-
     def parse_issue(issue_dict):
         """Parse a single issue from the validator output.
 
@@ -126,30 +139,30 @@ def parse_issue(issue_dict):
         return_dict : :obj:`dict`
             Dictionary of parsed issue.
         """
-        return_dict = {}
-        return_dict["files"] = [
-            get_nested(x, "file", "relativePath") for x in issue_dict.get("files", "")
-        ]
-        return_dict["type"] = issue_dict.get("key", "")
-        return_dict["severity"] = issue_dict.get("severity", "")
-        return_dict["description"] = issue_dict.get("reason", "")
-        return_dict["code"] = issue_dict.get("code", "")
-        return_dict["url"] = issue_dict.get("helpUrl", "")
-
-        return return_dict
-
-    df = pd.DataFrame()
-
-    for warn in issues["warnings"]:
-        parsed = parse_issue(warn)
-        parsed = pd.DataFrame(parsed)
-        df = pd.concat([df, parsed], ignore_index=True)
-
-    for err in issues["errors"]:
-        parsed = parse_issue(err)
-        parsed = pd.DataFrame(parsed)
-        df = pd.concat([df, parsed], ignore_index=True)
+        return {
+            "location": issue_dict.get("location", ""),
+            "code": issue_dict.get("code", ""),
+            "issueMessage": issue_dict.get("issueMessage", ""),
+            "subCode": issue_dict.get("subCode", ""),
+            "severity": issue_dict.get("severity", ""),
+            "rule": issue_dict.get("rule", ""),
+        }
+
+    # Load JSON data
+    data = json.loads(output)
+
+    # Extract issues
+    issues = data.get("issues", {}).get("issues", [])
+    if not issues:
+        return pd.DataFrame(
+            columns=["location", "code", "issueMessage", "subCode", "severity", "rule"]
+        )
 
+    # Parse all issues
+    parsed_issues = [parse_issue(issue) for issue in issues]
+
+    # Convert to DataFrame
+    df = pd.DataFrame(parsed_issues)
     return df
 
 
@@ -161,12 +174,106 @@ def get_val_dictionary():
     val_dict : dict
         Dictionary of values.
     """
-    val_dict = {}
-    val_dict["files"] = {"Description": "File with warning orerror"}
-    val_dict["type"] = {"Description": "BIDS validation warning or error"}
-    val_dict["severity"] = {"Description": "gravity of problem (warning/error"}
-    val_dict["description"] = {"Description": "Description of warning/error"}
-    val_dict["code"] = {"Description": "BIDS validator issue code number"}
-    val_dict["url"] = {"Description": "Link to the issue's neurostars thread"}
-
-    return val_dict
+    return {
+        "location": {"Description": "File with the validation issue."},
+        "code": {"Description": "Code of the validation issue."},
+        "issueMessage": {"Description": "Validation issue message."},
+        "subCode": {"Description": "Subcode providing additional issue details."},
+        "severity": {"Description": "Severity of the issue (e.g., warning, error)."},
+        "rule": {"Description": "Validation rule that triggered the issue."},
+    }
+
+
+def extract_summary_info(output):
+    """Extract summary information from the JSON output.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    output : str
+        JSON string of BIDS validator output.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    dict
+        Dictionary containing SchemaVersion and other summary info.
+    """
+    try:
+        data = json.loads(output)
+    except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
+        raise ValueError("Invalid JSON provided to get SchemaVersion.") from e
+
+    summary = data.get("summary", {})
+
+    return {"SchemaVersion": summary.get("schemaVersion", "")}
+
+
+def update_dataset_description(path, new_info):
+    """Update or append information to dataset_description.json.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    path : :obj:`str`
+        Path to the dataset.
+    new_info : :obj:`dict`
+        Information to add or update.
+    """
+    description_path = os.path.join(path, "dataset_description.json")
+
+    # Load existing data if the file exists
+    if os.path.exists(description_path):
+        with open(description_path, "r") as f:
+            existing_data = json.load(f)
+    else:
+        existing_data = {}
+
+    # Update the existing data with the new info
+    existing_data.update(new_info)
+
+    # Write the updated data back to the file
+    with open(description_path, "w") as f:
+        json.dump(existing_data, f, indent=4)
+    print(f"Updated dataset_description.json at: {description_path}")
+
+    # Check if .datalad directory exists before running the DataLad save command
+    datalad_dir = os.path.join(path, ".datalad")
+    if os.path.exists(datalad_dir) and os.path.isdir(datalad_dir):
+        try:
+            subprocess.run(
+                [
+                    "datalad",
+                    "save",
+                    "-m",
+                    "Save BIDS validator and schema version to dataset_description",
+                    description_path,
+                ],
+                check=True,
+            )
+            print("Changes saved with DataLad.")
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+            warnings.warn(f"Error running DataLad save: {e}")
+
+
+def bids_validator_version(output, path, write=False):
+    """Save BIDS validator and schema version.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    output : :obj:`str`
+        Path to JSON file of BIDS validator output.
+    path : :obj:`str`
+        Path to the dataset.
+    write : :obj:`bool`
+        If True, write to dataset_description.json. If False, print to terminal.
+    """
+    # Get the BIDS validator version
+    validator_version = get_bids_validator_version()
+    # Extract schemaVersion
+    summary_info = extract_summary_info(output)
+
+    combined_info = {**validator_version, **summary_info}
+
+    if write:
+        # Update the dataset_description.json file
+        update_dataset_description(path, combined_info)
+    elif not write:
+        print(combined_info)
diff --git a/cubids/workflows.py b/cubids/workflows.py
index 6cbc1e42..11931c5b 100644
--- a/cubids/workflows.py
+++ b/cubids/workflows.py
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 from cubids.metadata_merge import merge_json_into_json
 from cubids.utils import _get_container_type
 from cubids.validator import (
+    bids_validator_version,
+    build_first_subject_path,
     build_subject_paths,
     build_validator_call,
     get_val_dictionary,
@@ -258,6 +260,70 @@ def validate(
     sys.exit(proc.returncode)
 
 
+def bids_version(bids_dir, write=False):
+    """Get BIDS validator and schema version.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    bids_dir : :obj:`pathlib.Path`
+        Path to the BIDS directory.
+    write : :obj:`bool`
+        If True, write to dataset_description.json. If False, print to terminal.
+    """
+    # Need to run validator to get output with schema version
+    # Copy code from `validate --sequential`
+
+    try:  # return first subject
+        # Get all folders that start with "sub-"
+        sub_folders = [
+            name
+            for name in os.listdir(bids_dir)
+            if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(bids_dir, name)) and name.startswith("sub-")
+        ]
+        if not sub_folders:
+            raise ValueError("No folders starting with 'sub-' found. Please provide a valid BIDS.")
+        subject = sub_folders[0]
+    except FileNotFoundError:
+        raise FileNotFoundError(f"The directory {bids_dir} does not exist.")
+    except ValueError as ve:
+        raise ve
+
+    # build a dictionary with {SubjectLabel: [List of files]}
+    # run first subject only
+    subject_dict = build_first_subject_path(bids_dir, subject)
+
+    # iterate over the dictionary
+    for subject, files_list in subject_dict.items():
+        # logger.info(" ".join(["Processing subject:", subject]))
+        # create a temporary directory and symlink the data
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdirname:
+            for fi in files_list:
+                # cut the path down to the subject label
+                bids_start = fi.find(subject)
+
+                # maybe it's a single file
+                if bids_start < 1:
+                    bids_folder = tmpdirname
+                    fi_tmpdir = tmpdirname
+
+                else:
+                    bids_folder = Path(fi[bids_start:]).parent
+                    fi_tmpdir = tmpdirname + "/" + str(bids_folder)
+
+                if not os.path.exists(fi_tmpdir):
+                    os.makedirs(fi_tmpdir)
+                output = fi_tmpdir + "/" + str(Path(fi).name)
+                shutil.copy2(fi, output)
+
+            # run the validator
+            call = build_validator_call(tmpdirname)
+            ret = run_validator(call)
+
+            # Get BIDS validator and schema version
+            decoded = ret.stdout.decode("UTF-8")
+            bids_validator_version(decoded, bids_dir, write=write)
+
+
 def bids_sidecar_merge(from_json, to_json):
     """Merge critical keys from one sidecar to another."""
     merge_status = merge_json_into_json(from_json, to_json, raise_on_error=False)
diff --git a/docs/installation.rst b/docs/installation.rst
index d55b84a4..b6ebda3b 100644
--- a/docs/installation.rst
+++ b/docs/installation.rst
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ initialize a new conda environment (for example, named ``cubids``) as follows:
 
 .. code-block:: console
 
-    $ conda create -n cubids python=3.8 pip
+    $ conda create -n cubids python=3.12 pip
     $ conda activate cubids
 
 You are now ready to install CuBIDS.
@@ -44,23 +44,16 @@ Once you have a copy of the source, you can install it with:
     $ pip install -e .
 
 We will now need to install some dependencies of ``CuBIDS``.
-To do this, we first must install nodejs.
+To do this, we first must install deno to run `bids-validator`.
 We can accomplish this using the following command:
 
 .. code-block:: console
 
-    $ conda install nodejs
+    $ conda install deno
 
-Now that we have npm installed, we can install ``bids-validator`` using the following command:
+The new schema-based ``bids-validator`` doesn't need to be installed 
+and will be implemented automatically when `cubids validate` is called
 
-.. code-block:: console
-
-    $ npm install -g bids-validator@1.7.2
-
-In our example walkthrough,
-we use ``bids-validator`` v1.7.2. using a different version of the
-validator may result in slightly different validation tsv printouts,
-but ``CuBIDS`` is compatible with all versions of the validator at or above v1.6.2.
 
 We also recommend using ``CuBIDS`` with the optional ``DataLad`` version control capabilities.
 We use ``DataLad`` throughout our walkthrough of the CuBIDS Workflow on
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 6e3c151c..79d8e1f6 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ cubids-copy-exemplars = "cubids.cli:_enter_copy_exemplars"
 cubids-undo = "cubids.cli:_enter_undo"
 bids-sidecar-merge = "cubids.cli:_enter_bids_sidecar_merge"
 cubids-validate = "cubids.cli:_enter_validate"
+cubids-bids-version = "cubids.cli:_enter_bids_version"
 cubids-datalad-save = "cubids.cli:_enter_datalad_save"
 cubids-print-metadata-fields = "cubids.cli:_enter_print_metadata_fields"
 cubids-remove-metadata-fields = "cubids.cli:_enter_remove_metadata_fields"