Manually Configuring LTI Advantage Tools

For versions of LTI previous to LTI 1.3, please refer to the older documentation

For a successful launch to occur, LTI Advantage Tools require configuration on both Canvas and inside the tool:

Overview of an LTI Launch

This section has moved to the LTI Launch Overview page.

Configuring Canvas in the Tool

Tools will need to be aware of some Canvas-specific settings in order to accept a launch from Canvas and use the LTI Advantage Services:

Configuring the Tool in Canvas

With LTI Advantage, Canvas moved to using Developer Keys to store tool configuration information. After a developer key is created and enabled, tools can be deployed to accounts/sub-accounts or courses.

Developer Keys allow tools to set the required parameters to complete the OpenID Connect Launch Flow, leverage LTI Advantage Services, and configure other important settings.

With guidance from the tool developer, developer keys settings can be manually entered by Account Admins. Tools providers can also supply Account Admins with a JSON configuration or configuration URL containing the settings the tool provider has verified to work.

In the manual case, since many of the extensions listed here require more than a few lines of configuration, there is not currently an interface for every extension to be manually configured. Instead, we encourage tool providers to expose a set of URL endpoints that return working configuration options for their tool services.

If providing a URL configuration endpoint is not an option, you can also provide your users with raw JSON that they can paste in for configuration.

Anatomy of a JSON configuration

In this section, an example JSON configuration is shown followed by a table describing the relevance of each field.

NOTE: Certain placement-specific settings may not be described here. Some examples of JSON configuration snippets and placement-specific settings are also found in the placements sub-menu in the left-navigation of this documentation.

{
  "title": "The Best Tool",
  "description": "1.3 Test Tool used for documentation purposes.",
  "oidc_initiation_url": "https://your.oidc_initiation_url",
  "oidc_initiation_urls": {
    "eu-west-1": "https://your.eu-specific1.oidc_initiation_url",
    "eu-central-1": "https://your.eu-specific2.oidc_initiation_url"
  },
  "target_link_uri": "https://your.target_link_uri",
  "scopes": [
    "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/lineitem",
    "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/result.readonly"
  ],
  "extensions": [
    {
      "domain": "thebesttool.com",
      "tool_id": "the-best-tool",
      "platform": "canvas.instructure.com",
      "privacy_level": "public",
      "settings": {
        "text": "Launch The Best Tool",
        "labels": {
          "en": "Launch The Best Tool",
          "en-AU": "G'day, Launch The Best Tool",
          "es": "Lanzar la mejor herramienta",
          "zh-Hans": "启动最佳工具"
        },
        "icon_url": "https://some.icon.url/tool-level.png",
        "selection_height": 800,
        "selection_width": 800,
        "placements": [
          {
            "text": "User Navigation Placement",
            "icon_url": "https://some.icon.url/my_dashboard.png",
            "placement": "user_navigation",
            "message_type": "LtiResourceLinkRequest",
            "target_link_uri": "https://your.target_link_uri/my_dashboard",
            "canvas_icon_class": "icon-lti",
            "custom_fields": {
              "foo": "$Canvas.user.id"
            }
          },
          {
            "text": "Editor Button Placement",
            "icon_url": "https://some.icon.url/editor_tool.png",
            "placement": "editor_button",
            "message_type": "LtiDeepLinkingRequest",
            "target_link_uri": "https://your.target_link_uri/content_selector",
            "selection_height": 500,
            "selection_width": 500
          },
          {
            "text": "Course Navigation Placement",
            "icon_url": "https://static.thenounproject.com/png/131630-200.png",
            "placement": "course_navigation",
            "message_type": "LtiResourceLinkRequest",
            "target_link_uri": "https://your.target_link_uri/launch?placement=course_navigation",
            "required_permissions": "manage_calendar",
            "selection_height": 500,
            "selection_width": 500
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "public_jwk": {
    "kty": "RSA",
    "alg": "RS256",
    "e": "AQAB",
    "kid": "8f796169-0ac4-48a3-a202-fa4f3d814fcd",
    "n": "nZD7QWmIwj-3N_RZ1qJjX6CdibU87y2l02yMay4KunambalP9g0fU9yZLwLX9WYJINcXZDUf6QeZ-SSbblET-h8Q4OvfSQ7iuu0WqcvBGy8M0qoZ7I-NiChw8dyybMJHgpiP_AyxpCQnp3bQ6829kb3fopbb4cAkOilwVRBYPhRLboXma0cwcllJHPLvMp1oGa7Ad8osmmJhXhM9qdFFASg_OCQdPnYVzp8gOFeOGwlXfSFEgt5vgeU25E-ycUOREcnP7BnMUk7wpwYqlE537LWGOV5z_1Dqcqc9LmN-z4HmNV7b23QZW4_mzKIOY4IqjmnUGgLU9ycFj5YGDCts7Q",
    "use": "sig"
  },
  "custom_fields": {
    "bar": "$Canvas.user.sisid"
  }
}

Parameter Type Description
title Required string

The default name of the tool in the app index. This value is also displayed if no "text" field is provided within extension settings or placements.
description Required string

A description of the tool.
oidc_initiation_url Required string

The login initiation url that Canvas should redirect the User Agent to.

oidc_initiation_urls JSON object

Optional region-specific login initiation urls that Canvas should redirect the User Agent to. Each institution's Canvas install lives in a particular AWS region, typically one close to the institution's physical region. If ths AWS region is listed as a key in this object, the URL in the value will override the default `oidc_initiation_url`. As of 2023, the regions used by Canvas are: us-east-1, us-west-2, ca-central-1, eu-west-1, eu-central-1, ap-southeast-1, ap-southeast-2.

target_link_uri Required string

The target_link_uri that Canvas should pass in the to the login initiation endpoint. This allows tools to determine which redirect_uri to pass Canvas in the authorization redirect request and should be verified during the final launch. This can be set at the tool-level, or within the "placements" JSON object for placement-specific target_link_uri's.
scopes string array

The comma separated list of scopes to be allowed when using the client_credentials grant to access LTI services.

Allowed values: "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/lineitem", "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/result.readonly", "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/score", "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-nrps/scope/contextmembership.readonly", "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/scope/lineitem.readonly", "https://canvas.instructure.com/lti/public_jwk/scope/update"

extensions array of JSON objects

The set of Canvas extensions, including placements, that the tool should use. [See extensions parameters below.](#extension-params)
environments Ignored JSON object

LTI 1.1 tools support environment-specific domains and launch urls, used for launching from beta or test instances of Canvas. This config option is not supported for LTI 1.3. Tools instead should use the canvas_environment parameter of the OIDC Login request to redirect to environment-specific launch urls or instances of the tool, as specified in Step 1.5 above, and/or use the region-specific oidc_initiation_urls.

public_jwk required, see notes JSON object

Required if public_jwk_url is omitted. The tools public key to be used during the client_credentials grant for accessing LTI Advantage services.
public_jwk_url required, see notes string

Required if public_jwk is omitted. The tools public key uri to be used during the client_credentials grant for accessing LTI Advantage services.
custom_fields JSON object

Custom fields that will be sent to the tool consumer; can be set at the tool-level or within the "placement" JSON object for placement-specific custom fields. When the tool is launched, all custom fields will be sent to the tool as strings. Read more about variable substitutions in custom fields.

Extensions

The following fields can be put under extensions:

Parameter Type Description
domain string

The domain Canvas should use to match clicked LTI links against. This is recommended if deep linking is used.
tool_id string

Allows tools to set a unique identifier for the tool.
platform string

The LMS platform that the extensions belong to. This should always be set to "canvas.instructure.com" for cloud-hosted Canvas.
privacy_level Required string

What level of user information to send to the external tool. Setting this to "name_only" will include fields that contain the user's name and sourcedid in the launch claims. "email_only" will include only the user's email. "public" includes all fields from "name_only", "email_only", and fields like the user's picture. "anonymous" will not include any of these fields. Note that the "sub" claim containing the user's ID is always included.

Allowed values: anonymous, public name_only, email_only

settings JSON object

The set of platform-specific settings to be used. See settings parameters below.

Settings

The following can be put under extensions.settings:

Parameter Type Description
text string

The default text to show for this tool. Can be set within "settings" for the tool-level display text, or within "placements" object for placement-specific display text.
labels JSON object

An object for translations of the "text", used to support internationalization (i18n) / localization (l10n). If the user's Canvas interface is set to one of the languages listed, the tool will display the translated text in place of the value in the "text" field. This JSON object is in the format {"en": "Name", "es": "Nombre"}, where "en" and "es" are IETF language tags. More specific locales ("en-AU") are preferred over less specific ones ("en"). A partial list of language tags can be found here. Can be set within "settings" or individual placements.

icon_url string

The url of the icon to show for this tool. Can be set within the "settings" object for tool-level icons, or in the "placement" object for placement-specific icons. NOTE: Not all placements display an icon.

selection_height string

The display height of the iframe. This may be ignored or overridden for some LTI placements due to other UI requirements set by Canvas. Tools are advised to experiment with this setting to see what makes the most sense for their application.

selection_width string

The display width of the iframe. This may be ignored or overridden for some LTI placements due to other UI requirements set by Canvas. Tools are advised to experiment with this setting to see what makes the most sense for their application.
required_permissions string

Limits tool visibility to users with certain permissions, as defined on the user's built-in Canvas user roles AND the custom roles that you may have created in Canvas. This is a comma-separated string of one or more required permissions, such as manage_groups_add,manage_groups_delete or read_outcomes. The tool will be hidden for users without all specified permissons. If set in placement-specific settings, that placement will be hidden; if set at the tool-level (e.g. under extensions[0]), each of the tool's placements will be hidden. For true access control, please use (instead or in addition) the Canvas.membership.permissions<> custom variable expansion, and check its value in your tool. To learn more about roles and permissions, and to see the permissions available for this parameter, visit the Roles API docs.

custom_fields JSON object

Custom fields that will be sent to the tool consumer; can be set at the tool-level or within the "placement" JSON object for placement-specific custom fields. When the tool is launched, all custom fields will be sent to the tool as strings. Read more about variable substitutions in custom fields.
placements array of JSON objects

Settings to be used for specific tool placements. Values given in this settings.placements array will override the value given in the `settings` object for that particular placement. See placements parameters below.

Placements

The following can be put under extensions.settings.placements. (Note: extensions.settings.placements is an array of JSON objects. This table shows the values that can be in those JSON objects.) Values given for a placement in this array will override the value given in extensions.settings.

Parameter Type Description
placement Required string

Name of the placement that this settings object should apply to. See full list of placements here.
text string

The default text to show for this tool. Can be set within "settings" for the tool-level display text, or within "placements" object for placement-specific display text.
labels JSON object

An object for translations of the "text", used to support internationalization (i18n) / localization (l10n). If the user's Canvas interface is set to one of the languages listed, the tool will display the translated text in place of the value in the "text" field. This JSON object is in the format {"en": "Name", "es": "Nombre"}, where "en" and "es" are IETF language tags. More specific locales ("en-AU") are preferred over less specific ones ("en"). A partial list of language tags can be found here. Can be set within "settings" or individual placements.
icon_url string

The url of the icon to show for this tool. Can be set within the "settings" object for tool-level icons, or in the "placement" object for placement-specific icons. NOTE: Not all placements display an icon.

selection_height string

The display height of the iframe. This may be ignored or overridden for some LTI placements due to other UI requirements set by Canvas. Tools are advised to experiment with this setting to see what makes the most sense for their application.

selection_width string

The display width of the iframe. This may be ignored or overridden for some LTI placements due to other UI requirements set by Canvas. Tools are advised to experiment with this setting to see what makes the most sense for their application.
enabled boolean

Optional, defaults to `true`. Determines if the placement is enabled.
message_type string

The IMS message type to be sent in the launch. This is set at the placement level. Not all placements support both message_types.

Allowed values: "LtiResourceLinkRequest", "LtiDeepLinkingRequest"

required_permissions string

Limits tool visibility to users with certain permissions, as defined on the user's built-in Canvas user roles AND the custom roles that you may have created in Canvas. This is a comma-separated string of one or more required permissions, such as manage_groups_add,manage_groups_delete or read_outcomes. The tool will be hidden for users without all specified permissons. If set in placement-specific settings, that placement will be hidden; if set at the tool-level (e.g. under extensions[0]), each of the tool's placements will be hidden. For true access control, please use (instead or in addition) the Canvas.membership.permissions<> custom variable expansion, and check its value in your tool. To learn more about roles and permissions, and to see the permissions available for this parameter, visit the Roles API docs.

custom_fields JSON object

Custom fields that will be sent to the tool consumer; can be set at the tool-level or within the "placement" JSON object for placement-specific custom fields. When the tool is launched, all custom fields will be sent to the tool as strings. Read more about variable substitutions in custom fields.

Placement-specific Settings

The following settings only apply to certain placements.

Placement Parameter Type Description
file_menu accept_media_types string

A comma-separated list of MIME types, e.g.: "image/jpeg,image/png". The LTI tool will be shown in the file_menu placement if the file's MIME type matches one of the MIME types in the list. (Screenshot of the file_menu placement.)
editor_button use_tray boolean

Whether the tool should open in the tray (a.k.a. sidebar) rather than a modal window. True means to use the tray, false means to use a modal window. The tray allows the user to still interact with the page while the tray is open; the modal window blocks the rest of the page while the modal window is open.
account_navigation default string

Whether the tool should be shown in the sidebar.

Allowed values: enabled, disabled

course_navigation default string

Whether the tool should be shown in the sidebar.

Allowed values: enabled, disabled

global_navigation icon_svg_path_64 string

An SVG path to be used for the tool's icon in the global_navigation placement. Note: this should be the SVG path itself, not a URL to an SVG image. The value of this parameter will be used as the d attribute on the SVG's path element. See MDN for more information.