LTI Variable Substitutions

Variable substitution (aka variable expansion) is where custom variables really start to shine. They provide a mechanism for tool providers to request that specific, contextual information be sent across in the launch. When the tool consumer processes the launch request, it detects requested variable substitutions and sends the appropriate data where possible. Adding variable substitutions is exactly the same as adding custom variables, except the values are variables instead of constants. This is denoted by prefixing the value with a $. If the tool consumer doesn't recognize, or can't substitute, the value it will just send the variable as if it were are regular custom variable (i.e. the name of the substitution variable will be sent rather than the value).

This allows Canvas to expose data as LTI launch parameters during the LTI launch rather than requiring access to the Canvas API, which can be expensive for Canvas and the tool. It allows tool providers to be much more surgical when requesting user data, and it paves the way for us to be more transparent to tool installers, by showing them exactly what data the LTI tool will be given access to. Additionally, variable substitutions are generally simple to add to Canvas relative to gaining API access.

There are currently over 80 substitutions available. Many of the substitutions simply give access to additional user and context information. An LTI tool can request things like SIS ids, names, an avatar image, and an email address. Other variable substitutions assist tools with accessibility (prefersHighContrast), course copy (previousCourseIds), and masquerading users. Additionally, when we don't provide enough information or customization directly through LTI, tools can request everything they need to use the Canvas API for an even richer experience.

Some substitutions may be used as 'enabled_capabilities' for LTI2 tools. These substitutions have a 'Launch Parameter' label indicating the parameter name that will be sent in the tool launch if enabled.

For more information on variable substitution, see the IMS LTI specification.

Usage/Configuration

Variable substitutions can be configured for a tool in 3 ways:

Via UI

Custom fields can be configured via UI by editing the tool configuration and adding the desired variable to the Custom Fields text box.

The following would add the domain as a launch parameter called custom_arbitrary_name:

arbitrary_name=$Canvas.api.domain

Via API

Custom fields can also be configured via API.

This would install a course-level tool with domain as a custom field:

curl 'https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/v1/courses/<course_id>/external_tools' \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>;" \
  -F 'name=LTI Example' \
  -F 'consumer_key=some_key' \
  -F 'shared_secret=some_secret' \
  -F 'url=https://example.com/ims/lti' \
  -F 'privacy_level=name_only' \
  -F 'custom_fields[domain]=$Canvas.api.domain'

Via JSON Configuration (LTI 1.3)

JSON can be used to configure an LTI 1.3 Developer Key.

The following JSON would create a developer key with the a placement specfic custom field and a tool-level custom field:

{  
   "title":"Variable Expansion Tool",
   "scopes":[  

   ],
   "extensions":[  
      {  
         "domain":"variableexpander.com",
         "tool_id":"variable-expansion-example",
         "platform":"canvas.instructure.com",
         "settings":{  
            "text":"Variation Expansion Tool Text",
            "icon_url":"https://some.icon.url",
            "placements":[  
               {  
                  "text":"User Navigation Placement",
                  "enabled":true,
                  "icon_url":"https://static.thenounproject.com/png/131630-200.png",
                  "placement":"user_navigation",
                  "message_type":"LtiResourceLinkRequest",
                  "target_link_uri":"https://lti-ri.imsglobal.org/lti/tools/281/launches",
                  "canvas_icon_class":"icon-lti",
                  "custom_fields":{  
                     "foo":"$Canvas.user.id"
                  }
               }
            ]
         }
      }
   ],
   "public_jwk":{  
      "kty":"RSA",
      "alg":"RS256",
      "e":"AQAB",
      "kid":"8f796169-0ac4-48a3-a202-fa4f3d814fcd",
      "n":"nZD7QWmIwj-3N_RZ1qJjX6CdibU87y2l02yMay4KunambalP9g0fU9yZLwLX9WYJINcXZDUf6QeZ-SSbblET-h8Q4OvfSQ7iuu0WqcvBGy8M0qoZ7I-NiChw8dyybMJHgpiP_AyxpCQnp3bQ6829kb3fopbb4cAkOilwVRBYPhRLboXma0cwcllJHPLvMp1oGa7Ad8osmmJhXhM9qdFFASg_OCQdPnYVzp8gOFeOGwlXfSFEgt5vgeU25E-ycUOREcnP7BnMUk7wpwYqlE537LWGOV5z_1Dqcqc9LmN-z4HmNV7b23QZW4_mzKIOY4IqjmnUGgLU9ycFj5YGDCts7Q",
      "use":"sig"
   },
   "description":"1.3 Test Tool",
   "custom_fields":{  
      "bar":"$Canvas.user.sisid"
   },
   "target_link_uri":"https://your.target_link_uri",
   "oidc_initiation_url":"https://your.oidc_initiation_url"
}

Via XML Configuration (LTI 1.1)

Custom fields can also be configured via XML.

This would create a tool in a course with custom fields, some of which are specific for a particular placement:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <cartridge_basiclti_link xmlns="http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imslticc_v1p0"
       xmlns:blti = "http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imsbasiclti_v1p0"
       xmlns:lticm ="http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imslticm_v1p0"
       xmlns:lticp ="http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imslticp_v1p0"
       xmlns:xsi = "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
       xsi:schemaLocation = "http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imslticc_v1p0 http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/lti/ltiv1p0/imslticc_v1p0.xsd
       http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imsbasiclti_v1p0 http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/lti/ltiv1p0/imsbasiclti_v1p0.xsd
       http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imslticm_v1p0 http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/lti/ltiv1p0/imslticm_v1p0.xsd
       http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imslticp_v1p0 http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/lti/ltiv1p0/imslticp_v1p0.xsd">
     <blti:title>Wikipedia</blti:title>
     <blti:launch_url>https://www.wikipedia.org/</blti:launch_url>
     <blti:custom>
       <lticm:property name="user_sis_id">$Person.sourcedId</lticm:property>
     </blti:custom>
     <blti:extensions platform="canvas.instructure.com">
       <lticm:property name="domain">wikipedia.org</lticm:property>
       <lticm:options name="custom_fields">
           <lticm:property name="canvas_api_domain">$Canvas.api.domain</lticm:property>
           <lticm:property name="canvas_user_id">$Canvas.user.id</lticm:property>
       </lticm:options>
       <lticm:options name="course_navigation">
         <lticm:property name="url">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Unusual_articles#mediaviewer/File:Cow-on_pole,_with_antlers.jpeg</lticm:property>
         <lticm:property name="text">Cow With Antlers</lticm:property>
         <lticm:options name="custom_fields">
           <lticm:property name="concluded_roles">$Canvas.membership.concludedRoles</lticm:property>
         </lticm:options>
       </lticm:options>
     </blti:extensions>
   </cartridge_basiclti_link>

Supported Substitutions

ResourceLink.id

LTI - Custom parameter substitution: ResourceLink.id Returns the LTI value for the resource_link.id property Returns "$ResourceLink.id" otherwise.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: resourcelink_id

ResourceLink.description

LTI - Custom parameter substitution: ResourceLink.description Returns the LTI value for the resource_link.description property Returns "$ResourceLink.description" otherwise.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: resourcelink_description

ResourceLink.title

LTI - Custom parameter substitution: ResourceLink.title Returns the LTI value for the resource_link.title property Returns "$ResourceLink.title" otherwise.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: resourcelink_title

ResourceLink.available.startDateTime

LTI - Custom parameter substitution: ResourceLink.available.startDateTime Returns the ISO 8601 date and time when this resource is available for learners to access Returns "$ResourceLink.available.startDateTime" otherwise.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: resourcelink_available_startdatetime

ResourceLink.available.endDateTime

LTI - Custom parameter substitution: ResourceLink.available.endDateTime Returns the ISO 8601 date and time when this resource ceases to be available for learners to access Returns "$ResourceLink.available.endDateTime" otherwise.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: resourcelink_available_enddatetime

ResourceLink.submission.endDateTime

LTI - Custom parameter substitution: ResourceLink.submission.endDateTime Returns the ISO 8601 date and time when this resource stops accepting submissions. Returns "$ResourceLink.submission.endDateTime" otherwise.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: resourcelink_submission_enddatetime

com.instructure.User.observees

If the current user is an observer in the launch context, this substitution returns a comma-separated list of user IDs linked to the current user for observing. For LTI 1.3 tools, the user IDs will correspond to the "sub" claim made in LTI 1.3 launches (a UUIDv4), while for all other tools, the user IDs will be the user's typical LTI ID.

Returns an empty string otherwise.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_user_observees

 LTI 1.3: "a6e2e413-4afb-4b60-90d1-8b0344df3e91",
 All Others: "c0ddd6c90cbe1ef0f32fbce5c3bf654204be186c"

com.instructure.User.sectionNames

Returns an array of the section names in a JSON-escaped format that the user is enrolled in, if the context of the tool launch is within a course. The names are sorted by the course_section_id, so that they are useful in conjunction with the Canvas.course.sectionIds substitution.

Availability: when launched from a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_user_section_names

[\"Section 1, M-T\", \"Section 2, W-Th\", \"TA Section\"]

com.instructure.RCS.app_host

Returns the host of the rich content service for the current region.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_rcs_app_host

"rich-content-iad.inscloudgate.net"

com.instructure.User.student_view

Returns true if the user is launching from student view.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_user_student_view

"true"
"false"

com.instructure.Observee.sisIds

returns all observee ids linked to this observer as an String separated by ,.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_observee_sis_ids

"A123,B456,..."

Context.title

The title of the context.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: context_title

"Example Course"

com.instructure.Editor.contents

The contents of the text editor associated with the content item launch.

Availability: when the tool is launched from the editor_button placement
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_editor_contents

"This text was in the editor"

com.instructure.Editor.selection

The contents the user has selected in the text editor associated with the content item launch.

Availability: when the tool is launched from the editor_button placement
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_editor_selection

"this text was selected by the user"

com.instructure.PostMessageToken

A token that can be used for frontend communication between an LTI tool and Canvas via the Window.postMessage API.

Availability: **
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_post_message_token

"9ae4170c-6b64-444d-9246-0b7dedd5f560"

com.instructure.Assignment.lti.id

The LTI assignment id of an assignment. This value corresponds with the ext_lti_assignment_id send in various launches and webhooks.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_assignment_lti_id

"9ae4170c-6b64-444d-9246-0b7dedd5f560"

com.instructure.Assignment.description

The LTI assignment description of an assignment.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_assignment_description

"Example Description"

com.instructure.Assignment.allowedFileExtensions

A comma separated list of the file extensions that are allowed for submitting to this assignment. If there are no limits on what files can be uploaded, an empty string will be returned. If the assignment does not allow file uploads as a submission type, then no substitution will be performed.

Availability: when the tool is used to upload a file as an assignment submission
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_assignment_allowed_file_extensions

"docx,pdf,txt"

com.instructure.OriginalityReport.id

The Canvas id of the Originality Report associated with the launch.

Availability: **
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_originality_report_id

com.instructure.Submission.id

The Canvas id of the submission associated with the launch.

Availability: **
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_submission_id

com.instructure.File.id

The Canvas id of the file associated with the submission in the launch.

Availability: **
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_file_id

CourseOffering.sourcedId

the LIS identifier for the course offering.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: lis_course_offering_sourcedid

Context.id

an opaque identifier that uniquely identifies the context of the tool launch.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: context_id

"cdca1fe2c392a208bd8a657f8865ddb9ca359534"

com.instructure.Context.globalId

The Canvas global identifier for the launch context.

Availability: always

10000000000070

com.instructure.Context.uuid

The Canvas UUID for the launch context.

Availability: always

4TVeERS266frWLG5RVK0L8BbSC831mUZHaYpK4KP

Context.sourcedId [duplicates Person.sourcedId]

If the context is a Course, returns sourced Id of the context.

Availability: always

Context.id.history

With respect to the current course, recursively returns the context ids of the courses from which content has been copied (excludes cartridge imports). Will show a limit of 1000 context ids. When the number passes 1000, 'truncated' will show at the end of the list.

This is an alias of Canvas.course.previousContextIds.recursive.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"1234,4567"

Message.documentTarget

communicates the kind of browser window/frame where the Canvas has launched a tool.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: launch_presentation_document_target

"iframe"

Message.locale

returns the current locale.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: launch_presentation_locale

"de"

ToolConsumerInstance.guid

returns a unique identifier for the Tool Consumer (Canvas).

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: tool_consumer_instance_guid

"0dWtgJjjFWRNT41WdQMvrleejGgv7AynCVm3lmZ2:canvas-lms"

Canvas.api.domain

returns the canvas domain for the current context.

Availability: always

"canvas.instructure.com"

Canvas.api.collaborationMembers.url

returns the api url for the members of the collaboration.

Availability: always

"https://canvas.instructure.com/api/v1/collaborations/1/members"

Canvas.api.baseUrl

returns the base URL for the current context.

Availability: always

"https://canvas.instructure.com"

ToolProxyBinding.memberships.url

returns the URL for the membership service associated with the current context.

This variable is for future use only. Complete support for the IMS Membership Service has not been added to Canvas. This will be updated when we fully support and certify the IMS Membership Service.

Availability: always

"https://canvas.instructure.com/api/lti/courses/1/membership_service"

Canvas.account.id

returns the account id for the current context.

Availability: always

Canvas.account.name

returns the account name for the current context.

Availability: always

"School Name"

Canvas.account.sisSourceId

returns the account's sis source id for the current context.

Availability: always

"sis_account_id_1234"

Canvas.rootAccount.id

returns the Root Account ID for the current context.

Availability: always

Canvas.rootAccount.sisSourceId

returns the root account's sis source id for the current context.

Availability: always

"sis_account_id_1234"

Canvas.externalTool.global_id

returns the global ID for the external tool that was launched. Only available for LTI 1.

Availability: always and when in an LTI 1

Canvas.externalTool.url

returns the URL for the external tool that was launched. Only available for LTI 1.

Availability: always and when in an LTI 1

"http://example.url/path"

com.instructure.brandConfigJSON.url

returns the URL to retrieve the brand config JSON for the launching context.

Availability: always

"http://example.url/path.json"

com.instructure.brandConfigJSON

returns the brand config JSON itself for the launching context.

Availability: always

{"ic-brand-primary-darkened-5":"#0087D7"}

com.instructure.brandConfigJS.url

returns the URL to retrieve the brand config javascript for the launching context. This URL should be used as the src attribute for a script tag on the external tool provider's web page. It is configured to be used with the instructure-ui node module. More information on on how to use instructure ui react components can be found here.

Availability: always

"http://example.url/path.js"

Canvas.css.common

returns the URL for the common css file.

Availability: always

"http://example.url/path.css"

Canvas.shard.id

returns the shard id for the current context.

Availability: always

Canvas.root_account.global_id

returns the root account's global id for the current context.

Availability: always

123400000000123

Canvas.root_account.id [deprecated]

returns the root account id for the current context.

Availability: always

vnd.Canvas.root_account.uuid

returns the account uuid for the current context.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: vnd_canvas_root_account_uuid

"Ioe3sJPt0KZp9Pw6xAvcHuLCl0z4TvPKP0iIOLbo"

Canvas.root_account.sisSourceId [deprecated]

returns the root account sis source id for the current context.

Availability: always

Canvas.course.id

returns the current course id.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

vnd.instructure.Course.uuid

returns the current course uuid.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"S3vhRY2pBzG8iPdZ3OBPsPrEnqn5sdRoJOLXGbwc"

Canvas.course.name

returns the current course name.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"Course Name"

Canvas.course.sisSourceId

returns the current course sis source id.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

com.instructure.Course.integrationId

returns the current course integration id.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

Canvas.course.startAt

returns the current course start date.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

2018-01-15 00:00:00 -0700

Canvas.course.endAt

returns the current course end date.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

2018-05-01 00:00:00 -0700

Canvas.course.workflowState

returns the current course workflow state. Workflow states of "claimed" or "created" indicate an unpublished course.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"active"

Canvas.term.startAt

returns the current course's term start date.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course) that has a term with a start date

2018-01-12 00:00:00 -0700

Canvas.term.endAt

returns the current course's term end date.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course) that has a term with a end date

2018-01-12 00:00:00 -0700

Canvas.term.name

returns the current course's term name.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course) that has a term with a name
Launch Parameter: canvas_term_name

"W1 2017"

Canvas.term.id

returns the current course's term numerical id.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course) that has a term *
**Launch Parameter: *canvas_term_id

CourseSection.sourcedId

returns the current course sis source id to return the section source id use Canvas.course.sectionIds.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: lis_course_section_sourcedid

Canvas.enrollment.enrollmentState

returns the current course enrollment state.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"active"

com.instructure.Assignment.anonymous_grading

returns true if the assignment has anonymous grading enabled.

Availability: when launched as an assignment
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_assignment_anonymous_grading

true

com.instructure.Assignment.restrict_quantitative_data

returns true if the assignment restricts quantitative data. Assignment types: points, percentage, gpa_scale are all considered quantitative.

Availability: when launched as an assignment
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_assignment_restrict_quantitative_data

true

com.instructure.Course.gradingScheme

returns the grading scheme data for the course it is an array of objects of grade levels.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_course_grading_scheme

[
  {name: "A", value: 94.0},
  {name: "A-", value: 90.0},
  {name: "B+", value: 87.0},
]

com.Instructure.membership.roles

returns the current course membership roles using the LIS v2 vocabulary.

Availability: when launched from a course or an account (or a Group within a course or account)
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_membership_roles

"http://purl.imsglobal.org/vocab/lis/v2/institution/person#Student"

Canvas.membership.roles

returns the current course membership roles.

Availability: when launched from a course or an account (or a Group within a course or account)
Launch Parameter: canvas_membership_roles

"StudentEnrollment"

Canvas.membership.concludedRoles

This is a list of IMS LIS roles should have a different key.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"urn:lti:sysrole:ims/lis/None"

Canvas.membership.permissions<>

Returns a comma-separated list of permissions granted to the user in the current context, given a comma-separated set to check using the format $Canvas.membership.permissions<example_permission,example_permission2,..>.

Availability: when launched from a course or an account (or a Group within a course or account)

"example_permission_1,example_permission_2"

Canvas.course.previousContextIds

With respect to the current course, returns the context ids of the courses from which content has been copied (excludes cartridge imports).

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"1234,4567"

Canvas.course.previousContextIds.recursive

This is an alias of $Context.id.history.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

"1234,4567"

Canvas.course.previousCourseIds

With respect to the current course, returns the course ids of the courses from which content has been copied (excludes cartridge imports).

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)

Person.name.full

Returns the full name of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: lis_person_name_full

"John Doe"

Person.name.display

Returns the display name of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: person_name_display

"John Doe"

Person.name.family

Returns the last name of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: lis_person_name_family

"Doe"

Person.name.given

Returns the first name of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: lis_person_name_given

"John"

com.instructure.Person.name_sortable

Returns the sortable name of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_person_name_sortable

"Doe, John"

Person.email.primary

Returns the primary email of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: lis_person_contact_email_primary

"john.doe@example.com"

com.instructure.Person.pronouns

Returns pronouns for the current user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_person_pronouns

"She/Her"

vnd.Canvas.Person.email.sis

Returns the institution assigned email of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user that was added via SIS

"john.doe@example.com"

Person.address.timezone

Returns the name of the timezone of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

"America/Denver"

User.image

Returns the profile picture URL of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: user_image

"https://example.com/picture.jpg"

User.id [duplicates Canvas.user.id]

Returns the Canvas user_id of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: user_id

420000000000042

Canvas.user.id [duplicates User.id]

Returns the Canvas user_id of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

420000000000042

vnd.instructure.User.uuid [duplicates User.uuid]

Returns the Canvas user_uuid of the launching user for the context.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

"N2ST123dQ9zyhurykTkBfXFa3Vn1RVyaw9Os6vu3"

vnd.instructure.User.current_uuid [duplicates User.uuid]

Returns the current Canvas user_uuid of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

"N2ST123dQ9zyhurykTkBfXFa3Vn1RVyaw9Os6vu3"

Canvas.user.prefersHighContrast

Returns the users preference for high contrast colors (an accessibility feature).

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

false

com.instructure.Course.groupIds

returns the Canvas ids of all active groups in the current course.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: com_instructure_course_groupids

"23,24,..."

Canvas.group.contextIds

returns the context ids for the groups the user belongs to in the course.

Availability: always

"1c16f0de65a080803785ecb3097da99872616f0d,d4d8d6ae1611e2c7581ce1b2f5c58019d928b79d,..."

Membership.role

Returns the IMS LTI membership service roles for filtering via query parameters. Or, for LTI 1.3 tools, returns the IMS LTI Names and Role Provisioning Service roles for filtering via query parameters.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user
Launch Parameter: roles

"http://purl.imsglobal.org/vocab/lis/v2/institution/person#Administrator"

Canvas.xuser.allRoles [duplicates ext_roles which is sent by default]

Returns list of LIS role full URNs. Note that this will include all roles the user has. There are 3 different levels of roles defined: Context, Institution, System. Context role urns start with "urn:lti:ims" and include roles for the context where the launch occurred. Institution role urns start with "urn:lti:instrole" and include roles the user has in the institution. This will include roles they have in other courses or at the account level. Note that there is not a TA role at the Institution level. Instead Users with a TA enrollment will have an institution role of Instructor. System role urns start with "urn:lti:sysrole" and include roles for the entire system.

Availability: always

"urn:lti:instrole:ims/lis/Administrator,urn:lti:instrole:ims/lis/Instructor,urn:lti:sysrole:ims/lis/SysAdmin,urn:lti:sysrole:ims/lis/User"

com.instructure.User.allRoles

Same as "Canvas.xuser.allRoles", but uses roles formatted for LTI Advantage.

Availability: always

 "http://purl.imsglobal.org/vocab/lis/v2/institution/person#Student",
 "http://purl.imsglobal.org/vocab/lis/v2/membership#Instructor",
 "http://purl.imsglobal.org/vocab/lis/v2/system/person#User"

Canvas.user.globalId

Returns the Canvas global user_id of the launching user.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

420000000000042

Canvas.user.isRootAccountAdmin

Returns true for root account admins and false for all other roles.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

true

Canvas.user.adminableAccounts

Returns a string with a comma-separated list of the (local) account IDs that a user has admin rights in, which fall under the root account that the tool was launched under. This list includes the IDs of all subaccounts of these accounts (and their subaccounts, etc.), since the admin privileges carry from an account to all its subaccounts. Root account admins are not supported by this variable, use Canvas.user.isRootAccountAdmin instead.

Example:

Root account
- Subaccount 1 (user is account admin)
  - Subaccount 2
    - Subaccount 3
  - Subaccount 4
- Subaccount 5

Result: "1,2,4,3"

Will show a limit of 40000 characters. If the account IDs list is too big to fit into 40000 characters, 'truncated' will show at the end of the list. The result is cached for 5 minutes.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

123,456,798
123,456,789,1234,truncated

User.username [duplicates Canvas.user.loginId]

Username/Login ID for the primary pseudonym for the user for the account. This may not be the pseudonym the user is actually logged in with.

Availability: when pseudonym is in use

"jdoe"

Canvas.user.loginId [duplicates User.username]

Username/Login ID for the primary pseudonym for the user for the account. This may not be the pseudonym the user is actually logged in with.

Availability: when pseudonym is in use

"jdoe"

Canvas.user.sisSourceId [duplicates Person.sourcedId]

Returns the sis source id for the primary pseudonym for the user for the account This may not be the pseudonym the user is actually logged in with.

Availability: when pseudonym is in use

"sis_user_42"

Canvas.user.sisIntegrationId

Returns the integration id for the primary pseudonym for the user for the account This may not be the pseudonym the user is actually logged in with.

Availability: when pseudonym is in use

"integration_user_42"

Person.sourcedId [duplicates Canvas.user.sisSourceId]

Returns the sis source id for the primary pseudonym for the user for the account This may not be the pseudonym the user is actually logged in with.

Availability: when pseudonym is in use
Launch Parameter: lis_person_sourcedid

"sis_user_42"

Canvas.logoutService.url

Returns the logout service url for the user. This is the pseudonym the user is actually logged in as. It may not hold all the sis info needed in other launch substitutions.

Availability: always

"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/v1/logout_service/<external_tool_id>-<user_id>-<current_unix_timestamp>-<opaque_string>"

Canvas.masqueradingUser.id

Returns the Canvas user_id for the masquerading user. This is the pseudonym the user is actually logged in as. It may not hold all the sis info needed in other launch substitutions.

Availability: when the user is being masqueraded

420000000000042

Canvas.masqueradingUser.userId

Returns the opaque user_id for the masquerading user. This is the pseudonym the user is actually logged in as. It may not hold all the sis info needed in other launch substitutions.

For LTI 1.3 tools, the opaque user IDs are UUIDv4 values (also used in the "sub" claim in LTI 1.3 launches), while for other LTI versions, the user ID will be the user's 40 character opaque LTI id.

Availability: when the user is being masqueraded

 LTI 1.3: "8b9f8327-aa32-fa90-9ea2-2fa8ef79e0f9",
 All Others: "da12345678cb37ba1e522fc7c5ef086b7704eff9"

Canvas.xapi.url

Returns the xapi url for the user.

Availability: always

"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/v1/xapi/<external_tool_id>-<user_id>-<course_id>-<current_unix_timestamp>-<opaque_id>"

Caliper.url

Returns the caliper url for the user.

Availability: always

"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/v1/caliper/<external_tool_id>-<user_id>-<course_id>-<current_unix_timestamp>-<opaque_id>"

Canvas.course.sectionIds

Returns a comma separated list of section_id's that the user is enrolled in.

Availability: when launched from a course (or a Group within a course)

"42, 43"

Canvas.course.sectionRestricted

Returns true if the user can only view and interact with users in their own sections.

Availability: when launched from a course (or a Group within a course)

true

Canvas.course.sectionSisSourceIds

Returns a comma separated list of section sis_id's that the user is enrolled in.

Availability: when launched from a course (or a Group within a course)

"section_sis_id_1, section_sis_id_2"

com.instructure.contextLabel

Returns the course code.

Availability: when launched in a course (or a Group within a course)
Launch Parameter: context_label

"CS 124"

Canvas.module.id

Returns the module_id that the module item was launched from.

Availability: when content tag is present

Canvas.moduleItem.id

Returns the module_item_id of the module item that was launched.

Availability: when content tag is present

Canvas.assignment.id

Returns the assignment_id of the assignment that was launched.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

Canvas.assignment.description

Returns the assignment_description of the assignment that was launched.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

"Example Description"

com.instructure.Group.id

Returns the Canvas id of the group the current user is in if launching from a group assignment.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user and when launched as an assignment
Launch Parameter: vnd_canvas_group_id

com.instructure.Group.name

Returns the name of the group the current user is in if launching from a group assignment.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user and when launched as an assignment
Launch Parameter: vnd_canvas_group_name

"Group One"

Canvas.assignment.title

Returns the title of the assignment that was launched.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

"Deep thought experiment"

Canvas.assignment.pointsPossible

Returns the points possible of the assignment that was launched.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

Canvas.assignment.hideInGradebook

Returns true if the assignment is hidden in the gradebook.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

true

Canvas.assignment.omitFromFinalGrade

Returns true if the assignment is omitted from students' final grade.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

true

Canvas.assignment.unlockAt [deprecated]

deprecated in favor of ISO8601.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

Canvas.assignment.lockAt [deprecated]

deprecated in favor of ISO8601.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

Canvas.assignment.dueAt [deprecated]

deprecated in favor of ISO8601.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

Canvas.assignment.unlockAt.iso8601

Returns the unlock_at date of the assignment that was launched. Only available when launched as an assignment with an unlock_at set.

Availability: always

2018-02-18T00:00:00Z

Canvas.assignment.lockAt.iso8601

Returns the lock_at date of the assignment that was launched. Only available when launched as an assignment with a lock_at set.

Availability: always

2018-02-20:00:00Z

Canvas.assignment.dueAt.iso8601

Returns the due_at date of the assignment that was launched. If the tool is launched as a student, this will be the date that assignment is due for that student (or unexpanded -- "$Canvas.assignment.dueAt.iso8601" -- if there is no due date for the student). If the tool is launched as an instructor and there are multiple possible due dates (i.e., there are multiple sections and at least one has a due date override), this will be the LATEST effective due date of any section or student.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

2018-02-19:00:00Z

Canvas.assignment.earliestEnrollmentDueAt.iso8601

Returns the due_at date of the assignment that was launched. If the tool is launched as a student, this will be the date that assignment is due for that student (or an empty string if there is no due date for the student). If the tool is launched as an instructor and different students are assigned multiple due dates (i.e., there are students in sections with overrides / different effective due dates), this will be the EARLIEST due date of any enrollment (or an empty string if there are no enrollments with due dates). Note than like allDueAts, but unlike the dueAt expansion, there must be at least one enrollment in a section for its due date to be considered.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

2018-02-19:00:00Z

Canvas.assignment.allDueAts.iso8601

In Canvas, users, sections and groups can have distinct due dates for the same assignment. This returns all possible due_at dates of the assignment that was launched. If the assignment is assigned to anyone without a due date, an empty string will be present in the list (hence the ",," in the example)

Only available when launched as an assignment.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

2018-02-19:00:00Z,,2018-02-20:00:00Z

Canvas.assignment.published

Returns true if the assignment that was launched is published. Only available when launched as an assignment.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

true

Canvas.assignment.lockdownEnabled

Returns true if the assignment is LDB enabled. Only available when launched as an assignment.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

true

Canvas.assignment.allowedAttempts

Returns the allowed number of submission attempts.

Availability: when launched as an assignment

Canvas.assignment.submission.studentAttempts

Returns the number of submission attempts which the student did.

Availability: when launched as an assignment by a student

LtiLink.custom.url

Returns the endpoint url for accessing link-level tool settings Only available for LTI 2.0.

Availability: always

"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/tool_settings/<link_id>"

ToolProxyBinding.custom.url

Returns the endpoint url for accessing context-level tool settings Only available for LTI 2.0.

Availability: always

"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/tool_settings/<binding_id>"

ToolProxy.custom.url

Returns the endpoint url for accessing system-wide tool settings Only available for LTI 2.0.

Availability: always

"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/tool_settings/<proxy_id>"

ToolConsumerProfile.url

Returns the Tool Consumer Profile url for the tool. Only available for LTI 2.0.

Availability: always

"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/courses/<course_id>/tool_consumer_profile/<opaque_id>"
"https://<domain>.instructure.com/api/lti/accounts/<account_id>/tool_consumer_profile/<opaque_id>"

vnd.Canvas.OriginalityReport.url

The originality report LTI2 service endpoint.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: vnd_canvas_originality_report_url

"api/lti/assignments/{assignment_id}/submissions/{submission_id}/originality_report"

vnd.Canvas.submission.url

The submission LTI2 service endpoint.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: vnd_canvas_submission_url

"api/lti/assignments/{assignment_id}/submissions/{submission_id}"

vnd.Canvas.submission.history.url

The submission history LTI2 service endpoint.

Availability: always
Launch Parameter: vnd_canvas_submission_history_url

"api/lti/assignments/{assignment_id}/submissions/{submission_id}/history"

Canvas.file.media.id

Availability: when an attachment is present and it has either a media object or media entry id defined

Canvas.file.media.type

Availability: when an attachment is present and has a media object defined

Canvas.file.media.duration

Availability: when an attachment is present and has a media object defined

Canvas.file.media.size

Availability: when an attachment is present and has a media object defined

Canvas.file.media.title

Availability: when an attachment is present and has a media object defined

Canvas.file.usageRights.name

Availability: when an attachment is present and has usage rights defined

Canvas.file.usageRights.url

Availability: when an attachment is present and has usage rights defined

Canvas.file.usageRights.copyrightText

Availability: when an attachment is present and has usage rights defined

com.instructure.Course.accept_canvas_resource_types

Returns the types of resources that can be imported to the current page, forwarded from the request. Value is a comma-separated array of one or more values of: ["assignment", "assignment_group", "audio", "discussion_topic", "document", "image", "module", "quiz", "page", "video"]

Only functional when com_instructure_course_accept_canvas_resource_types is included as a query param in Canvas-side GET request that triggers the LTI launch.

Availability: always

"page"
"module"
"assignment,discussion_topic,page,quiz,module"

com.instructure.Course.canvas_resource_type

Returns the target resource type for the current page, forwarded from the request. Value is the largest logical unit of the page. Possible values are: ["assignment", "assignment_group", "audio", "discussion_topic", "document", "image", "module", "quiz", "page", "video"] on Pages Index -> 'page' on Modules -> 'module' and so on.

Only functional when com_instructure_course_canvas_resource_type is included as a query param in Canvas-side GET request that triggers the LTI launch.

Availability: always

page

com.instructure.Course.canvas_resource_id

Returns the target resource id for the current page, forwarded from the request. Only functional when com_instructure_course_canvas_resource_type is included as a query param. Currently, this is not supported generally, and is only implemented for specific use cases.

Availability: always

com.instructure.Course.allow_canvas_resource_selection

Returns whether a content can be imported into a specific group on the page, forwarded from the request. True for Modules page and Assignment Groups page. False for other content index pages.

Only functional when com_instructure_course_allow_canvas_resource_selection is included as a query param in Canvas-side GET request that triggers the LTI launch.

Availability: always

true

com.instructure.Course.available_canvas_resources

Returns a JSON-encoded list of content groups which can be selected, providing ID and name of each group, forwarded from the request. Empty value if com.instructure.Course.allow_canvas_resource_selection is false.

Only functional when com_instructure_course_available_canvas_resources is included as a query param in Canvas-side GET request that triggers the LTI launch.

Availability: always

[{"id":"3","name":"First Module"},{"id":"5","name":"Second Module"}]

com.instructure.Account.usage_metrics_enabled

Availability: always

com.instructure.user.lti_1_1_id.history

Returns a comma-separated list of historical lti_context_id of a user in chronological order including the current id. The lti_context_id of a user is the same that is sent as user_id in 1.1 launches. This variable helps tools handle the merged user's history.

Availability: when launched by a logged in user

123,456,789

Canvas LMS - REST API and Extensions Documentation

LTI Variable Substitutions

Usage/Configuration

Via UI

Via API

Via JSON Configuration (LTI 1.3)

Via XML Configuration (LTI 1.1)

Supported Substitutions

ResourceLink.id

ResourceLink.description

ResourceLink.title

ResourceLink.available.startDateTime

ResourceLink.available.endDateTime

ResourceLink.submission.endDateTime

com.instructure.User.observees

com.instructure.User.sectionNames

com.instructure.RCS.app_host

com.instructure.User.student_view

com.instructure.Observee.sisIds

Context.title

com.instructure.Editor.contents

com.instructure.Editor.selection

com.instructure.PostMessageToken

com.instructure.Assignment.lti.id

com.instructure.Assignment.description

com.instructure.Assignment.allowedFileExtensions

com.instructure.OriginalityReport.id

com.instructure.Submission.id

com.instructure.File.id

CourseOffering.sourcedId

Context.id

com.instructure.Context.globalId

com.instructure.Context.uuid

Context.sourcedId [duplicates Person.sourcedId]

Context.id.history

Message.documentTarget

Message.locale

ToolConsumerInstance.guid

Canvas.api.domain

Canvas.api.collaborationMembers.url

Canvas.api.baseUrl

ToolProxyBinding.memberships.url

Canvas.account.id

Canvas.account.name

Canvas.account.sisSourceId

Canvas.rootAccount.id

Canvas.rootAccount.sisSourceId

Canvas.externalTool.global_id

Canvas.externalTool.url

com.instructure.brandConfigJSON.url

com.instructure.brandConfigJSON

com.instructure.brandConfigJS.url

Canvas.css.common

Canvas.shard.id

Canvas.root_account.global_id

Canvas.root_account.id [deprecated]

vnd.Canvas.root_account.uuid

Canvas.root_account.sisSourceId [deprecated]

Canvas.course.id

vnd.instructure.Course.uuid

Canvas.course.name

Canvas.course.sisSourceId

com.instructure.Course.integrationId

Canvas.course.startAt

Canvas.course.endAt

Canvas.course.workflowState

Canvas.term.startAt

Canvas.term.endAt

Canvas.term.name

Canvas.term.id

CourseSection.sourcedId

Canvas.enrollment.enrollmentState

com.instructure.Assignment.anonymous_grading

com.instructure.Assignment.restrict_quantitative_data

com.instructure.Course.gradingScheme

com.Instructure.membership.roles

Canvas.membership.roles

Canvas.membership.concludedRoles

Canvas.membership.permissions<>

Canvas.course.previousContextIds