Canvas LTI 1.3 with Advantage - Installing via Canvas Apps

Important Note: This process requires that you have an open LMS Integration Setup ticket with CompTIA. For information on how to get started, please read Is LMS Integration right for my organization? 

Part 1: Install the App

1. Go to: Admin > select the root account > select Apps in the left nav bar.
   • This uses Canvas' newer Apps UI released in 2025. Do not go to Settings -> Apps as you may be used to.

2. Select the Discover tab, then search for CompTIA CertMaster, and select it.

   

3. Click the Configure button in the upper right.
4. Scroll to Custom Fields at the bottom of the first screen and note the first two lines: course_end_date and course_start_date. The default is for the integration to use the dates set in the Canvas Course's Settings for the start and end dates of the course in CertMaster. If you would prefer the integration use Canvas Term dates instead, please change the first two lines of Custom Fields to the following:
   • course_end_date=$Canvas.term.endAt
     course_start_date=$Canvas.term.startAt
5. Click Next through the configuration process, and click the Install App button at the end of the dialogue.
   • Warning: Do NOT change any configuration details, particularly the Placements page.
6. You'll be taken to Manage > App list, where you should see the new CertMaster LTI Adv app.

Deciding the App's Scope

WARNING - PLEASE READ ALL OF THE BELOW

Canvas allows you to make the App available to any part of its account hierarchy. Please take care to choose the correct Canvas account or sub-account in the next steps, particularly if your school or institution shares a Canvas instance with other schools or organizations. The tool will be available to all courses in and beneath the part of the hierarchy where the App is available.

• Option 1 (preferred): Sub-account level - We recommend that the App be added to the lowest level sub-account(s) that encompass all current and future courses that will be using CompTIA material.
  • For school systems, this can be your school's sub-account, or even the sub-account for the department teaching the courses.
  • If utilizing pre-purchased licenses or the Usage-based Billing (UBB) purchase model, this is even more important: the more people that have access to the App, the more likely licenses are accidentally consumed or billing is accidentally incurred.
• Option 2: Root account level - Though not preferred, this is acceptable in the following situations:
  • Your Canvas doesn't utilize sub-accounts and doesn't share Canvas with other institutions or schools
  • You wish to configure a Canvas-wide integration with no delineation between internal organizations
  • Be aware that everyone with the right course-building permissions in Canvas will have access to the tool. If you are in a shared Canvas environment, it is impossible to split out sub-account-specific data or license distribution after the integration is configured at root.
• Not an option: Course level -- Please note that even though Canvas allows it, and you may initially have a successful launch, our system and support team cannot accommodate installations at the Canvas Course level.

Proceeding incorrectly can cause issues with student access, grade syncing, billing, user-to-institution association, and more. If you're unsure how to proceed, please reach out to your CompTIA Technical Implementation Manager for guidance. We're here to help!

1. Decide where you'd like the App to be available:
   • One or more sub-accounts that are to be associated to a single institution in CertMaster: For example, a single university's Canvas with an IT sub-account and a Cybersecurity sub-account that will use the integration, and other sub-accounts that don't need access. 
     • Leave the App as 'Not Available.' Click 'Add Exception', select the sub-account(s) you wish to make the tool Available to, and complete the dialogue.
   • Multiple sub-accounts that are to be associated to multiple institutions in CertMaster: For example, a community college system's Canvas that needs a separate institution in CertMaster tied to each member school's sub-account. 
     • Inform your CompTIA representative that you fall under this category, as additional work will need to be done on the CompTIA end. Click the 'Copy Client ID' button at the top of the screen, then skip to Part 2 and perform it for each sub-account that needs a deployment. 
   • Root account (entire Canvas instance): 
     • Click the pencil icon to the right of 'Installed in <Account Name>' and change it to 'Available' in the dialogue that appears.
2. Note the Copy Client ID button at the top, and the 'Deployment ID' field under 'Installed in <Account Name>'.
   
3. Leaving the LMS tab open in your browser, return to your implementation ticket email and click the Registration Form URL sent by your CompTIA Representative. Please copy the Endpoint URLs exactly as they appear here:
    
   • Paste the Canvas Client ID into the Developer ID field.
   • Paste the Deployment ID into the Canvas Deployment ID Field
   • Access Token Endpoint: https://sso.canvaslms.com/login/oauth2/token
   • Authorization Endpoint: https://sso.canvaslms.com/api/lti/authorize_redirect

   • JWKS Endpoint: https://sso.canvaslms.com/api/lti/security/jwks

     Note: If your Canvas instance uses Instructure's Test or Beta servers, you will need different endpoints. See the bottom of this page for the endpoints to enter into this form.
     

4. Click Save, and continue.

Note: Installation is complete if you are installing the tool solely at the Root level, or to one or more sub-accounts that connect to a single CertMaster institution. 

Part 2: Adding deployments to sub-accounts

You only need to perform this portion if your Canvas serves multiple institutions that each need their own institutional account in CertMaster; for example, if billing or institutional licenses need to only be available to each individual institution, rather than your whole system.

1. Navigate to the desired Canvas sub-account by clicking the Admin tab on the far left and selecting the parent account. Click Sub-Accounts in the navigation on the left to view the Canvas hierarchy, and choose the desired sub-account.
   

    

2. After selecting the sub-account, navigate to Settings > Apps > View App Configuration > + App
   
    
3. Under the Configuration Type dropdown, select 'By Client ID'
4. Under Client ID, Paste the same Client ID copied in step 6 above.
       
    
5. Select Submit, and confirm any other prompts.
6. After installing, click on the gear icon to the right of the App and select Deployment ID. 
    
   
    
7. Copy the whole Deployment ID.
8. Return to the registration URL for the sub-account you're working with that was sent by your CompTIA Representative and provide the following (please copy the URLs exactly as they appear here):

• Paste the Canvas Client ID into the Developer ID field.
• Paste the Deployment ID into the Canvas Deployment ID Field
• Access Token Endpoint: https://sso.canvaslms.com/login/oauth2/token
• Authorization Endpoint: https://sso.canvaslms.com/api/lti/authorize_redirect
• JWKS Endpoint: https://sso.canvaslms.com/api/lti/security/jwks

9. Click Save. Repeat this section for any other sub-accounts that need their own deployment.

Testing

We strongly encourage testing your integration, as finding out something doesn't work after students have already entered the course is very unpleasant for all parties involved. If anything goes wrong in the following process, please take a screenshot and inform the CompTIA Representative working your LMS Integration Setup ticket.

1. Create or navigate to a course in the Canvas sub-account where you installed the App.

2. Add a graded assignment using the documentation on this page.

3. In Canvas, publish the course, the module, and the assignment.

4. Enroll a non-instructor, non-admin Canvas account into the course as the Student role.

5. Click the LTI link you placed and complete the activity.

6. Check the Canvas grade book to confirm that a score appears within 2 minutes. (If you don't see the account doing the testing as a row in the gradebook, please confirm that the testing account is a Student in the course.)

For Course-builders

• Canvas LTI 1.3 with Advantage - Linking to Course Resources
• Canvas LTI 1.3 with Advantage - Linking to Class Assessments
• Canvas LTI 1.3 with Advantage - Linking to Custom Quizzes

For Instructors and Students

• LMS Integration: Using Integrated LMS Courses
• Canvas LTI Advantage (1.3) - Grade (Score) Return

Appendix: Canvas Beta and Test Endpoints

Nearly all production Canvas instances use the endpoints listed in the above sections, even for testing. However, if your organization have a completely separate instance of Canvas that uses Instructure's Beta or Test servers, you may need to use the following endpoints instead. To confirm this is the case, look at your instance's URL: if it follows the format of 'beta.<yourinstitution>.instructure.com' or 'test.<yourinstitution>.instructure.com', use the corresponding set of endpoints below in our Registration form.

Beta

• Access Token Endpoint: https://sso.beta.canvaslms.com/login/oauth2/token
• Authorization Endpoint: https://sso.beta.canvaslms.com/api/lti/authorize_redirect
• JWKS Endpoint: https://sso.beta.canvaslms.com/api/lti/security/jwks

Test

• Access Token Endpoint: https://sso.test.canvaslms.com/login/oauth2/token
• Authorization Endpoint: https://sso.test.canvaslms.com/api/lti/authorize_redirect
• JWKS Endpoint: https://sso.test.canvaslms.com/api/lti/security/jwks