We have relocated to Instructure Developer Documentation Portal. š Please update your bookmarks. This page will automatically redirect after July 1, 2026.
Authentication Providers API
An AuthenticationProvider object looks like:
{
// Valid for SAML providers.
"identifier_format": "urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress",
// Valid for all providers.
"auth_type": "saml",
// Valid for all providers.
"id": 1649,
// Valid for SAML providers.
"log_out_url": "http://example.com/saml1/slo",
// Valid for SAML and CAS providers.
"log_in_url": "http://example.com/saml1/sli",
// Valid for SAML providers.
"certificate_fingerprint": "111222",
// Valid for SAML providers.
"requested_authn_context": null,
// Valid for LDAP providers.
"auth_host": "127.0.0.1",
// Valid for LDAP providers.
"auth_filter": "filter1",
// Valid for LDAP providers.
"auth_over_tls": null,
// Valid for LDAP and CAS providers.
"auth_base": null,
// Valid for LDAP providers.
"auth_username": "username1",
// Valid for LDAP providers.
"auth_port": null,
// Valid for all providers.
"position": 1,
// Valid for SAML providers.
"idp_entity_id": "http://example.com/saml1",
// Valid for SAML providers.
"login_attribute": "nameid",
// Valid for SAML providers.
"sig_alg": "http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig-more#rsa-sha256",
// Just In Time provisioning. Valid for all providers except Canvas (which has
// the similar in concept self_registration setting).
"jit_provisioning": null,
"federated_attributes": null,
// If multi-factor authentication is required when logging in with this
// authentication provider. The account must not have MFA disabled.
"mfa_required": null
}
A SSOSettings object looks like:
// Settings that are applicable across an account's authentication
// configuration, even if there are multiple individual providers
{
// The label used for unique login identifiers.
"login_handle_name": "Username",
// The url to redirect users to for password resets. Leave blank for default
// Canvas behavior
"change_password_url": "https://example.com/reset_password",
// If a discovery url is set, canvas will forward all users to that URL when
// they need to be authenticated. That page will need to then help the user
// figure out where they need to go to log in. If no discovery url is
// configured, the first configuration will be used to attempt to authenticate
// the user.
"auth_discovery_url": "https://example.com/which_account",
// If an unknown user url is set, Canvas will forward to that url when a service
// authenticates a user, but that user does not exist in Canvas. The default
// behavior is to present an error.
"unknown_user_url": "https://example.com/register_for_canvas"
}
A FederatedAttributesConfig object looks like:
// A mapping of Canvas attribute names to attribute names that a provider may
// send, in order to update the value of these attributes when a user logs in.
// The values can be a FederatedAttributeConfig, or a raw string corresponding
// to the "attribute" property of a FederatedAttributeConfig. In responses, full
// FederatedAttributeConfig objects are returned if JIT provisioning is enabled,
// otherwise just the attribute names are returned.
{
// A comma separated list of role names to grant to the user. Note that these
// only apply at the root account level, and not sub-accounts. If the attribute
// is not marked for provisioning only, the user will also be removed from any
// other roles they currently hold that are not still specified by the IdP.
"admin_roles": null,
// The full display name of the user
"display_name": null,
// The user's e-mail address
"email": null,
// The first, or given, name of the user
"given_name": null,
// The secondary unique identifier for SIS purposes
"integration_id": null,
// The user's preferred locale/language
"locale": null,
// The full name of the user
"name": null,
// The unique SIS identifier
"sis_user_id": null,
// The full name of the user for sorting purposes
"sortable_name": null,
// The surname, or last name, of the user
"surname": null,
// The user's preferred time zone
"timezone": null
}
A FederatedAttributeConfig object looks like:
// A single attribute name to be federated when a user logs in
{
// The name of the attribute as it will be sent from the authentication provider
"attribute": "mail",
// If the attribute should be applied only when provisioning a new user, rather
// than all logins
"provisioning_only": false,
// (only for email) If the email address is trusted and should be automatically
// confirmed
"autoconfirm": false
}
List authentication providers AuthenticationProvidersController#index
GET /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers
url:GET|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers
Returns a paginated list of authentication providers
Example Request:
curl 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
Get authentication provider AuthenticationProvidersController#show
GET /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id
url:GET|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id
Get the specified authentication provider
Example Request:
curl 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers/<id>' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
Add authentication provider AuthenticationProvidersController#create
POST /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers
url:POST|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers
Add external authentication provider(s) for the account. Services may be Apple, CAS, Facebook, GitHub, Google, LDAP, LinkedIn, Microsoft, OpenID Connect, or SAML.
Each authentication provider is specified as a set of parameters as described below. A provider specification must include an āauth_typeā parameter with a value of āappleā, ācanvasā, ācasā, ācleverā, āfacebookā, āgithubā, āgoogleā, āldapā, ālinkedinā, āmicrosoftā, āopenid_connectā, or āsamlā. The other recognized parameters depend on this auth_type; unrecognized parameters are discarded. Provider specifications not specifying a valid auth_type are ignored.
You can set the āpositionā for any provider. The config in the 1st position is considered the default. You can set ājit_provisioningā for any provider besides Canvas. You can set āmfa_requiredā for any provider.
For Apple, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
client_id [Required]
The developerās client identifier, as provided by WWDR. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
login_attribute [Optional]
The attribute to use to look up the userās login in Canvas. Either āsubā (the default), or āemailā
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Valid provider attributes are āemailā, āfirstNameā, ālastNameā, and āsubā.
For Canvas, the additional recognized parameter is:
-
self_registration
āallā, ānoneā, or āobserverā - who is allowed to register as a new user
For CAS, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
auth_base
The CAS serverās URL.
-
log_in_url [Optional]
An alternate SSO URL for logging into CAS. You probably should not set this.
For Clever, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
client_id [Required]
The Clever applicationās Client ID. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
client_secret [Required]
The Clever applicationās Client Secret. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
district_id [Optional]
A districtās Clever ID. Leave this blank to let Clever handle the details with its District Picker. This is required for Clever Instant Login to work in a multi-tenant environment.
-
login_attribute [Optional]
The attribute to use to look up the userās login in Canvas. Either āidā (the default), āsis_idā, āemailā, āstudent_numberā, or āteacher_numberā. Note that some fields may not be populated for all users at Clever.
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Valid provider attributes are āidā, āsis_idā, āemailā, āstudent_numberā, and āteacher_numberā.
For Facebook, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
app_id [Required]
The Facebook App ID. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
app_secret [Required]
The Facebook App Secret. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
login_attribute [Optional]
The attribute to use to look up the userās login in Canvas. Either āidā (the default), or āemailā
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Valid provider attributes are āemailā, āfirst_nameā, āidā, ālast_nameā, ālocaleā, and ānameā.
For GitHub, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
domain [Optional]
The domain of a GitHub Enterprise installation. I.e. github.mycompany.com. If not set, it will default to the public github.com.
-
client_id [Required]
The GitHub applicationās Client ID. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
client_secret [Required]
The GitHub applicationās Client Secret. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
login_attribute [Optional]
The attribute to use to look up the userās login in Canvas. Either āidā (the default), or āloginā
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Valid provider attributes are āemailā, āidā, āloginā, and ānameā.
For Google, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
client_id [Required]
The Google applicationās Client ID. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
client_secret [Required]
The Google applicationās Client Secret. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
hosted_domain [Optional]
A Google Apps domain to restrict logins to. See developers.google.com/identity/protocols/OpenIDConnect?hl=en#hd-param
-
login_attribute [Optional]
The attribute to use to look up the userās login in Canvas. Either āsubā (the default), or āemailā
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Valid provider attributes are āemailā, āfamily_nameā, āgiven_nameā, ālocaleā, ānameā, and āsubā.
For LDAP, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
auth_host
The LDAP serverās URL.
-
auth_port [Optional, Integer]
The LDAP serverās TCP port. (default: 389)
-
auth_over_tls [Optional]
Whether to use TLS. Can be āsimple_tlsā, or āstart_tlsā. For backwards compatibility, booleans are also accepted, with true meaning simple_tls. If not provided, it will default to start_tls.
-
auth_base [Optional]
A default treebase parameter for searches performed against the LDAP server.
-
auth_filter
LDAP search filter. Use {{login}} as a placeholder for the username supplied by the user. For example: ā(sAMAccountName={{login}})ā.
-
identifier_format [Optional]
The LDAP attribute to use to look up the Canvas login. Omit to use the username supplied by the user.
-
auth_username
Username
-
auth_password
Password
For LinkedIn, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
client_id [Required]
The LinkedIn applicationās Client ID. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
client_secret [Required]
The LinkedIn applicationās Client Secret. Not available if configured globally for Canvas.
-
login_attribute [Optional]
The attribute to use to look up the userās login in Canvas. Either āidā (the default), or āemailAddressā
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Valid provider attributes are āemailAddressā, āfirstNameā, āidā, āformattedNameā, and ālastNameā.
For Microsoft, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
application_id [Required]
The applicationās ID.
-
application_secret [Required]
The applicationās Client Secret (Password)
-
tenant [Optional]
See azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/active-directory-v2-protocols/ Valid values are ācommonā, āorganizationsā, āconsumersā, or an Azure Active Directory Tenant (as either a UUID or domain, such as contoso.onmicrosoft.com). Defaults to ācommonā
-
login_attribute [Optional]
See azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/active-directory-v2-tokens/#idtokens Valid values are āsubā, āemailā, āoidā, or āpreferred_usernameā. Note that email may not always be populated in the userās profile at Microsoft. Oid will not be populated for personal Microsoft accounts. Defaults to āsubā
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Valid provider attributes are āemailā, ānameā, āpreferred_usernameā, āoidā, and āsubā.
For OpenID Connect, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
client_id [Required]
The applicationās Client ID.
-
client_secret [Required]
The applicationās Client Secret.
-
authorize_url [Required]
The URL for getting starting the OAuth 2.0 web flow
-
token_url [Required]
The URL for exchanging the OAuth 2.0 authorization code for an Access Token and ID Token
-
scope [Optional]
Space separated additional scopes to request for the token. Note that you need not specify the āopenidā scope, or any scopes that can be automatically inferred by the rules defined at openid.net/specs/openid-connect-core-1_0.html#ScopeClaims
-
end_session_endpoint [Optional]
URL to send the end user to after logging out of Canvas. See openid.net/specs/openid-connect-session-1_0.html#RPLogout
-
userinfo_endpoint [Optional]
URL to request additional claims from. If the initial ID Token received from the provider cannot be used to satisfy the login_attribute and all federated_attributes, this endpoint will be queried for additional information.
-
login_attribute [Optional]
The attribute of the ID Token to look up the userās login in Canvas. Defaults to āsubā.
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Any value is allowed for the provider attribute names, but standard claims are listed at openid.net/specs/openid-connect-core-1_0.html#StandardClaims
For SAML, the additional recognized parameters are:
-
metadata [Optional]
An XML document to parse as SAML metadata, and automatically populate idp_entity_id, log_in_url, log_out_url, certificate_fingerprint, and identifier_format
-
metadata_uri [Optional]
A URI to download the SAML metadata from, and automatically populate idp_entity_id, log_in_url, log_out_url, certificate_fingerprint, and identifier_format. This URI will also be saved, and the metadata periodically refreshed, automatically. If the metadata contains multiple entities, also supply idp_entity_id to distinguish which one you want (otherwise the only entity in the metadata will be inferred). If you provide the URI āurn:mace:incommonā or āukfederation.org.ukā, the InCommon or UK Access Management Federation metadata aggregate, respectively, will be used instead, and additional validation checks will happen (including validating that the metadata has been properly signed with the appropriate key).
-
idp_entity_id
The SAML IdPās entity ID
-
log_in_url
The SAML serviceās SSO target URL
-
log_out_url [Optional]
The SAML serviceās SLO target URL
-
certificate_fingerprint
The SAML serviceās certificate fingerprint.
-
identifier_format
The SAML serviceās identifier format. Must be one of:
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:emailAddress
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:entity
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:kerberos
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:persistent
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:nameid-format:transient
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:unspecified
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:WindowsDomainQualifiedName
-
urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:1.1:nameid-format:X509SubjectName
-
-
requested_authn_context [Optional]
The SAML AuthnContext
-
sig_alg [Optional]
If set,
AuthnRequest
,LogoutRequest
, andLogoutResponse
messages are signed with the corresponding algorithm. Supported algorithms are:RSA-SHA1 and RSA-SHA256 are acceptable aliases.
-
federated_attributes [Optional]
See FederatedAttributesConfig. Any value is allowed for the provider attribute names.
Example Request:
# Create LDAP config
curl 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers' \
-F 'auth_type=ldap' \
-F 'auth_host=ldap.mydomain.edu' \
-F 'auth_filter=(sAMAccountName={{login}})' \
-F 'auth_username=username' \
-F 'auth_password=bestpasswordever' \
-F 'position=1' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
# Create SAML config
curl 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers' \
-F 'auth_type=saml' \
-F 'idp_entity_id=<idp_entity_id>' \
-F 'log_in_url=<login_url>' \
-F 'log_out_url=<logout_url>' \
-F 'certificate_fingerprint=<fingerprint>' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
# Create CAS config
curl 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers' \
-F 'auth_type=cas' \
-F 'auth_base=cas.mydomain.edu' \
-F 'log_in_url=<login_url>' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
Update authentication provider AuthenticationProvidersController#update
PUT /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id
url:PUT|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id
Update an authentication provider using the same options as the Add authentication provider endpoint. You cannot update an existing provider to a new authentication type.
Example Request:
# update SAML config
curl -X PUT 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers/<id>' \
-F 'idp_entity_id=<new_idp_entity_id>' \
-F 'log_in_url=<new_url>' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
Delete authentication provider AuthenticationProvidersController#destroy
DELETE /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id
url:DELETE|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id
Delete the config
Example Request:
curl -X DELETE 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers/<id>' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
Restore a deleted authentication provider AuthenticationProvidersController#restore
PUT /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id/restore
url:PUT|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/authentication_providers/:id/restore
Restore an authentication provider back to active that was previously deleted. Only available to admins who can manage_account_settings for given root account.
Example Request:
curl -X PUT 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/authentication_providers/<id>/restore' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
Show account auth settings AuthenticationProvidersController#show_sso_settings
GET /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/sso_settings
url:GET|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/sso_settings
The way to get the current state of each account level setting thatās relevant to Single Sign On configuration
You can list the current state of each setting with āupdate_sso_settingsā
Example Request:
curl -XGET 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/sso_settings' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'
Update account auth settings AuthenticationProvidersController#update_sso_settings
PUT /api/v1/accounts/:account_id/sso_settings
url:PUT|/api/v1/accounts/:account_id/sso_settings
For various cases of mixed SSO configurations, you may need to set some configuration at the account level to handle the particulars of your setup.
This endpoint accepts a PUT request to set several possible account settings. All setting are optional on each request, any that are not provided at all are simply retained as is. Any that provide the key but a null-ish value (blank string, null, undefined) will be UN-set.
You can list the current state of each setting with āshow_sso_settingsā
Example Request:
curl -XPUT 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/sso_settings' \
-F 'sso_settings[auth_discovery_url]=<new_url>' \
-F 'sso_settings[change_password_url]=<new_url>' \
-F 'sso_settings[login_handle_name]=<new_handle>' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'