Canvas LMS is a modern, open-source learning management system developed and maintained by Instructure, written in Ruby on Rails with a TypeScript/JavaScript frontend. It is the leading LMS in US higher education, holding roughly 41% of the institutional market in 2023, and is available both as a hosted service and as freely self-hosted software. Institutions of every size use Canvas to run courses, assignments, quizzes, discussions and grading in one web-based platform.

Key Features

• Course delivery and management — Full lifecycle support for assignments, modules, quizzes, discussions and grades in a single web platform.
• SpeedGrader — Inline grading with comments, rubrics and media feedback directly in a desktop or mobile grading tool.
• Canvas Data and reporting — Raw event-level data files for custom dashboards or warehouse integration, plus real-time visibility into course activity and engagement.
• Free mobile apps — Student, teacher and parent apps for iOS and Android covering grades, submissions, messaging and announcements.
• Open API and LTI integrations — REST API plus LTI 1.1/1.3 support for connecting third-party educational tools.
• Customizable roles and branding — Secure teaching spaces that adapt to user groups with configurable roles, permissions and institutional branding.
• Accessibility and compliance — Built with accessibility standards (VPAT/ADA) and support for institutions’ data-privacy requirements.
• Open source extensibility — AGPLv3 codebase on GitHub that institutions can self-host, fork and extend.

Why Use Canvas LMS?

Canvas gives institutions complete control: you can self-host the AGPLv3 codebase, extend it with LTI tools and the REST API, and brand it to match your institution. Its open architecture and strong mobile apps make it a practical choice for distance learning programs that need modern, reliable courseware.

Use Cases

• Higher-education institutions running courses, degrees and distance learning at scale.
• K-12 school districts managing assignments, grading and parent communication.
• Corporate training and organizations needing a self-hosted, fully controlled LMS.

Licence

GNU AGPL v3 (AGPL-3.0)