LTI 1.3 with Moodle (and other LMSs)

Notes for the docs site. API and security: api/packages/lti/README.md; decision: ADR 0012. The settings below are the ones the nightly conformance run uses against Moodle 5.0 (.github/conformance/lti/moodle-setup.php), so they are known to work.

Moodle launches ulams courses (ulams as a tool)

In Moodle: Site administration → Plugins → Activity modules → External tool → Manage tools → configure a tool manually:

Moodle field	Value
Tool URL	<ulams API>/api/lti/tool/launch
LTI version	LTI 1.3
Public key type	Keyset URL
Public keyset	<ulams API>/api/lti/jwks
Initiate login URL	<ulams API>/api/lti/tool/login
Redirection URI(s)	<ulams API>/api/lti/tool/launch
Default launch container	New window (inside an iframe the browser may block the ulams session cookie)
Share launcher’s name / e-mail	as you prefer (an e-mail only creates an account if no ulams account has it)
Accept grades from the tool	Always; IMS LTI Assignment and Grade Services: Use this service for grade sync and column management

Moodle then shows the client ID and the deployment ID (the tool id). In ulams (Integrations → LTI → Platforms) add a platform with: issuer = Moodle’s site URL, the client ID, the deployment ID, authentication request URL <moodle>/mod/lti/auth.php, access token URL <moodle>/mod/lti/token.php, keyset URL <moodle>/mod/lti/certs.php.

Add the ulams course to a Moodle course as an External tool activity, either with Select content (deep linking: the ulams course picker) or with the custom parameter course_id=<id>.

What learners get: a ulams account linked to their Moodle user (never matched by e-mail), access to the course, and their progress in ulams sent to Moodle’s gradebook as a percentage every time they finish a topic (100 % when every topic is finished). Instructors become tutors; nobody becomes admin.

ulams launches a Moodle course (ulams as a platform)

1. In Moodle, enable Enrolments → Publish as LTI tool and the LTI authentication plugin, then publish a course (or activity) as an LTI 1.3 tool with grade sync on. Moodle shows its tool URLs (login, launch, deep linking, JWKS) and the custom parameter id=<uuid> of the resource.
2. In Moodle Tool registration, register ulams as a platform. In ulams (Integrations → LTI → Tools) add the tool with Moodle’s URLs; ulams issues a client ID and a deployment ID. Enter them in Moodle’s registration with ulams’ issuer, .../api/lti/platform/authorize, .../api/lti/platform/token and .../api/lti/jwks, and add the deployment.
3. Add a lesson topic of type External tool (LTI) with that tool, the launch URL <moodle>/enrol/lti/launch.php and the custom parameter id=<uuid>.
4. Moodle answers a launch with an “Open tool” link instead of the course unless Security → HTTP security → Allow frame embedding is on; turn it on, or use the New window presentation.

Grades Moodle sends (course total, through Moodle’s grade sync task) are stored per learner in ulams; a Completed/FullyGraded score completes the topic.

Local and test setups

Outgoing LTI calls only go to public https addresses. For Moodle in Docker or on http, set LTI_ALLOW_INSECURE_URLS=true on the API, and in Moodle clear HTTP security → cURL blocked hosts and cURL allowed ports (Moodle blocks private addresses by default).