Does Open edX Support LTI® 1.3?
The short answer
Yes, and in both directions. Open edX can embed third-party LTI® tools in its courses, and it can be launched as a tool from another LMS. Support comes from the LTI Consumer XBlock, which covers LTI® 1.3 and the LTI® Advantage services as specified by 1EdTech Consortium, Inc.
The project's own documentation covers what the LTI component is and how to set up an LTI 1.3 component.
How it is put together
Open edX courses are assembled from XBlocks — components a course author drops into a unit. LTI® support arrives as one of those rather than as a platform-wide setting.
That has a practical consequence worth knowing before a support conversation: LTI® is configured per component, by a course author, not once by an administrator. Two units in the same course can point at different tools with different settings, and a problem is often scoped to one component rather than to the installation.
The XBlock supports deep linking, assignment and grade services, and names and role provisioning, alongside the older LTI® 1.1.
Both directions
As a platform, Open edX embeds your tool into a course unit — the common case, and what the Consumer XBlock is named for.
As a tool, Open edX content can be embedded in another LMS, so an institution running Canvas can surface Open edX courses inside it.
If a customer says "we use Open edX", establish which of these they mean before designing anything. They are opposite integrations.
What to check
The version, twice. Open edX is self-hosted and ships named releases, and the XBlock has its own version alongside the platform's. LTI® 1.3 and the Advantage services arrived across several releases from 2020 onwards, so an older installation may have 1.3 but not the services, or 1.1 only.
Which services are enabled. As everywhere, a service being supported by the software is not the same as being granted for a given course. Read what the launch offers rather than assuming.
Whether it is Open edX or a hosted derivative. Several vendors run modified distributions, and behaviour can differ from the upstream project.
Setting it up
We do not publish an Open edX setup guide, for the same reason as Sakai — we have not integrated with it often enough to document the screens honestly. The generic LMS registration guide covers the process, and the fields are the standard set in the configuration fields article.
If you set LTIAAS up with Open edX, tell us how it went.
Common questions
Does Open edX support LTI® 1.3?
Yes. The LTI Consumer XBlock supports LTI 1.3 and the LTI Advantage services — deep linking, assignment and grade services, and names and role provisioning — as well as the older 1.1.
Can Open edX be launched from another LMS?
Yes. Open edX works in both directions, embedding third-party tools in its own courses and letting another LMS embed Open edX content.
What is the LTI Consumer XBlock?
The component that provides the LTI functionality. Open edX courses are built from XBlocks, and LTI support arrives as one of them rather than as a platform-wide setting, so it is added per course component.
Which Open edX version do I need?
LTI 1.3 and the Advantage services were added over several releases from 2020 onwards. Open edX is self-hosted and named releases differ, so confirm the version and the XBlock version on the specific installation.
