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Formswrite supports LTI 1.3 (Learning Tools Interoperability), the industry standard for integrating external tools with Learning Management Systems. This allows teachers and students to launch Formswrite directly from their LMS without a separate login.
LTI integration is available on institutional plans. Contact [email protected] to get started.

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What is LTI?

LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) is a standard developed by IMS Global that allows LMS platforms to securely launch external tools. With LTI 1.3, authentication uses OpenID Connect (OIDC) and JWT tokens — no passwords are shared between systems.

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Benefits

  • Single sign-on — teachers and students launch Formswrite from the LMS with one click
  • No separate accounts — users are automatically provisioned via LTI
  • Secure — uses industry-standard OIDC authentication with public/private key verification
  • Context-aware — Formswrite knows which course and user is launching the tool

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Supported LMS platforms

Formswrite works with any LMS that supports LTI 1.3, including:

Moodle

Version 3.7+ with LTI 1.3 support.

Canvas

Instructure Canvas with LTI 1.3 Developer Keys.

Blackboard

Blackboard Learn with LTI 1.3 tool registration.

Brightspace (D2L)

Desire2Learn Brightspace LTI Advantage.

Schoology

Schoology with LTI 1.3 app configuration.

Sakai

Sakai CLE with External Tools support.

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Setup overview

Setting up LTI involves two sides:
  1. Register Formswrite as a tool in your LMS — provide Formswrite’s URLs to your LMS
  2. Register your LMS as a platform in Formswrite — provide your LMS’s URLs to Formswrite
The process takes about 5 minutes. Detailed instructions for each LMS are below.

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Formswrite tool URLs

When configuring your LMS, you’ll need to enter these Formswrite URLs:
SettingURL
Tool URL / Launch URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
Login Initiation URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/login
Public Keyset URL (JWKS)https://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/jwks
Redirection URIhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
These URLs are also available in your Formswrite dashboard under LTI Platforms in the sidebar.

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Moodle setup

1

Add Formswrite as an external tool

  1. In Moodle, go to Site Administration → Plugins → Activity modules → External tool → Manage preconfigured tools
  2. Click Add preconfigured tool
  3. Fill in the following:
FieldValue
Tool nameFormswrite
Tool URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
LTI versionLTI 1.3
Public keysethttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/jwks
Initiate login URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/login
Redirection URI(s)https://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
  1. Under Services, set IMS LTI Names and Role Provisioning to Use this service to retrieve members’ information as per privacy settings
  2. Under Privacy, set:
    • Share launcher’s name: Always
    • Share launcher’s email: Always
  3. Under Miscellaneous, set:
    • Default launch container: New window
    • Tool configuration usage: Show in activity chooser and as a preconfigured tool
  4. Click Save changes
2

Copy the platform details from Moodle

After saving, Moodle generates a Client ID. Click the edit icon on the Formswrite tool to find it.You’ll need these values from your Moodle instance (replace yourmoodle.com with your domain):
SettingValue
Issuerhttps://yourmoodle.com
Client ID(generated by Moodle — shown on the tool config page)
Auth Login URLhttps://yourmoodle.com/mod/lti/auth.php
Access Token URLhttps://yourmoodle.com/mod/lti/token.php
JWKS URLhttps://yourmoodle.com/mod/lti/certs.php
For Moodle Cloud (moodlecloud.com), the URLs follow the same pattern: https://yoursite.moodlecloud.com/mod/lti/auth.php, etc.
3

Register the platform in Formswrite

  1. Log in to Formswrite and go to LTI Platforms in the sidebar
  2. Click Add Platform
  3. Enter the platform details from step 2
  4. Click Save
4

Add Formswrite to a course

  1. Go to any course in Moodle and turn on Edit mode
  2. Click the + button in a course section
  3. Select Formswrite from the activity chooser
  4. Click Add — the activity is created
  5. Students and teachers can now click the activity to launch Formswrite

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Canvas setup

1

Create a Developer Key

  1. In Canvas, go to Admin → Developer Keys
  2. Click + Developer Key → + LTI Key
  3. Set the method to Manual Entry and fill in:
FieldValue
Key NameFormswrite
Redirect URIshttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
Target Link URIhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
OpenID Connect Initiation URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/login
JWK MethodPublic JWK URL
Public JWK URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/jwks
  1. Click Save and note the Client ID (a long number shown in the Details column)
  2. Set the key state to ON
2

Add the external tool to a course

  1. Go to Course Settings → Apps → + App
  2. Configuration type: By Client ID
  3. Enter the Client ID from step 1
  4. Click Submit and Install
3

Register the platform in Formswrite

  1. In Formswrite, go to LTI Platforms → Add Platform
  2. Enter these values:
SettingValue
Issuerhttps://canvas.instructure.com (or your Canvas domain)
Client ID(from step 1)
Auth Login URLhttps://canvas.instructure.com/api/lti/authorize_redirect
Access Token URLhttps://canvas.instructure.com/login/oauth2/token
JWKS URLhttps://canvas.instructure.com/api/lti/security/jwks
For self-hosted Canvas, replace canvas.instructure.com with your Canvas domain.
  1. Click Save

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Blackboard setup

1

Register Formswrite as an LTI tool

  1. In Blackboard, go to System Admin → Integrations → LTI Tool Providers
  2. Click Register LTI 1.3/Advantage Tool
  3. Enter the Client ID (you’ll get this after registering the tool)
Or use the manual registration:
FieldValue
Tool Provider URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
Tool Provider OIDC Auth URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/login
Tool Provider JWKS URLhttps://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/jwks
  1. Click Submit
  2. Copy the Application ID, Deployment ID, and other platform details
2

Register the platform in Formswrite

  1. In Formswrite, go to LTI Platforms → Add Platform
  2. Enter the Blackboard platform details (issuer, client ID, auth URLs)
  3. Include the Deployment ID if provided
  4. Click Save

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General LTI 1.3 setup

For any LMS not listed above, the process follows the same pattern:
  1. In your LMS, register a new LTI 1.3 external tool using the Formswrite tool URLs listed above
  2. Your LMS will generate a Client ID and provide its own platform URLs (issuer, auth endpoint, token endpoint, JWKS URL)
  3. In Formswrite, go to LTI Platforms → Add Platform and enter those platform URLs
  4. Add the tool to a course and test the launch

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How the launch flow works

When a user clicks the Formswrite activity in their LMS: 
LMS                          Formswrite Backend                    Formswrite App
 |                                  |                                    |
 |-- POST /api/lti/login ---------->|                                    |
 |   (iss, login_hint, client_id)   |                                    |
 |                                  |-- verify platform registration     |
 |                                  |-- generate state + nonce           |
 |<-- redirect to LMS auth --------|                                    |
 |                                  |                                    |
 |-- POST /api/lti/callback ------->|                                    |
 |   (signed JWT id_token)          |                                    |
 |                                  |-- verify JWT via JWKS              |
 |                                  |-- verify state + nonce             |
 |                                  |-- find or create user account      |
 |                                  |-- set session cookie               |
 |                                  |-- redirect ----------------------->|
 |                                  |                                    |
 |                                  |                          Formswrite Dashboard

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Managing platforms

Site administrators can manage LTI platform registrations from the LTI Platforms page in the Formswrite dashboard sidebar.
ActionDescription
Add PlatformRegister a new LMS connection
EditUpdate platform URLs or credentials
Activate / DeactivateTemporarily disable a platform without deleting it
DeletePermanently remove a platform registration
The LTI Platforms page is only visible to Formswrite site administrators. If you don’t see it in the sidebar, contact your Formswrite admin.

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Troubleshooting

The Issuer URL in Formswrite must exactly match what the LMS sends. Check for:
  • Trailing slashes (https://moodle.com vs https://moodle.com/)
  • Protocol (https:// vs http://)
  • Subdomain (www.moodle.com vs moodle.com)
This is usually a cookie issue. LTI launches happen in iframes or popups, and some browsers block third-party cookies. Solutions:
  • Set the LMS tool to open in a new window (not embedded)
  • Ensure your browser allows third-party cookies for formswrite.com
The session cookie may not have been set. Check that:
  • The Redirection URI in your LMS matches https://api.formswrite.com/api/lti/callback
  • Your LMS is sending the user’s email in the LTI payload (check privacy settings)
The LTI Platforms admin page is restricted to Formswrite site administrators. Contact your admin to have your email added to the authorized list.
Ensure the Client ID registered in Formswrite exactly matches the one generated by your LMS. Copy-paste it to avoid typos.

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Security

Formswrite’s LTI implementation follows best practices:
  • JWT verification — all launch tokens are verified against the platform’s public JWKS endpoint
  • State and nonce — stored in Redis with a 10-minute TTL to prevent replay attacks
  • HTTPS only — all LTI endpoints require HTTPS
  • No shared secrets — LTI 1.3 uses public/private key pairs, not shared secrets (unlike LTI 1.1)