Skip to main content
Integrating Puddin with Canvas allows students to launch Puddin writing sessions directly from Canvas assignments, authenticating automatically through their existing Canvas credentials. Canvas uses Developer Keys to manage LTI 1.3 tool registrations at the account level, giving administrators central control over which tools are available and to which courses they are deployed.

​
Prerequisites

Before you begin, confirm that you have the following:
  • Canvas administrator access at the account level (not just course-level admin)
  • Access to the Puddin administrator panel (Settings → Integrations)
  • Puddin’s LTI 1.3 configuration values ready to copy (see LTI Setup overview)

​
Setup steps

1

Open the Puddin Integrations panel

Sign in to Puddin as an administrator. Navigate to Settings → Integrations and locate the Canvas / LTI 1.3 section. Keep this tab open throughout the setup process — you will be copying values from it into Canvas.
2

Navigate to Developer Keys in Canvas

Sign in to Canvas as an account administrator. From the left-hand navigation, select your account name, then go to Admin → Developer Keys.You will see a list of existing developer keys. Puddin requires an LTI key, not an API key.
3

Create a new LTI key

Click the + Developer Key button and select + LTI Key from the dropdown. The LTI key configuration screen opens.Set the Key Name to something recognisable, such as Puddin.In the Method dropdown, choose how you want to supply the configuration:
Select Manual Entry as the configuration method, then fill in the following fields using the values from the Puddin Integrations panel:Under LTI Advantage Services, enable:
  • Can create and view assignment data in the gradebook
  • Can view submission data for assignments
  • Can create and update submission results for assignments
  • Can retrieve user data associated with the context
Under Placements, add Assignment Selection and Link Selection so Puddin appears when teachers add it to an assignment.
4

Save the key and copy the Client ID

Click Save (or Save Key). Canvas generates a Client ID — a long numeric string displayed in the Developer Keys list.Copy this Client ID and paste it into the Canvas Client ID field in the Puddin Integrations panel, then click Save in Puddin to complete the two-way registration.
The Client ID is also sometimes called the LTI Key number. Make sure you copy the numeric value from the Client ID column, not the developer key state toggle.
5

Enable the Developer Key

In the Developer Keys list, find the Puddin key you just created. Its state will be set to OFF by default. Toggle it to ON to activate it.
6

Add Puddin to your Canvas account

Navigate to Admin → Settings → Apps (the External Apps tab). Click + App.In the Configuration Type dropdown, select By Client ID. Enter the Client ID from the previous step and click Submit, then confirm the installation when Canvas prompts you.Puddin is now registered at the account level and available for deployment to courses.
7

Deploy Puddin to courses

Puddin is now available account-wide. Teachers can add it to individual assignments by selecting it from the external tool picker when creating an assignment.If you want to restrict Puddin to specific sub-accounts or courses only, navigate to the relevant sub-account’s Settings → Apps and follow the same By Client ID installation process there rather than at the root account level.
8

Test the connection

Open a test course, create an assignment, and add Puddin as an external tool. Submit the assignment as a student (use Canvas’s Student View feature) and verify that:
  • The Puddin session launches without a separate login prompt
  • The correct course and assignment context appears in Puddin
  • The submission is visible in the Puddin teacher dashboard

​
Grade passback

Canvas supports LTI Advantage Assignment and Grade Services (AGS). When a student completes a Puddin session and their work is reviewed, Puddin can pass a score directly back to the Canvas gradebook. Ensure the AGS services are enabled on the Developer Key (Step 3) and that the assignment in Canvas is set up as a graded assignment for the passback to function.
If grade passback is not working, confirm that the LTI Advantage Services checkboxes were enabled when creating the Developer Key. If you missed them, edit the key, enable the services, and save again — no new Client ID is generated.
For additional troubleshooting steps, see the Troubleshooting guide.