Canvas LMS cloud app

Using the SAML 2.0 standard, you can configure single sign-on (SSO) for a number of cloud apps. After you set up SSO, your users can use their Google Workspace credentials to sign in to an app using SSO.

Use SAML to set up SSO for Canvas LMS

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You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

Step 1: Set up Google as a SAML identity provider

Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).
In the Admin console, go to Menu AppsWeb and mobile apps.
Click Add appSearch for apps.
For Enter app name, enter Canvas LMS.
In the search results, point to Canvas LMS and click Select.
In the Google Identity Provider details window, download the identity provider metadata and click Continue.
On the Service provider details page, for ACS URL, Entity ID, and Start URL, replace {your-account-id} with your Canvas LMS account ID and click Continue.
(Optional) To add additional mappings, click Add Mapping and select the fields that you need to map.
(Optional) To enter group names that are relevant for this app:
1. For Group membership (optional), click Search for a group, enter one or more letters of the group name, and select the group name.
2. Add additional groups as needed (maximum of 75 groups).
3. For App attribute, enter the corresponding groups attribute name of the service provider.
Regardless of how many group names you enter, the SAML response includes only groups that a user is a member of (directly or indirectly). For more information, go to About group membership mapping.
Click Finish.

Step 2: Host the Google identity provider metadata on a public file server

On a publicly accessible file server, host the Google identity provider metadata file downloaded in Step 1. The file must be served directly, not through any redirects. The file also needs to be permanently available at a specific URL. Canvas LMS requests the file each time a user signs in.

Step 3: Set up Canvas LMS as a SAML 2.0 service provider

Open an Incognito browser window, go to the Canvas LMS sign-in page, and sign in with your Canvas LMS administrator account.
Click Admin and select Authentication.
Add SAML as the authentication provider.
In the IdP Metadata URL field, paste the URL of the Google identity provider metadata hosted on the file server as detailed in Step 2.
Click Save. The values of the rest of the fields are populated based on the identity provider metadata.
For Identity Format, select nameid-format:emailAddress.
For Authentication Context, select classes:Password.
Enable Just in Time Provisioning.
In the SAML authentication section, for Position, select 1.
Click Save.

Step 4: Turn on app for users

Before you begin: To turn a service on or off for certain users, put their accounts in an organizational unit (to control access by department) or add them to an access group (to allow access for users across or within departments).

Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).
In the Admin console, go to Menu AppsWeb and mobile apps.
Click Canvas LMS.
Click User access.
To turn a service on or off for everyone in your organization, click On for everyone or Off for everyone, and then click Save.
(Optional) To turn a service on or off for an organizational unit:
1. At the left, select the organizational unit.
2. To change the Service status, select On or Off.
3. Choose one:
  - If the Service status is set to Inherited and you want to keep the updated setting, even if the parent setting changes, click Override.
  - If the Service status is set to Overridden, either click Inherit to revert to the same setting as its parent, or click Save to keep the new setting, even if the parent setting changes.
    Note: Learn more about organizational structure.
(Optional) To turn on a service for a set of users across or within organizational units, select an access group. For details, go to Use groups to customize service access.
Ensure that your Canvas LMS user account email domains match the primary domain of your organization’s managed Google Account.

Step 5: Verify that SSO is working

Canvas LMS supports both identity provider-initiated and service provider-initiated SSO.

Verify identity provider-initiated SSO

Sign in to your Google Admin console.
Sign in using an account with super administrator privileges (does not end in @gmail.com).
In the Admin console, go to Menu AppsWeb and mobile apps.
Click Canvas LMS.
In the Canvas LMS section, click Test SAML Login.
The app should open in a separate tab. If it doesn’t, troubleshoot the error message and try again.
For details on troubleshooting, go to SAML app error messages.

Verify service provider-initiated SSO

Close all browser windows.
Go to the Canvas LMS sign-in page.
Enter your username and password.

After your credentials are authenticated, the app should open.

_{Google, Google Workspace, and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.}

Canvas LMS cloud app

Use SAML to set up SSO for Canvas LMS

Verify identity provider-initiated SSO

Verify service provider-initiated SSO

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