🎓 Canvas-LMS-K8s

Deploy Instructure Canvas LMS on Kubernetes — for developers, researchers, and educators who need full control, LTI 1.3 support, and scalable infrastructure.

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🧠 Overview

Canvas-LMS-K8s provides a production-ready, modular, and scalable deployment setup for Instructure's Canvas LMS using Kubernetes.

This setup enables institutions, educational startups, and individual researchers to host and manage their own Canvas LMS instance — unlocking full admin capabilities and LTI 1.3 support (which is not available in public Canvas instances like instructure.com).

Whether you're:

• 🧪 A researcher building LTI tools or collecting learning analytics
• 🎓 An educator or school admin managing coursework, assignments, or assessments
• 👨‍💻 A developer testing LMS integrations
• 🏛️ A university team setting up internal infrastructure

This repo provides the manifests and instructions you need to self-host Canvas LMS on a Kubernetes cluster with production-level features.

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🚀 Features

• ✅ Multi-Container Kubernetes Architecture

  • PostgreSQL (Database)
  • Redis (Queue and Cache)
  • Jobs Worker (Background Tasks)
  • Canvas Web App (Rails + NGINX + Passenger)
  • NGINX Ingress Controller (Domain-based Routing)

• ⚙️ Helm/Kustomize Compatible Manifests

• 📦 Docker images with optimized Dockerfile/Dockerfile.production

• 📁 Persistent Volume setup for durable storage

• 🔐 Support for Single Sign-On + LTI 1.3

• 🔧 Troubleshooting and operational guides included

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🌐 National & Educational Impact

🎓 Canvas LMS is used by over 6,000 institutions across the U.S., including major universities, community colleges, and K-12 schools. However, access to full admin features and advanced integrations (like LTI 1.3) is limited in public instances.

This project:

• Empowers researchers and software engineers to build, test, and deploy LTI tools on real infrastructure
• Enables educational institutions to run secure, compliant, and scalable LMS systems within their own cloud
• Promotes open access to education technology by providing a blueprint for institutions nationwide

By containerizing and orchestrating Canvas LMS with Kubernetes, this project reduces infrastructure complexity, promotes portability, and unlocks full control over your learning ecosystem.

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📦 Project Structure

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├── deployments/              # Kubernetes Deployments
│   ├── canvas-web.yaml
│   ├── redis.yaml
│   └── jobs.yaml
├── services/                 # Services (LoadBalancer, ClusterIP)
│   └── canvas-web-svc.yaml
├── ingress/                  # NGINX Ingress Resources
│   └── canvas-ingress.yaml
├── pvc/                      # Persistent Volume Claims
│   └── canvas-pvc.yaml
├── docker/
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── Dockerfile.production
├── config/                   # Canvas YAML configs (database.yml, etc.)
├── scripts/                  # Utility setup scripts
└── README.md

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⚡ Getting Started

1. Clone and Switch to prod Branch

git clone https://github.com/babz007/Canvas-LMS-K8s.git
cd Canvas-LMS-K8s

2. Customize Configs

Update environment variables in your deployment files and secret volumes (database.yml, outgoing_mail.yml, etc.).

3. Apply to Your Cluster

kubectl apply -f deployments/
kubectl apply -f services/
kubectl apply -f ingress/
kubectl apply -f pvc/

4. Access the Canvas LMS

After a few minutes (once pods are running), access your instance via the domain configured in your Ingress (e.g., https://canvas.example.edu).

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🧪 LTI 1.3 Testing Use Case

For LTI developers and tool providers, this deployment allows you to:

• Build LTI 1.3 tools (Deep Linking, Assignment & Grades Services, etc.)
• Register your tool as an LTI App in Canvas
• Test OAuth2.0-based flows securely

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🛠️ Troubleshooting Highlights

• 502 / 503 Gateway Errors?
  • Check pod logs: kubectl logs <pod-name>
  • Validate service targetPort and ingress routing
• Assets not loading?
  • Run bundle exec rake assets:precompile
• Permissions errors during container build?
  • Update Dockerfile to chown volumes and protected paths
• Jobs pod crashlooping?
  • Ensure correct environment variables and memory allocation

See docs/issues.md for full list of common issues and solutions.

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📜 License

This project is built using Instructure's Canvas LMS (AGPL License).

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🤝 Contributing

If you've used this setup to deploy Canvas successfully or added improvements, feel free to open a PR or issue!

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💬 Support

Open an issue here or connect with the author via LinkedIn or Twitter for collaboration or feedback.

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Let me know if you'd like to include a visual architecture diagram, badge for DockerHub, or quickstart Helm chart example in the README too.