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Open-Source Projects
Discover top open-source software, updated regularly with real-world adoption signals.
Discover top open-source software, updated regularly with real-world adoption signals.
Modern open-source learning management system by Instructure
Canvas LMS is a feature-rich, modern learning management system built with Ruby and JavaScript, designed for educational institutions and corporate training environments.
Canvas LMS is a comprehensive learning management system developed and maintained by Instructure Inc. Released under the AGPLv3 license, it provides educational institutions, corporations, and training organizations with a robust platform for delivering online and blended learning experiences.
Built primarily with Ruby and JavaScript, Canvas offers a modern architecture that supports scalable deployments from small classrooms to enterprise-wide implementations. The platform's extensive codebase reflects years of refinement in educational technology, with substantial investments in both backend infrastructure and frontend user experience.
Canvas provides both quick-start options for evaluation and production-grade deployment guidance through comprehensive wiki documentation. The active community of over 6,200 GitHub stars and 2,700+ forks demonstrates significant adoption and ongoing development. Organizations can self-host Canvas to maintain full control over their learning environment, data sovereignty, and customization requirements while benefiting from continuous improvements from Instructure and the broader community.
When teams consider Canvas LMS, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
University Course Management
Deploy a self-hosted LMS for thousands of students with complete control over data, integrations, and custom features tailored to institutional needs.
Corporate Training Platform
Build an internal learning environment for employee onboarding and professional development with customized branding and compliance features.
K-12 District Implementation
Provide a unified learning platform across multiple schools with centralized administration and student data privacy controls.
Custom LMS Development
Fork and extend Canvas to create specialized learning platforms with unique workflows and integrations for niche educational markets.
Canvas LMS is released under the AGPLv3 license, which allows free use, modification, and distribution but requires sharing modifications if you distribute the software or provide it as a network service.
Deploying Canvas requires experience with Ruby applications, database administration, web server configuration, and general DevOps practices. The project provides both quick-start and production deployment documentation.
Canvas LMS is the open-source version maintained by Instructure Inc., the same company that offers Canvas as a commercial SaaS product. The open-source version can be self-hosted and customized.
Canvas is built primarily with Ruby for the backend and JavaScript/TypeScript for the frontend, with additional components in HTML, SCSS, and other web technologies.
While the open-source version is community-supported, Instructure Inc. offers commercial Canvas hosting and support services. Self-hosters can also seek support from the community or third-party consultants.
Project at a glance
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