This guide is for schools without specific data residency requirements. For compliance with Canadian data residency requirements please see the Canadian version of this guide.
Who is this guide for?
- This guide is for people with administrator-level access to their institution’s Canvas instance.
- If you are a Canvas user and do not have administrator access and want to install Hypothesis in a course, please see our Course-level installation guide.
- Are you having trouble getting Hypothesis installed in Canvas? Please contact us!
As a Canvas Admin you can install the app at the Account, Sub-Account, or course level. Before you install Hypothesis you may wish to review the LTI parameters we use. You can find them here.
1. (Optional) Generate Canvas Developer Credentials to allow instructors to use advanced Canvas integration features
If you would like to enable advanced Canvas integration features, such as use of Canvas Files and Groups, please see our help article on creating developer credentials for the Hypothesis LMS app.
2. Generate Hypothesis Credentials
These instructions assume that you have already spoken with a member of our Education Team and been provided with a link to the page where you can generate Hypothesis credentials.
If you have not yet received a link, please fill out this form and a someone from our Education Team will get in touch with you about the next steps.
In the form to generate credentials, fill out the following:
- LMS Domain:
- This is the basic web address instructors and students use to access Canvas (e.g., canvas.yourschool.edu)
- Email:
- Can be any valid email address that belongs to you
- Canvas Developer ID and Canvas Developer Key:
- These values are generated during the creation of Canvas developer credentials. Entering them here is optional, but if you do not provide them now you won’t be able to turn on advanced Canvas integration features for your Hypothesis credentials later. Instead, you’ll need to delete the Hypothesis app and fill out this form again.
Click the Generate Credentials button.
You will be shown a screen that contains your new Hypothesis Consumer Key and Shared Secret.
Don’t close this tab/window! You will need to copy and paste these credentials later in the install process.
3. Access the Settings Page for an Account or Sub-Account
Navigate to the desired Account, Sub-Account, or Course and go to the Settings page. You can usually find a link to the Settings page in the left sidebar:
On the Settings page, click on Apps in the top menu:
Click the View App Configurations button in the upper right corner, then click the +App button:
A window with configuration options will pop up.
4. Configure the App
From the Configuration Type drop-down, select By URL:
Fill in the following fields:
- Name:
- Hypothesis
- Consumer Key and Shared Secret:
- Enter the credentials you generated in step 2
- Config URL:
https://lms.hypothes.is/config_xml
Click the Submit button, and Hypothesis will be successfully installed.
The Hypothesis LMS app can be used in two places in Canvas: in Modules or as part of an Assignment. You may wish to direct instructors to the following help articles: