Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Deep Linking 2.0

Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Deep Linking Specification

IMS Final Release
Spec Version 2.0
IMS Final Release
Document Version: 2
Date Issued: 16 April 2019
Status: This document is made available for adoption by the public community at large.
This version: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/v2p0/
Latest version: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/latest/
Errata: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/v2p0/errata/

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Abstract

The Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Deep Linking specification allows a Platform to more easily integrate content gathered from an external Tool. Using the Deep Linking message defined in this specification, Platform users can launch to a URI specified by an external Tool, then select specific content appropriate for their use, and receive a URI that other platform users can use at a later time for launches directly to that specific content.

1. Overview

IMS is developing the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Deep Linking specification to allow a platform to more easily integrate content gathered from an external tool. Using the deep linking message defined in this specification, platform users can launch out to a URI specified by an external tool, then select specific content appropriate for their use, and have returned back a URI that other platform users can use at a later time as the basis for other launches directly to that specific content.

For example, via the deep linking message, course designers can launch out to a publisher's tool, select some course content modules appropriate to the particular course they are working on, and get back LTI™ resource links that, when launched by students, will go directly to the content modules rather than some more general "table of contents page".

This document builds upon all the concepts and terms introduced in the LTI™ 1.3 specification [LTI-13], specifically:

  • The notions of platforms and tools as participants in an LTI workflow.

  • The organization of collections of resources within contexts.

  • The interactions of messages and services.

    As with the core LTI specifications, this specification requires the use of HTTPS (with TLS) for all messages [RFC2818]. Additionally, implementers SHOULD, by best practice, use HTTPS for all URLs to resources included in messages (for example, URLs to static content like images and thumbnails).

1.1 Terminology

JWT
JSON Web Token is a JSON-based [RFC7159] security token encoding that enables identity and security information to be shared across security domains. A security token is generally issued by an Identity Provider and consumed by a Relying Party that relies on its content to identify the token's subject for security-related purposes.
LIS
Learning Information Services® (LIS®) is an IMS standard that defines how systems manage the exchange of information that describes people, groups, memberships, courses and outcomes [LIS-20]
LTI
Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) is an IMS standard for integration of rich learning applications within educational environments.
URI
The Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) utilizes the US-ASCII character set to identify a resource. Per [RFC2396], a URI "can be further classified as a locator, a name or both." Both the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and the Uniform Resource Name (URN) are considered subspaces of the more general URI space.
URL
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a type of URI that provides a reference to resource that specifies both its location and a means of retrieving a representation of it. An HTTP URI is a URL.
URN
A Uniform Resource Name (URN) is a type of URI that provides a persistent identifier for a resource that is bound to a defined namespace. Unlike a URL, a URN is location-independent and provides no means of accessing a representation of the named resource.
UUID
a 128-bit identifier that does not require a registration authority to assure uniqueness. However, absolute uniqueness is not guaranteed although the collision probability is considered extremely low. LTI recommends use of randomly or pseudo-randomly generated version 4 UUIDs [RFC4122].

1.2 Conformance Statements

As well as sections marked as non-normative, all authoring guidelines, diagrams, examples, and notes in this specification are non-normative. Everything else in this specification is normative.

The key words MAY, MUST, MUST NOT, OPTIONAL, RECOMMENDED, REQUIRED, SHALL, SHALL NOT, SHOULD, and SHOULD NOT in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

An implementation of this specification that fails to implement a MUST/REQUIRED/SHALL requirement or fails to abide by a MUST NOT/SHALL NOT prohibition is considered nonconformant. SHOULD/SHOULD NOT/RECOMMENDED statements constitute a best practice. Ignoring a best practice does not violate conformance but a decision to disregard such guidance should be carefully considered. MAY/OPTIONAL statements indicate that implementers are entirely free to choose whether or not to implement the option.

The Conformance and Certification Guide for this specification may introduce greater normative constraints than those defined here for specific service or implementation categories.

1.3 Document Set

1.3.1 Normative Documents

LTI Advantage Conformance Certification Guide [LTI-CERT-13]
The LTI Advantage Conformance Certification Guide describes the procedures for testing Platforms and Tools against the LTI v1.3 and LTI Advantage services using the IMS certification test suite.

1.3.2 Informative Documents

LTI Advantage Implementation Guide [LTI-IMPL-13]
The LTI Advantage Implementation Guide provides information to lead you to successful implementation and certification of the LTI Core v1.3 specification and the set of LTI Advantage specifications.

2. Workflow

Deep Linking Workflow
Figure 1 Diagram illustrating the Deep Linking workflow between platforms and tools.

The workflow around using the deep linking message involves three steps:

  1. The platform redirects the user's browser to an endpoint hosted by the tool, as with the core LTI resource link launch request, indicating the types of items that may be added during this interaction.

  2. The tool provides an interface allowing the user to discover and select one or more specific items to integrate back into the platform.

  3. The tool then redirects the user’s browser back to the platform along with details of the item(s) selected (for example, LTI resource links to embed).

2.1 Redirection from platform to tool

The platform handles this redirection to the tool just as with the core LTI resource link launch request. It creates an HTML form that the browser can auto-submit via JavaScript to an endpoint hosted by the tool using an HTTP POST.

The platform sends the same message parameters in the deep linking request message as it would in the resource link launch request message with the exception of the resource link claim, along with some additional parameters.

The lti_message_type of this new message has a value of LtiDeepLinkingRequest.

The platform creates and signs the message in the same way it does with the core LTI resource link launch request (see the LTI 1.3 [LTI-13] and IMS Security Framework [SEC-10] specifications for details). Given the intended workflow implied by this message type, the platform may intend the tool's user experience to open within an iframe or pop-up window, to let the current UI context in the platform remain visible and available when the user returns from the tool's workflow; however, this is not a requirement, and other workflows using the same deep linking request message type may re-use the same page as the platform.

2.2 Tool user experience for deep linking

The tool entirely controls the user experience for discovering and selecting content items within its body of available resources.

The tool SHOULD verify the deep linking request message in the same way it would for a resource link launch request. The parameters the tool receives in the message SHOULD, by best practice, contain sufficient data to allow the tool to identify the context from which the user is being passed, who the user is, and what the user's role in the context is.

Where appropriate the tool can use this data to provide an appropriate collection of items from which the user can select, or allow the user to create a new item (and retrieve a reference to the new item).

The tool MUST recognize that the platform makes no guarantee that it will actually create a resource link to the selected (or created) item(s) upon returning the user to the platform (for example, the user may have the option to cancel the workflow before creating a resource link in the platform).

2.3 Redirection back to the platform

When forming the deep linking request message, the platform includes a deep_link_return_url in the https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/deep_linking_settings claim. The tool MUST redirect the workflow to that URL once the user has completed the selection or creation portion of the overall flow.

By best practice, a tool SHOULD always ensure to redirect the user's browser back to this endpoint, even if the user selects or creates no items. This allows the platform to close any frames or windows it opened during the initial redirection step.

The tool passes back to the platform details of any selected or created items in a JSON array (this array could be empty, if no item was selected or created).

After encoding the deep linking return message as a JWT, the tool MUST always perform this redirection using an auto-submitted form as an HTTP POST request using the JWT parameter (see the IMS Security Framework [SEC-10]) for more details about the use of JWT), redirecting the user's browser to the platforms's deep_link_return_url.

The lti_message_type of this new message has a value of LtiDeepLinkingResponse.

3. Content Item Types

The Deep Linking interaction may be used to exchange various types of content item; each item type has its own definition and JSON Schema defining it. The type is open for extension; it is expected other IMS Global specifications as well as platforms will extend on the core set of types defined in this document.

3.3 File

A file is a resource transferred from the tool to stored and/or processed by the platform. The URL to the resource should be considered short lived and the platform must process the file within a short time frame (within minutes).

Properties of a file item are

NameDescriptionDisposition
type Value must be file. required
url Fully qualified URL of the resource. This link may be short-lived or expire after 1st use. required
title String, plain text to use as the title or heading for content. optional
text String, plain text description of the content item intended to be displayed to all users who can access the item. optional
icon Fully qualified URL, height, and width of an icon image to be placed with the file. A platform may not support the display of icons, but where it does, it may choose to use a local copy of the icon rather than linking to the URL provided (which would also allow it to resize the image to suit its needs).
  • url: fully qualified URL to the image file.
  • width: integer representing the width in pixels of the image.
  • height: integer representing the height in pixels of the image.
optional
thumbnail Fully qualified URL, height, and width of a thumbnail image to be made a hyperlink. This allows the hyperlink to be opened within the platform from text or an image, or from both.
  • url: fully qualified URL to the image file.
  • width: integer representing the width in pixels of the image.
  • height: integer representing the height in pixels of the image.
optional
expiresAt ISO 8601 Date and time [ISO8601]. The URL will be available until this time. No guarantees after that. (e.g. 2014-03-05T12:34:56Z). optional

3.4 HTML fragment

An HTML fragment to be embedded in html document. If the HTML fragment renders a a single resource which is also addressable directly, the tool SHOULD use the link type with an embed code.

Properties of an HTML fragment are:

NameDescriptionDisposition
type Value must be html. required
html HTML fragment to be embedded. The platform is expected to sanitize it against cross-site scripting attacks. required
title String, plain text to use as the title or heading for content. optional
text String, plain text description of the content item intended to be displayed to all users who can access the item. optional

3.5 Image

Image is a URL pointing to an image resource that SHOULD be rendered directly in the browser agent using the HTML img tag.

Properties of image are:

NameDescriptionDisposition
type Value must be image. required
url Fully qualified URL of the image. required
title String, plain text to use as the title or heading for content. optional
text String, plain text description of the content item intended to be displayed to all users who can access the item. optional
icon Fully qualified URL, height, and width of an icon image to be placed with the file. A platform may not support the display of icons, but where it does, it may choose to use a local copy of the icon rather than linking to the URL provided (which would also allow it to resize the image to suit its needs).
  • url: fully qualified URL to the image file.
  • width: integer representing the width in pixels of the image.
  • height: integer representing the height in pixels of the image.
optional
thumbnail Fully qualified URL, height, and width of a thumbnail image to be made a hyperlink. This allows the hyperlink to be opened within the platform from text or an image, or from both.
  • url: fully qualified URL to the image file.
  • width: integer representing the width in pixels of the image.
  • height: integer representing the height in pixels of the image.
optional
width Integer representing the width in pixels of the image. optional
height Integer representing the height in pixels of the image. optional

3.6 Extending a type

Type definitions may be enriched with additional properties. The key for custom properties SHOULD be a fully qualified URL. This requirement does not apply to nested properties of the added property.

For example:

{
  "type": "image",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/image.png",
  "https://www.example.com/resourceMetadata": {
    "license": "CCBY4.0"
  }
}
Figure 2 Example of type extension via the addition of a custom property

3.7 Defining new types

The Deep linking specification defines a flow to transfer item(s) from the tool to the platform. In the future, it is expected to be leveraged to transfer of other types of items.

When a new type is added, it must to the minimum contain a type property and a value that uniquely identifies the new type. To avoid collisions, the value must be a fully qualified URL unless specified otherwise by IMS Global.

4. LTI Deep Linking interaction

LTI platforms and tools use messages to transfer the user agent from one host to the other through an HTML form post redirection containing the message payload. The deep linking, bi-directional workflow employs separate request and response messages:

  • The deep linking deep linking request message flows from the platform to the tool to initiate the deep linking resource selection/creation workflow.

  • The deep linking deep linking response message flows from the tool back to the platform to send back the results of selection/creation and close off the workflow.

4.1 JSON Web Token

As with the core resource link launch request, the senders of the deep linking messages MUST wrap the payload in a JSON Web Token (JWT) [RFC7519]. This allows the receiver of a deep linking message to trust the authenticity and origin of the message even though the messages travel through the user's browser. For details on the process by which message senders encode messages into JWTs, see the IMS Security Framework specification [SEC-10].

4.2 Message claims

Both deep linking message types consist of a set of claims that supplement the ones mandated by the IMS Security Framework [SEC-10] specification. Additionally, both message types include many of the claims defined in the core LTI resource link launch request message, defined in LTI 1.3 [LTI-13]. This document lists the claims here, but see the above referenced specifications for their full definitions.

4.3 Message type and schemas

Each deep linking message's https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/message_type claim value declares the appropriate message type. Both deep linking message types have associated JSON schemas that formally define all their claims, which claims are required, and which are optional.

Name Message type value Schema
Deep linking request LtiDeepLinkingRequest [LTI Deep Linking Request schema](#request-schema)
Deep linking response LtiDeepLinkingResponse [LTI Deep Linking Response schema](#response-schema)

4.4 Deep linking request message

The LTI Deep Linking request message is a signed JWT that the platform passes to the tool with the same message parameters in the deep linking request message as it would in the resource link launch request message with the exception of the resource link claim, along with some additional parameters.

An LtiDeepLinkingRequest JWT contains the following claims:

4.4.1 Deep linking settings

The required https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/deep_linking_settings claim composes properties that characterize the kind of deep linking request the platform user is making, as in the following example:

{
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/deep_linking_settings": {
    "accept_types": ["link", "file", "html", "ltiResourceLink", "image"],
    "accept_media_types": "image/:::asterisk:::,text/html",
    "accept_presentation_document_targets": ["iframe", "window", "embed"],
    "accept_multiple": true,
    "auto_create": true,
    "title": "This is the default title",
    "text": "This is the default text",
    "data": "Some random opaque data that MUST be sent back",
    "deep_link_return_url": "https://platform.example/deep_links"
  }
}
Figure 3 Example of the deep_linking_settings claim.

The deep_linking_settings claim has the following properties:

NameDescriptionDisposition
deep_link_return_url Fully qualified URL where the tool redirects the user back to the platform interface. This URL can be used once the tool is finished. required
accept_types An array of types accepted, e.g., ["link", "ltiResourceLink"]. required
accept_presentation_document_targets An array of document targets supported, e.g., ["iframe", "window", "embed"]. required
accept_media_types Media types [RFC7231] the platform accepts. This only applies to File types, e.g., "image/:::asterisk:::,text/html". optional
accept_multiple Boolean - Whether the platform allows multiple content items to be submitted in a single response. optional
accept_lineitem Boolean - whether the platform in the context of that deep linking request supports or ignores line items included in LTI Resource Link items. False indicates line items will be ignored. True indicates the platform will create a line item when creating the resource link. If the field is not present, no assumption that can be made about the support of line items. optional
auto_create Boolean - whether any content items returned by the tool would be automatically persisted without any option for the user to cancel the operation. The default is false. optional
title Default text to be used as the title or alt text for the content item returned by the tool. This value is normally short in length, for example, suitable for use as a heading. optional
text Default text to be used as the visible text for the content item returned by the tool. If no text is returned by the tool, the platform may use the value of the title parameter instead (if any). This value may be a long description of the content item. optional
data An opaque value which must be returned by the tool in its response if it was passed in on the request. optional

4.4.2 Message type

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the required https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/message_type claim must have the value LtiDeepLinkingRequest.

4.4.3 LTI version

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the required https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/version claim must have the value 1.3.0.

4.4.4 Deployment ID

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the required https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/deployment_id claim identifies the platform-tool integration governing the message.

4.4.5 User

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the sub claim identifies the user that initiated the deep linking request. Other user related claims may be included as defined in LTI 1.3 [LTI-13].

4.4.6 Launch Presentation

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/launch_presentation claim composes properties that describe aspects of how the message sender expects to host the presentation of the message receiver's user experience (for example, the height and width of the viewport the message sender gives over to the message receiver), as in the Deep linking request example.

4.4.7 Platform

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the optional http://purl.imsglobal.org/lti/claim/tool_platform claim composes properties associated with the platform initiating the launch, as in the Deep linking request example.

4.4.8 Context

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/context claim composes properties for the platform context from within which the deep linking request occurs (typically from within a course or course section).

4.4.9 Role

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/roles claim contains a (possibly empty) array of roles that the user has within the message's associated context.

4.4.10 Role-scope mentor

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/role_scope_mentor claim's value contains an array of the user ID values which the current, launching user can access as a mentor (for example, the launching user may be a parent or auditor of a list of other users).

4.4.11 Custom properties

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the optional http://imsglobal.org/custom claim acts like a key-value map of defined custom properties that a platform may associate with the particular placement of the resource link that initiated the launch. Map values must be strings. Note that "empty-string" is a valid value (""); however, null is not a valid value.

4.5 Deep linking response message

The LTI Deep Linking response message is a Tool-Originating Message as defined in the Tool-Originating messages section of the Security Framework specification [SEC-10].

The response message covers the last part of the overall deep linking workflow: a user has finished selecting or creating one or multiple resources in the external tool, and the user needs to be redirected back to the platform with information about the resources to be added; the User Agent redirection is done using a form POST with the form parameter JWT being the response message.

The message contains a JSON array of the items to be added. This array could be empty, if no item were selected or created.

An LtiDeepLinkingResponse JWT contains the following claims in addition to the ones required by the Security Framework specification [SEC-10]:

4.5.1 aud

As defined in the Security Framework specification [SEC-10], the required aud must contain the case-sensitive URL used by the Platform to identify itself as an Issuer, that is the iss value in the Deep Linking request message.

4.5.2 Message type

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the required https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/message_type claim must have the value LtiDeepLinkingResponse.

4.5.3 LTI version

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the required https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/version claim must have the value 1.3.0.

4.5.4 Deployment ID

As defined in the LTI Core specification [LTI-13], the required https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/deployment_id claim identifies the platform-tool integration governing the message.

4.5.5 Data

The https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/data value must match the value of the data property of the https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/deep_linking_settings claim from the LtiDeepLinkinkingRequest message. This claim is required if present in LtiDeepLinkingRequest message.

4.5.6 Content items

A possibly empty JSON array of selected content items all appear composed within the https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/content_items claim. An empty array or the absence of this claim indicates there should be no item added as a result of this interaction. This claim is optional.

4.5.7 Message

The optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/msg value is a plain text string of a message the platform may show to the end user upon return to the platform.

4.5.8 Log

The optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/log claim value is a plain text string of a message the platform may log when processing this message.

4.5.9 Error message

The optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/errormsg claim value is a plain text string of a message the platform may show to the end user upon return to the platform. It indicates some error as occurred during the interaction.

4.5.10 ErrorLog

The optional https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/errorlog claim value is a plain text string of a message the platform may log when processing this message. It indicates some error as occurred during the interaction.

4.6 Message types

This section describes how to migrate from Deep Linking 1.0 specification [LTI-DL-10].

The key difference is that under Deep Linking 2.0 messages are signed JSON payloads (JSON Web Token) [RFC7519]. In addition to the message format itself, some changes have been made to clarify the type system and simplify the JSON structure to be more concise and with less nesting.

The following tables illustrate how to map LTI Deep Linking 1.0 terminology with the one from this version of the specification:

Deep Linking 1.0 Deep Linking 2.0
ContentItemSelectionRequest LtiDeepLinkingRequest
ContentItemSelection LtiDeepLinkingResponse

4.6.1 Content Item Types

Deep Linking 1.0 media-type Deep Linking 2.0 type
application/vnd.ims.lti.v1.ltiResourceLink ltiResourceLink
image/:::asterisk::: unless copyAdvice: true image
text/html (html fragment to embed) html if the item is not directly addressable with a URL. If directly accessible, link with embed is preferred.
text/html (link to an external site) link
any other media type, copyAdvice: false link
any other media type, copyAdvice: true file

4.6.2 Presentation target document

This specification also simplifies the possible values for the presentation options to the technical choices: embedded code, iframe or new window.

Deep Linking 1.0 Deep Linking 2.0
embed embed
frame window, target: self
iframe iframe
window window
popup window or iframe, depending on how the platform intends to render a popup
overlay window, embed or iframe, depending on how the platform intends to render an overlay
none empty array

A. Deep linking request example

The LTI Deep Linking launch request message JSON object follows the form in this example.

{
  "iss": "https://platform.example.org",
  "sub": "a6d5c443-1f51-4783-ba1a-7686ffe3b54a",
  "aud": ["962fa4d8-bcbf-49a0-94b2-2de05ad274af"],
  "exp": 1510185728,
  "iat": 1510185228,
  "azp": "962fa4d8-bcbf-49a0-94b2-2de05ad274af",
  "nonce": "fc5fdc6d-5dd6-47f4-b2c9-5d1216e9b771",
  "name": "Ms Jane Marie Doe",
  "given_name": "Jane",
  "family_name": "Doe",
  "middle_name": "Marie",
  "picture": "https://example.org/jane.jpg",
  "email": "jane@example.org",
  "locale": "en-US",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/deployment_id":
    "07940580-b309-415e-a37c-914d387c1150",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/message_type": "LtiDeepLinkingRequest",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/version": "1.3.0",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/roles": [
    "http://purl.imsglobal.org/vocab/lis/v2/membership#Instructor",
    "http://purl.imsglobal.org/vocab/lis/v2/institution/person#Faculty"
  ],
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/context": {
    "id": "c1d887f0-a1a3-4bca-ae25-c375edcc131a",
    "label": "ECON 101",
    "title": "Economics as a Social Science",
    "type": ["CourseOffering"]
  },
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/tool_platform": {
    "contact_email": "support@example.org",
    "description": "An Example Tool Platform",
    "name": "Example Tool Platform",
    "url": "https://example.org",
    "product_family_code": "example.org",
    "version": "1.0"
  },
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/launch_presentation": {
    "document_target": "iframe",
    "height": 320,
    "width": 240
  },
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/custom": {
    "myCustom": "123"
  },
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/deep_linking_settings": {
    "deep_link_return_url": "https://platform.example/deep_links",
    "accept_types": ["link", "file", "html", "ltiResourceLink", "image"],
    "accept_media_types": "image/:::asterisk:::,text/html",
    "accept_presentation_document_targets": ["iframe", "window", "embed"],
    "accept_multiple": true,
    "auto_create": true,
    "title": "This is the default title",
    "text": "This is the default text",
    "data": "csrftoken:c7fbba78-7b75-46e3-9201-11e6d5f36f53"
  }
}
Figure 4 Example of the LTI Deep Linking launch request message JSON object

B. Deep linking response example

The LTI Deep Linking launch response message JSON object follows the form in this example.

{
  "iss": "962fa4d8-bcbf-49a0-94b2-2de05ad274af",
  "aud": "https://platform.example.org",
  "exp": 1510185728,
  "iat": 1510185228,
  "nonce": "fc5fdc6d-5dd6-47f4-b2c9-5d1216e9b771",
  "azp": "962fa4d8-bcbf-49a0-94b2-2de05ad274af",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/deployment_id":
    "07940580-b309-415e-a37c-914d387c1150",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/message_type":
    "LtiDeepLinkingResponse",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/claim/version": "1.3.0",
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/content_items": [
    {
      "type": "link",
      "title": "My Home Page",
      "url": "https://something.example.com/page.html",
      "icon": {
        "url": "https://lti.example.com/image.jpg",
        "width": 100,
        "height": 100
      },
      "thumbnail": {
        "url": "https://lti.example.com/thumb.jpg",
        "width": 90,
        "height": 90
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "html",
      "html": "<h1>A Custom Title</h1>"
    },
    {
      "type": "link",
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=corV3-WsIro",
      "embed": {
        "html":
          "<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/corV3-WsIro\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen></iframe>"
      },
      "window": {
        "targetName": "youtube-corV3-WsIro",
        "windowFeatures": "height=560,width=315,menubar=no"
      },
      "iframe": {
        "width": 560,
        "height": 315,
        "src": "https://www.youtube.com/embed/corV3-WsIro"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "image",
      "url": "https://www.example.com/image.png",
      "https://www.example.com/resourceMetadata": {
        "license": "CCBY4.0"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "ltiResourceLink",
      "title": "A title",
      "text": "This is a link to an activity that will be graded",
      "url": "https://lti.example.com/launchMe",
      "icon": {
        "url": "https://lti.example.com/image.jpg",
        "width": 100,
        "height": 100
      },
      "thumbnail": {
        "url": "https://lti.example.com/thumb.jpg",
        "width": 90,
        "height": 90
      },
      "lineItem": {
        "scoreMaximum": 87,
        "label": "Chapter 12 quiz",
        "resourceId": "xyzpdq1234",
        "tag": "originality",
        "gradesReleased": true
      },
      "available": {
        "startDateTime": "2018-02-06T20:05:02Z",
        "endDateTime": "2018-03-07T20:05:02Z"
      },
      "submission": {
        "endDateTime": "2018-03-06T20:05:02Z"
      },
      "custom": {
        "quiz_id": "az-123",
        "duedate": "$ResourceLink.submission.endDateTime"
      },
      "window": {
        "targetName": "examplePublisherContent"
      },
      "iframe": {
        "height": 890
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "file",
      "title": "A file like a PDF that is my assignment submissions",
      "url": "https://my.example.com/assignment1.pdf",
      "mediaType": "application/pdf",
      "expiresAt": "2018-03-06T20:05:02Z"
    },
    {
      "type": "https://www.example.com/custom_type",
      "data": "somedata"
    }
  ],
  "https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-dl/claim/data":
    "csrftoken:c7fbba78-7b75-46e3-9201-11e6d5f36f53"
}
Figure 5 Example of the LTI Deep Linking launch request message JSON object

C. Revision history

This section is non-normative.

LTI Deep Linking 2.0 follows from, and replaces, the IMS LTI Content-Item Message specification released in 2016 (later rebranded as IMS LTI Deep Linking 1.0). LTI Deep Linking 2.0 improves upon the previous LTI Deep Linking 1.0 [LTI-DL-10] specification by moving away from the use of OAuth 1.0a-style signing for authentication and towards the newer security model described in the IMS Security Framework specification, using signed JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and OAuth 2.0 workflows for authentication. It also clarifies the types, and outlines the extension mechanisms available to implementers.

C.1 Version History

Spec Version No. Document Version No. Release Date Comments
v1.0 Final 24 May 2016 First release of the Deep Linking specification (formerly known as Content-Item Message).
v2.0 Final 16 April 2019 Updates to synchronize with the IMS Security Framework and LTI v1.3 specifications.
v2.0 Final 30 July 2019 Changes to correct minor errors and provide clearer details (see errata for specific changes).
v2.0 Final 1 29 October 2019 Changes to correct the case (from "LTIDeepLinkingResponse" to "LtiDeepLinkingResponse") and to make some clarifications in the Deep Linking examples.
v2.0 Final 2 24 January 2023
  • Clarify allowable values for custom properties.
  • Add accept_lineitem to Deep Linking settings. (docs)
  • Clarify that custom property values must be strings.
  • Add gradesReleased flag on lineItem (docs)
  • sub is no longer required for Deep Linking Launch for the User(docs)
  • Clarify use of ResourceLink.available.endDateTime (docs)
  • Clarify use of target_link_uri in the LtiResourceLinkRequest payload. (docs)
  • Minor grammar corrections.

D. References

D.1 Normative references

[ISO8601]
Representation of dates and times. ISO 8601:2004.. International Organization for Standardization (ISO). 2004. ISO 8601:2004. URL: http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=40874
[LIS-20]
IMS Global Learning Information Services v2.0. L. Feng; W. Lee; C. Smythe. IMS Global Learning Consortium. June 2011. URL: https://www.imsglobal.org/lis/
[LTI-13]
IMS Global Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Core Specification v1.3. C. Vervoort; N. Mills. IMS Global Learning Consortium. April 2019. IMS Final Release. URL: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/v1p3/
[LTI-AGS-20]
IMS Global Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Assignment and Grade Services. C. Vervoort; E. Preston; M. McKell; J. Rissler. IMS Global Learning Consortium. April 2019. IMS Final Release. URL: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti-ags/v2p0/
[LTI-CERT-13]
IMS Global Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Advantage Conformance Certification Guide. D. Haskins; M. McKell. IMS Global Learning Consortium. April 2019. IMS Final Release. URL: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/v1p3/cert/
[LTI-DL-10]
IMS Global Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Deep Linking 1.0. S. Vickers. IMS Global Learning Consortium. May 2016. URL: https://www.imsglobal.org/specs/lticiv1p0/specification
[LTI-IMPL-13]
IMS Global Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Advantage Implementation Guide. C. Vervoort; J. Rissler; M. McKell. IMS Global Learning Consortium. April 2019. IMS Final Release. URL: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/lti/v1p3/impl/
[RFC2119]
Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels. S. Bradner. IETF. March 1997. Best Current Practice. URL: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119
[RFC2396]
Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax. T. Berners-Lee; R. Fielding; L. Masinter. IETF. August 1998. Draft Standard. URL: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2396
[RFC2818]
HTTP Over TLS. E. Rescorla. IETF. May 2000. Informational. URL: https://httpwg.org/specs/rfc2818.html
[RFC4122]
A Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID) URN Namespace. P. Leach; M. Mealling; R. Salz. IETF. July 2005. Proposed Standard. URL: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4122
[RFC7159]
The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format. T. Bray, Ed.. IETF. March 2014. Proposed Standard. URL: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7159
[RFC7231]
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content. R. Fielding, Ed.; J. Reschke, Ed.. IETF. June 2014. Proposed Standard. URL: https://httpwg.org/specs/rfc7231.html
[RFC7519]
JSON Web Token (JWT). M. Jones; J. Bradley; N. Sakimura. IETF. May 2015. Proposed Standard. URL: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7519
[SEC-10]
IMS Global Security Framework v1.0. C. Smythe; C. Vervoort; M. McKell; N. Mills. IMS Global Learning Consortium. April 2019. IMS Final Release. URL: https://www.imsglobal.org/spec/security/v1p0/

E. List of Contributors

The following individuals contributed to the development of this document:

Name Organization Role
Paul GrayLearning Objects
Viktor HaagD2L
Dereck HaskinsIMS Global
Martin LenordTurnitin
Karl LloydInstructure
Mark McKellIMS GlobalEditor
Nathan MillsInstructure
Bracken MosbackerLumen Learning
Padraig O'hiceadhaHMH
Marc PhillipsInstructure
Eric PrestonBlackboardEditor
James RisslerIMS GlobalEditor
Charles SeveranceUniversity of Michigan
Lior ShorshiMcGraw-Hill Education
James TseGoogle
Colin SmytheIMS Global
Claude VervoortCengageEditor

IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc. ("IMS Global") is publishing the information contained in this document ("Specification") for purposes of scientific, experimental, and scholarly collaboration only.

IMS Global makes no warranty or representation regarding the accuracy or completeness of the Specification.

This material is provided on an "As Is" and "As Available" basis.

The Specification is at all times subject to change and revision without notice.

It is your sole responsibility to evaluate the usefulness, accuracy, and completeness of the Specification as it relates to you.

IMS Global would appreciate receiving your comments and suggestions.

Please contact IMS Global through our website at http://www.imsglobal.org.

Please refer to Document Name: Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)® Deep Linking Specification 2.0

Date: 16 April 2019

Specification Images: