Canvas LMS
The learning management system open-sourced by Instructure, widely used by universities.
Does it fit your team?
- Consider it if
- You want the system many universities use, and you have engineers who can install and maintain Ruby, PostgreSQL, Redis and Apache.
- Look elsewhere if
- You are a small team with nobody dedicated to operations: the production guide has nineteen sections and recommends at least 8 GB of RAM on one server. Also think twice if a repository with no pushes since late April 2026 worries you.
- Can you use it commercially?
- With conditions
AGPL-3.0. Running it unmodified adds no obligations. If you change the code and let learners use it over a network, you must offer those users your modified source.
- Is it still maintained?
- Slowing down
Last push on 2026-04-30. The repository is not archived.
- How hard is it to deploy?
- Hard
The official production guide has nineteen sections. You install Ruby 3.4.1 or later, Node 20, PostgreSQL 14 or later and Redis 6 or later, then configure Apache and Passenger. The guide is written for Ubuntu 22.04.
- What does it cost?
- Moderate
The software is free. The guide recommends at least 8 GB of RAM when everything runs on one server.
- What to watch out for
- A separate editor service is required
The rich content editor is a separate service you deploy yourself, and the guide says the production branch requires it. The GitHub repository has had no pushes since late April 2026; the reason has not been checked here.
Last checked: .
If your priority is different
Your industry is not here?
Tell me the industry and what you need solved. I will look at it next.