01 / Today
Single site
One app per platform. Every Open edX site that wants a mobile app builds, signs and publishes its own.
Open edX mobile · iOS and Android
One app.
Every campus
you run.
The Open edX mobile app can now serve several Open edX platforms from one iOS and one Android build. Learners pick their school, stay signed in to more than one, and switch without signing in again. Each school keeps its own branding, data and session.
This demo lists every LMS added here, so you can see the picker with real platforms in it.
One build. Several learning sites.
Pick a site. Switch. Stay signed in.
01 / iOS
02 / Android
How it works
Where multi-tenant fits.
02 / This project
Multi-tenant
One provider, one app,
several platforms.
A university with faculties on separate Open edX sites, or a company running academies for different clients, ships one app. The provider decides the list: compiled into the build, or fetched from a URL they host.
03 / Next
Universal
One app for everyone, the way Moodle and Canvas work. Learners find their school in a public directory. Multi-tenant is the first step: the app already holds many sites at once.
What stays separate
- Sign-in and tokens
- Branding (color, logo, header)
- Downloaded videos and cached courses
- Push registration
Switching keeps you signed in to the site you left.
About this demo
Why you'll see
other people's platforms.
A real multi-tenant app lists only its provider's platforms. This demo does the opposite on purpose: every LMS added here goes into one shared list, and both demo apps read it. It is the quickest way to try the picker, switching and per-site branding with a platform you know.
- Your LMS appears for everyone who installs the demo.
- You can remove it at any time from your workspace.
- The apps pick up changes the next time they are opened.
A platform's own branding
Three ways in
Try it.
A / Start with your platform
Add your LMS
- Create an account.
- Run the wizard: your platform's address and a mobile OAuth client. The wizard checks both live.
- Open the demo app; your platform is in the list.
B / On your phone
Install the demo app
Install links appear here once each build is approved.
iOS: open the TestFlight link on your iPhone; you need Apple's TestFlight app.
Android: your phone asks to allow installs from the browser; the APK is signed by Raccoon Gang and is not on Google Play.
C / Make it yours
Build it with your own list
Fork the apps and list your platforms in INSTANCES in config.yaml, or host a JSON file and set INSTANCES_CATALOG_URL.
Live catalog
In the demo right now.
The app shows the site picker once the list has at least two platforms; with one, it opens straight to that platform's sign-in.
For developers
The catalog format.
Both apps read the same schema from two places: INSTANCES in the build's config.yaml (keys in UPPER_SNAKE_CASE) and a JSON file at INSTANCES_CATALOG_URL (keys in snake_case).
JSON
{
"instances": [
{
"key": "north",
"name": "North Campus",
"api_host_url": "https://lms.north.example.edu",
"oauth_client_id": "mobile-north",
"color": "#1F5FBF",
"theme": {
"light": { "accent_color": "#1F5FBF" },
"dark": { "accent_color": "#7FA8FF" },
"logo_url": "https://cdn.example.edu/north-logo.png"
}
},
{
"key": "south",
"name": "South Campus",
"api_host_url": "https://lms.south.example.edu",
"oauth_client_id": "mobile-south"
}
]
}config.yaml
API_HOST_URL: 'https://lms.north.example.edu'
OAUTH_CLIENT_ID: 'mobile-north'
INSTANCES_CATALOG_URL: 'https://example.edu/instances.json'
INSTANCES:
- KEY: 'north'
NAME: 'North Campus'
API_HOST_URL: 'https://lms.north.example.edu'
OAUTH_CLIENT_ID: 'mobile-north'| Key | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
key | No, but set it | Identifies the platform on the device; the learner's selection and session are stored under it. Never change it for a live platform, and never give a removed platform's key to another one. Falls back to a slug of the name. |
name | Yes | Shown in the site list. |
api_host_url | Yes | The platform's https address. |
oauth_client_id | Yes | The public OAuth client the app signs in with. |
instance_name | No | Localized display names, e.g. {"en": "...", "uk": "..."}. |
color | No | Accent color when the theme sets none. |
theme.light / theme.dark | No | Palette overrides; field names such as accent_color, text_primary, background. |
theme.logo_url, | No | Remote images (or a bundled asset name). |
sso_url, | No | SSO sign-in for that platform. |
PLATFORM_NAME | No | Sent in upper case; defaults to the display name. |
A few rules for the list
- An entry without
name,api_host_urloroauth_client_idis skipped; the rest still load. - The apps fetch the URL on every launch. A failed or empty answer keeps the last good list.
- One platform: the app behaves like a single-site app. Two or more: the Learning Sites screen.
- The file is public. Put nothing in it you wouldn't show anyone.
- Need a hosted file for your own build? Point it at this demo's URL to start, then host your own.
Open source
Follow the source.
- iOS
The multi-instance work is merged into openedx/openedx-app-ios (develop).
- Android
The port is in review as openedx/openedx-app-android #511–#521.
- This registry
openedx-lms-manager (Raccoon Gang).
Good to know
A few answers.
Do the platforms see each other's data?
No. Each platform has its own sign-in, tokens, cached courses and downloads on the device, and a token is only ever sent to the platform that issued it.
How do I remove my LMS?
Sign in, open your workspace and remove it. The apps stop listing it the next time they open.
My LMS doesn't show up.
It needs an https address and a public OAuth client with the password grant. Close the app completely and open it again.
How do learners sign in?
With their normal account on that platform, through the standard Open edX mobile sign-in.
Who runs this?
Raccoon Gang, as a public demo. It is not an official Open edX service.