How do I add the PlagiarismSearch app in Canvas?
PlagiarismSearch is an LTI 1.3 Document Processing App (Asset Processor). Once it is connected, every file a student submits to an enabled assignment is checked for plagiarism and AI-generated text, and the reports appear in SpeedGrader next to the submission.
Setup has two parts:
- A Canvas admin installs the app once for the whole account (Part 1).
- A teacher enables it on each assignment that should be checked (Part 2).
Notes:
- Part 1 requires an account administrator role in Canvas.
- You need your PlagiarismSearch API credentials — an API login and an API password from plagiarismsearch.com/account/api. All checks made from this Canvas account are billed to that PlagiarismSearch account.
- The app is installed through Dynamic Registration, so no manual JSON/XML configuration, client IDs, or shared secrets are needed.
Part 1: Install the app in your Canvas account
1. Open the Apps page
Sign in to Canvas with your admin account. In Global Navigation, click Admin, select your account, then click the Apps link. Open the Manage tab and click the Install a New App button.
2. Start Dynamic Registration
In the Install App window:
- Select LTI Version — choose 1.3.
- Install Method — choose Dynamic Registration.
- Dynamic Registration URL — enter
https://lti.plagiarismsearch.com/lti/register
Click the Next button.
3. Enter your PlagiarismSearch API credentials
Canvas contacts PlagiarismSearch and shows the PlagiarismSearch settings screen inside the wizard. Enter the API login and API password of your PlagiarismSearch account and click the Save button, then click Next.
Note: you can also click Skip for now and add the credentials later from Admin → PlagiarismSearch Settings. Until the credentials are saved, teachers cannot attach PlagiarismSearch to an assignment.
4. Confirm the remaining wizard screens
Click Next through the Permissions, Data Sharing, Placements, Naming, and Icon screens. PlagiarismSearch supplies sensible defaults for all of them, so in most cases you can accept them as they are.
On the final Review screen, check the summary and click the Install App button.
5. Make the app available
A newly installed app is listed as Not Available, which means teachers cannot select it yet.
On the app’s page, open the Availability and Exceptions tab and click the pencil icon (Modify availability).
In the Edit Exception window, change Not Available to Available and click the Save button.
Note: to enable PlagiarismSearch only for specific sub-accounts or courses instead of the whole account, use the Add Exception button on the same tab.
Part 2: Enable checking for an assignment
Note: document processing only applies to assignments that accept File Uploads as an online submission type.
1. Open the assignment settings
In your course, create or edit an assignment and scroll to the bottom of the page. Under Document Processing App(s), click the Add Document Processing App button.
2. Select PlagiarismSearch
In the Add A Document Processing App window, click PlagiarismSearch.
3. Save the assignment
PlagiarismSearch is added to the Document Processing App(s) list. Click the Save button to apply the change to the assignment.
Note: the ⋮ menu on the app card opens the PlagiarismSearch settings for this assignment (unless your administrator has locked them) and lets you remove the app again.
4. View the reports in SpeedGrader
From now on, every file submitted to this assignment is checked automatically — students do not need to do anything. Open SpeedGrader and look at the submission sidebar: once a file has been processed, the plagiarism and AI-writing scores appear there, with a link to the full report.
Official Canvas documentation
Canvas’s own interface changes from release to release. If a screen looks different from the screenshots above, or you need details this guide does not cover, see the Instructure guides:
- How do I add an app using Dynamic Registration in Canvas Apps? — the install method used in Part 1.
- How do I manage app availability and exceptions in Canvas Apps? — availability, sub-account and course exceptions (Part 1, step 5).
- How do I use Canvas Apps? — overview of the Apps page (Discover, Manage, Monitor).