generated: '2026-09-05'
method: searched
source:
- https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Releases/What-is-the-Canvas-beta-environment/ta-p/255260
- https://www.instructure.com/canvas/free-for-teacher
- https://developerdocs.instructure.com/services/canvas/oauth2/file.oauth
summary: 'Canvas has no test-mode key prefix and no magic test values. Its test surface is whole separate INSTANCES:
  every institution gets a beta and a test host derived from its production host, and anyone can self-provision
  a Free-for-Teacher account. There are no test credit cards or fixtures because Canvas is not a payments API.'
test_live_separation:
  mechanism: separate hosts, not separate keys
  note: There is no key prefix or mode flag. A token issued on one host is not valid on another — a token used against
    the wrong Canvas host returns 401 with WWW-Authenticate.
environments:
- name: beta
  host_pattern: https://<institution>.beta.instructure.com
  api: https://<institution>.beta.instructure.com/api/v1
  purpose: Preview the next release. New features land on the third Monday of each month.
  data: Refreshed from production every Saturday — anything written here is overwritten weekly.
  limits:
  - Notifications are not sent (no course invitations, no report download emails).
  - Students can sign in but cannot reach course content beyond the Dashboard.
  docs: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Releases/What-is-the-Canvas-beta-environment/ta-p/255260
- name: test
  host_pattern: https://<institution>.test.instructure.com
  api: https://<institution>.test.instructure.com/api/v1
  purpose: A stable copy of production for integration testing and training.
  data: Refreshed from a production backup on Instructure's schedule.
  docs: https://community.instructure.com/en/kb/articles/661605-how-do-i-access-the-canvas-test-environment-as-an-admin
- name: free-for-teacher
  host: https://canvas.instructure.com
  api: https://canvas.instructure.com/api/v1
  purpose: A free, self-serve Canvas account with the full REST and GraphQL surface — the closest thing to a public
    sandbox.
  signup: https://canvas.instructure.com/register
  status_at_probe: HTTP 503 — "Free-for-Teacher Platform Restoration" on 2026-09-05
  docs: https://www.instructure.com/canvas/free-for-teacher
- name: local
  host: self-hosted
  purpose: Canvas LMS is AGPL-3.0 open source and can be run locally in Docker.
  docs: https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms
credentials:
  fastest_path: Generate a personal access token from /profile → Approved Integrations → New Access Token.
  warning: Instructure's API Policy forbids asking any other user to hand you a manually generated token — multi-user
    applications MUST use OAuth. https://www.instructure.com/policies/canvas-api-policy
  oauth_keys: Developer keys are issued by the institution admin; on a self-hosted install, from the Site Admin
    account.
test_values: null
test_values_note: None published. Canvas ships no magic identifiers, test cards or trigger fixtures.