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Is UDOIT downloading a virus to my computer with a JSON file?

Users whose courses were scanned before May 2026 may notice a udoit.json file in their course Files area. Take a deep breath, the phishing email you clicked on to get free Jonas Brothers tickets did not download this file. That secret is still between you and Outlook.

One of UDOIT's features is the ability to detect whether a newly scanned course is a copy of a previously scanned course, and to copy existing UDOIT data into the new course. This allows courses to maintain their accessibility progress data when copied from semester to semester. 🎉

While the udoit.json file was a key part of this process, we have now switched to a better system that does not need the file in order to detect course copy information.

What was the file for? 

Until May 2026, the method used to detect this course copy data relied on a small file called udoit.json, which was added to every course the first time it was scanned. This file contains only basic identification information, the Canvas course ID. It does not include course content, does not change your materials, and does not affect how your course functions in any way.

Why is the file not needed anymore?

In May 2026, we upgraded UDOIT's course copy detection to a more efficient system that uses a Canvas API to detect any "source" courses. This means:

  • The udoit.json file will not be added to courses that are scanned for this first time after May 7th, 2026, and
  • You are free to delete the udoit.json file from any courses where it already exists.

For course copy detection to work properly, your institution needs to have reauthorized the UDOIT Task Runner after May 7th, 2026. If the Task Runner has not yet been reauthorized, UDOIT cannot detect the source course(s) on the first sync, so historical UDOIT remediation data from previous courses will not be retained.

For more information, see:

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