Frequently Asked Questions about the Canvas Live Events feature in ReadyGO
What are Live Events?
Live Events is a feature in Canvas that provides automatic notification to products that use this capability whenever important changes happen in courses. These changes might include updates to pages, creation of assignments, or publishing of content.
Instead of ReadyGO manually or periodically checking for updates, Live Events will push notifications to ReadyGO as changes occur, helping keep information automatically aligned and current.
Cidi Labs now supports Live Events in ReadyGO, providing customers with the option to keep Canvas data current without relying on periodic background scanning or manual scanning.
How fast are the Live Events updates?
Live Events are designed to update information in near real-time, but not instantly.
Most updates appear within minutes of the change, though timing can vary depending on system load and connectivity. Because of this, Live Events work best for monitoring and syncing data. Actions that require immediate or guaranteed timing should have a manual scan initiated.
Why should my institution enable Live Events?
Enabling Live Events improves efficiency and helps ensure your data and systems reflect what’s happening in Canvas without significant delays or frequent manual scans.
By using Live Events, you can:
- Keep ReadyGO aligned with Canvas in near real-time
- Track and monitor course content changes as they happen
- Improve reporting and gain clearer insights into course activity
- Reduce manual follow-up
- Increase visibility into publishing and course updates
- Support smoother integrations and more reliable workflows
Who can enable Live Events?
Live Events are enabled and managed by Canvas administrators with access to Canvas Data Services. Once activated, they can be configured to send updates to selected systems.
How do I enable Live Events?
In Canvas, you will need to go to Canvas Data Services in your admin settings and create a new Live Events subscription.
In ReadyGO, an admin will need to go to the Institutional Settings and enable Live Events.
After setup, Live Events will begin sending updates automatically. For help, reach out to Cidi Labs Support.
What Canvas activity currently triggers Live Events?
The following activities in Canvas currently trigger an automatic Live Events update in ReadyGO:
Content Changes
- Pages are created, updated, or deleted
- Assignments are created, updated, or deleted
- Discussion topics are created, updated, or deleted (replies and submissions excluded)
- Syllabus is updated
- Files are added or updated
Publishing Changes
- Content is published or unpublished
- Course is published or unpublished
Will additional triggers be added in the future?
We know there are many course activities, like module updates, content copies, and user enrollments, that are valuable for tracking and reporting. Cidi Labs plans to expand Live Events support in the future to include more of these meaningful actions.
New triggers will be introduced over time, so keep an eye on our release notes and newsletters for the latest updates.
Are Live Events guaranteed to deliver every event?
No. Live Events operate on a “best effort” basis. While they are reliable for most use cases, they are not guaranteed to capture 100% of changes, especially if systems are temporarily unavailable.
Learn more from Instructure’s API documentation.
What should customers know before using Live Events?
- Live Events are ideal for monitoring and syncing, not for critical system automation.
- Some lag or event gaps may occur.
They help reduce workload by automating awareness of changes.