User Authentication
Let learners sign in once with the OpenID LMS integration
Give learners one login for your website and your school. The OpenID integration connects LearnWorlds to the identity provider you already use.
TL;DR
The OpenID integration lets learners sign in to your school with the account they already use, so you stop managing a second set of passwords. It’s an OpenID LMS integration you set up in your LearnWorlds settings.
Drop separate passwords. Learners sign in once with their identity provider account
Skip manual account setup. Create User adds new learners at their first login
Stop re-keying profile data. Mapped attributes fill custom fields at every login
Best for: IT and L&D teams who want learners to use their existing company login for training.
Available on Learning Center and above.
What you can do with OpenID and LearnWorlds
Connect your OpenID provider
Set up OpenID Connect with practically any identity provider that lets you create an authentication application. LearnWorlds has step-by-step guides for eight providers including Google, Okta, and Microsoft Entra.
Create accounts at first login
Turn on Create User and LearnWorlds adds a new user the first time someone signs in with an email your school doesn’t have yet.
Map provider attributes to fields
Fill custom user fields like job title or department from your identity provider at every login. The provider is the source of truth, so its values overwrite what LearnWorlds holds.
Run several login methods together
Use OpenID Connect next to SAML, custom SSO, or the WordPress SSO plugin. You can run up to three SSO, SAML, or OpenID setups before you contact support for more.
How LearnWorlds and OpenID integrate
See what happens at each sign-in once OpenID Connect is active. Automatic rows need no setup beyond the connection, and Conditional rows depend on a setting you turn on.
| LearnWorlds | OpenID | Type of trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Learner clicks Sign in while logged out of their identity provider | Learner is redirected to the identity provider to authenticate, then back to your school | Automatic |
| Learner clicks Sign in while already logged in to their identity provider | Learner is logged in to LearnWorlds with no extra prompt | Automatic |
| First login with an email your school doesn’t have | Create User adds a new user to your school | Conditional |
| Any SSO login with attribute mapping set | Mapped provider attributes overwrite the matching LearnWorlds custom user fields | Conditional |
| Login after the email changes in the identity provider | Identify by ID updates the LearnWorlds username and email | Conditional |
What teams ask before connecting
Can LearnWorlds connect to our existing identity provider using OpenID Connect?
Yes, in most cases. You can set up OpenID Connect with practically any identity provider that lets you create an authentication application. LearnWorlds has guides for eight providers including Okta, Auth0, and Microsoft Entra. For any other provider, follow its documentation and add the client ID and secret in LearnWorlds.
Does setting up OpenID Connect require developer resources?
It’s a configuration task in two admin screens. You create an authentication application in your identity provider and paste its client ID, client secret, and configuration details into LearnWorlds. The school owner account makes the changes, and custom attributes may need extra setup in your identity provider.
What happens if a user already exists in LearnWorlds when SSO is first turned on?
Their account carries over. SSO identifies users by email address, so a learner who signs in with the same email lands in their existing account. Create User only adds a new account when no user with that email exists. Changing the authentication method keeps user data and roles intact.
How to set up the LearnWorlds and OpenID integration
Have admin access to your identity provider and the LearnWorlds school owner account ready. At the end, learners sign in to your school through your provider.
1. Create your provider app
Create an authentication application in your identity provider and copy its client ID and client secret. Requires: admin access to your identity provider.
2. Open OpenID Connect settings
Go to Website > Website settings > Authentication and select OpenID Connect. Requires: the LearnWorlds school owner account, which is the only one that can sign in if the setup is wrong.
3. Add and activate a connection
Add a new OpenID Connect, activate it, and give it a name your team will recognize.
4. Enter your provider details
Add the client ID and client secret, then whitelist the redirect URL in your provider’s OAuth app. Use a discovery document link or manual setup with the openid, profile, and email scopes.
5. Choose your user settings
Turn on Create User to add new users at first login and Identify by ID to update usernames and emails from your provider. Click Create to save.
6. Update your payment flow
If you turn off LearnWorlds login, update Site Navigation for logged-out users and hide the Sign in/up form in payment sections. For the full setup guide, see the OpenID help article.
What the OpenID integration handles automatically
Redirect learners to sign in
LearnWorlds automatically sends learners to your identity provider when they click Sign in while logged out.
Log in returning users
LearnWorlds automatically logs learners in when they’re already signed in to their identity provider account.
Track affiliate registrations
LearnWorlds automatically tracks affiliate links when learners register through OpenID Connect.
| What LearnWorlds handles automatically | What your team configures |
|---|---|
| Redirects sign-in requests to your identity provider | Creating the authentication application in your identity provider |
| Matches each user by email address at login | Choosing the Create User and Identify by ID settings |
| Tracks affiliate links on OpenID registrations | Mapping provider attributes to custom user fields |
| Keeps user data and roles when the login method changes | Updating payment flow and sign-in form settings |
Who uses the OpenID integration and how
Corporate training teams on Microsoft Entra
Employees click Sign in on the academy, authenticate with their work account, and land in their courses. Nobody has to issue or reset a separate LearnWorlds password.
Software companies training customers on Auth0
Customers sign in with the Auth0 account they use for your website. Create User gives first-time learners a LearnWorlds account at their first login.
Membership teams keeping profiles in sync
Members sign in through your identity provider, and attribute mapping copies fields like job title into LearnWorlds. Profiles stay current without manual edits.
What our customers are saying
“If in a week our team could onboard five companies, now they can onboard ten companies in one training session, in one day.”
Lara Oliveira, Community Learning Experience Specialist, Blip
“I love their customer support, which is top tier. I always receive quick replies, and they always solve my issues. When I first joined LearnWorlds, the platform was very simple to understand and get by. We’ve been going strong and love it!”
“The user interface is excellent, both on the main website and inside the virtual classroom. The integrations are incredibly comprehensive—so much so that after more than two years on the platform, I still haven’t explored them all.”
“I like that LearnWorlds provides me with a fully functional website where I can offer my students self-study resources and a community chat. The team is responsive and professional, and they really care about what they are doing.”
“I really appreciate the customer service at LearnWorlds; it’s been incredible and every time I’ve reached out, they’ve been expedient and gone above and beyond, even when they didn’t have something yet but were working on it.”
“The platform has been easy to set up and navigate. Plus, the onboarding calls have been helpful and tech support is extremely responsive! I am so pleased So far, the tech support has been worth every penny I’ve paid!”
“The platform integrates our website, funnels, marketing, and learning system all in one place, which is super convenient. I also appreciate their regular updates and the support team, which is extremely responsive.”
“I’ve been very impressed with LearnWorlds’ level of service so far. They’ve been very helpful with technical issues I don’t have the skills to deal with. It’s easy to use, and the initial setup was pretty easy.”
“We love how it has improved communications with our students. Daily tracking of student activity is vital to our programs and the reporting options help us see where all students are in the push of a button.”
“The wide range of features, responsive support, and regular platform updates. The value is good for the price, especially considering the range of features, regular updates, and responsive customer support.”
“The platform is really configurable, giving us a huge amount of flexibility about how to lay out our course. It’s allowed us to deploy our course in a drip feed format, which is fantastic for our learners.”
“I love how LearnWorlds makes it easy to write and implement my training materials. The platform’s support team is fantastic, providing clear answers quickly, which has been really useful.”
“What I like most about LearnWorlds is how easy and intuitive it is to use. I also really like the possibility to customize the school and make it fit your own style and brand.”
“Many features and almost everything can be customized, which makes it very easy to configure it the way you like.”
“The site is very user friendly and easy accessible. UI/UX is wonderful. The onboarding was also very easy”
“There are a lot of unique and user friendly features. The system is very customizeable.”
FAQs
OpenID Connect is available on the Learning Center plan and above. Contact support if you need more than three SSO, SAML, or OpenID setups. Learning Center schools can also add three more with the Scale package.
It’s native. You configure it in your LearnWorlds authentication settings with details from your identity provider, with no Zapier or Make step involved. If you need a login page of your own, see the Custom SSO integration.
No. With an external identity provider, the LearnWorlds password reset isn’t available, and your provider handles sign-up and password resets. Use only the sign-in link on your school.
Update it in both places. SSO identifies users by email, so a new address has to change in your school and in your identity provider. With Identify by ID turned on, LearnWorlds updates the username and email from the provider at login.
Only the LearnWorlds school owner account can still sign in. That’s why the owner account sets up OpenID Connect and makes every later change to it.
Yes, if your learners already have accounts with an identity provider. After a one-time setup, LearnWorlds sends them to that provider to sign in and can create their account at first login. Your team stops issuing and resetting a second set of passwords, and you can browse more LearnWorlds integrations.
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