Custom Role Parsers

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Ltix parses standard LIS role URIs by default, but some platforms send proprietary role vocabularies with their own URI namespaces. Without a custom parser, those URIs are left as raw strings in unrecognized_roles.

context.claims.unrecognized_roles
#=> ["https://myplatform.example.com/roles/CourseAdmin"]

Register a custom role parser to parse them.

Implementing the behaviour

A role parser is a module that implements Ltix.LaunchClaims.Role.Parser. The only required callback is parse/1, which receives a role URI string and returns {:ok, %Role{}} or :error.

defmodule MyApp.Lti.PlatformRoleParser do
  use Ltix.LaunchClaims.Role.Parser

  alias Ltix.LaunchClaims.Role

  @base "https://myplatform.example.com/roles/"

  @roles %{
    "CourseAdmin" => :course_admin,
    "Facilitator" => :facilitator,
    "Grader" => :grader
  }

  @impl true
  def parse(uri) do
    suffix = String.replace_leading(uri, @base, "")

    case Map.fetch(@roles, suffix) do
      {:ok, name} ->
        {:ok, %Role{type: :context, name: name, sub_role: nil, uri: uri}}

      :error ->
        :error
    end
  end
end

The parser only receives URIs that match its registered prefix (see Registration below), so you don't need to check the prefix yourself.

Optional: to_uri/1

If you need to convert %Role{} structs back to URI strings (e.g. for building NRPS responses or test fixtures), implement the optional to_uri/1 callback. For a role without a URI, Role.to_uri/2 and Role.to_uri!/2 try the same parsers Role.parse/2 would, in the same order, and take the same :role_parsers option.

@roles_inverse Map.new(@roles, fn {k, v} -> {v, k} end)

@impl true
def to_uri(%Role{type: :context, name: name, sub_role: nil}) do
  case Map.fetch(@roles_inverse, name) do
    {:ok, suffix} -> {:ok, @base <> suffix}
    :error -> :error
  end
end

def to_uri(_), do: :error

Registering parsers

Role parsers are registered as a map of URI prefix to parser module. The prefix determines which URIs are passed to your parser. Ltix tries each registered parser whose prefix matches the URI, longest prefix first, then the built-in LIS parser.

Via application config (recommended for parsers that apply globally)

# config/config.exs
config :ltix, Ltix.LaunchClaims,
  role_parsers: %{
    "https://myplatform.example.com/roles/" => MyApp.Lti.PlatformRoleParser
  }

Via handle_callback/3 (for per-call control)

Ltix.handle_callback(params, state,
  role_parsers: %{
    "https://myplatform.example.com/roles/" => MyApp.Lti.PlatformRoleParser
  }
)

Via LaunchClaims.from_json/2 (for direct parsing)

Ltix.LaunchClaims.from_json(claims,
  role_parsers: %{
    "https://myplatform.example.com/roles/" => MyApp.Lti.PlatformRoleParser
  }
)

Via Role.parse/2 (for parsing individual URIs)

Role.parse(uri,
  role_parsers: %{
    "https://myplatform.example.com/roles/" => MyApp.Lti.PlatformRoleParser
  }
)

Per-call parsers merge with application config, with per-call taking priority for overlapping prefixes. Registered parsers, including ones under an LIS prefix, take precedence over the built-in LIS parser.

Using function parsers

For a one-off parser in a single call, you can pass an anonymous function or captured function as the parser.

Role.parse(uri,
  role_parsers: %{
    "https://myplatform.example.com/roles/" => fn uri ->
      case uri do
        "https://myplatform.example.com/roles/CourseAdmin" ->
          {:ok, %Role{type: :context, name: :course_admin, sub_role: nil, uri: uri}}

        _ ->
          :error
      end
    end
  }
)

Register parsers in application configuration as modules, because a release can't store an anonymous function in its configuration.

Function parsers can't convert back to URIs

For a role without a URI, Role.to_uri/2 and Role.to_uri!/2 only use module-based parsers that implement the to_uri/1 callback. Function parsers are skipped during URI conversion.

Working with custom roles

Once registered, custom roles are parsed into %Role{} structs just like standard LIS roles. They appear in context.claims.roles and work with all the filtering and checking functions.

Role.context_roles(context.claims.roles)
Role.has_role?(context.claims.roles, :context, :course_admin)

The built-in predicates (instructor?/1, learner?/1, etc.) won't match custom role names. Use has_role?/4 for custom roles.

Next steps