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Deep linking to apps

How to link directly to apps in the Canva editor.

After you've released an app, you can create URLs that link users directly to the Canva editor with your app open to a design type or template.

  • A design type is a blank design of a set size for a particular purpose (such as an Instagram post or a photo collage).
  • A template is a design that already has elements and styles applied as a starting point.

Generate a deep link

How to get the ID of an app
  1. Navigate to the Your apps page of the Developer Portal.
  2. Copy the ID of the app from the App ID column.
How to get the version number of an app

  1. Navigate to an app via the Developer Portal.

  2. Copy the version number from the URL.

    The version number is in the path segment that's after the app ID:

    https://www.canva.com/developers/app/<APP_ID>/<APP_VERSION>/configuration

When to use deep links to the Canva editor

There are two ways to link to your app: a deep link which opens your app in the Canva editor with a design, or a link to your app listing in the Canva apps tab.

You might want to use a deep link in the following situations:

  • For linking straight in to the editor, so there are fewer steps to get a user interacting with your app.
  • If you know that your app is primarily used with a specific Canva design type (for example, presentations or Instagram posts), so you can link to it directly.
  • For linking from ads that explain things in detail, such as a landing page or a blog, where you want to show your app working with a particular design type or template.

See the following sections for how to create deep links and some examples.

You might want to instead link to the app listing in the following situations:

  • To provide more context about what the app does, so users can understand it before trying it.
  • If you want the user to choose the design type or template themselves.
  • For linking from ads that don't explain things in detail, and to allow the user to find out the context.

For example, the app listing for Canva's Text to Image app.

Find your app's unique identifier (ui)

To create a link to your app, you must first find its unique identifier (ui).

  1. Navigate to the Your apps page.

  2. From the list of apps, click the app that you want to get the ui for.

  3. Click Preview to open the app in a new tab.

  4. In the address bar of your browser, the URL ends with something like /edit?ui=abCDEfg1HiJ_AbcdEFGhIjKlMnOPQRStUVwXYZA1b234C5DeFgHijK5, where the value after ui= is your app's unique identifier.

    Copy the ui value to use in the next procedures.

Create a link to your app for a design type

To create a link to your app for a design type, you need your app's unique identifier (ui) and the ID of the design type you want to link to.

  1. Find your app's unique identifier (ui).

  2. Find the design type's ID.

    You can see the design type's ID in the URL of a link to the design type from the Canva homepage. The design type ID is the value of type parameter in the URL.

    For example, as shown in the following screenshot, the design type ID for Instagram Post (square) is TABQqs5Kbyc.

  3. Use the following URL and replace <TYPE-ID> and <APP-UI> with their respective values from the previous steps.

    https://www.canva.com/login/?redirect=%2Fdesign%3Fcreate%26type%3D<TYPE-ID>%26ui%3D<APP-UI>

    For example, a URL to use the 'Instagram Post (square)' design type and Canva's Text to Image app is:

    https://www.canva.com/login/?redirect=%2Fdesign%3Fcreate%26type%3DTABQqs5Kbyc%26ui%3DeyJFIjp7IkE_IjoiTiIsIkEiOiJnZW5lcmF0ZV9pbWFnZSJ9fQ

Create a link to your app for a template

To create a link to your app for a template, you need your app's unique identifier (ui) and the ID of the template you want to link to.

  1. Find your app's unique identifier (ui).

  2. Find the template's ID. When previewing a template, you can find the template ID in either of the following:

    • In the URL for the preview, the template ID is the prefix before the template name.
    • For the Customize this template button, you can see the template's ID in the URL that the button links to. The template ID is the value of the template parameter in that URL.

    For example, as shown in the following screenshot, the preview for the Clean Work Place LinkedIn Banner shows that its template ID is EAENvpM8lg0.

  3. Use the following URL and replace <TEMPLATE-ID> and <APP-UI> with their respective values from the previous steps.

    https://www.canva.com/login/?redirect=%2Fdesign%3Fcreate%26template%3D<TEMPLATE-ID>%26ui%3D<APP-UI>

    For example, a URL to use the 'Clean Work Place LinkedIn Banner' template and Canva's Text to Image app is:

    https://www.canva.com/login/?redirect=%2Fdesign%3Fcreate%26template%3DEAENvpM8lg0%26ui%3DeyJFIjp7IkE_IjoiTiIsIkEiOiJnZW5lcmF0ZV9pbWFnZSJ9fQ