Activity Upload API

The Activity Upload API lets an external system create learning activities in Activate LMS programmatically: create a new activity (a SCORM package or a course/container), or add a language version to an existing activity. It is used for integrations such as iGIL and Istak.

The API is reached through the Activate LMS Frontend API. All calls are multipart/form-data POST requests.

Base URL (production): https://api2.activatelms.com

Authentication

Every request includes two fields that identify and authenticate the caller:

Field	Description
key	The API security key issued to your tenant by Activate LMS.
origin	The origin of your calling system, e.g. https://skoli.istak.is. A full URL is recommended; a bare host name (skoli.istak.is) is also accepted.

The key + origin pair is validated against your tenant's configuration. An invalid pair returns 401 Unauthorized.

There is no separate token exchange — the key and origin are sent with each request. Always call the API over HTTPS so the key is never exposed in transit.

Endpoint: Create a new activity

POST /api/activityupload/new
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

Form fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	Your API security key.
origin	string	Yes	Your system's origin.
activityType	string	Yes	"scorm" or "course" — see Activity types below.
name	string	Yes	The activity name. Also used as the title of the first language version.
userName	string	Yes	Username of the uploading user. This user becomes the activity owner.
organisationIds	string	No	Comma-separated list of organisation (department) IDs the activity belongs to. Omit, leave empty, or send -1 to make it available to all organisations.
parentActivityId	integer	No	Place the new activity under this parent course. The parent must be a course that belongs to your tenant — a SCORM activity cannot contain other activities. Omit, or send 0 or -1, to create the activity at the top level.
file	binary	Conditional	The SCORM .zip package. Required when activityType is "scorm"; ignored for "course".

Activity types

activityType	Meaning
"scorm"	A SCORM e-learning package (a .zip containing imsmanifest.xml). This is leaf content — it cannot contain other activities.
"course"	A course — a container with no file of its own. Used to group SCORM activities (and other courses) into a hierarchy.

A typical workflow: first create a "course", then create "scorm" activities with parentActivityId set to the course's activityId. Only a course can be a parent; a SCORM activity is always a leaf.

Behaviour

• The first language version is created automatically in your tenant's default language. You do not send a language for this endpoint.
• For a SCORM activity, the package is unpacked, its imsmanifest.xml is parsed, and the content files are stored. The description is taken from the SCORM manifest when present.
• Maximum upload size: 500 MB.

Example — create a course

curl -X POST https://api2.activatelms.com/api/activityupload/new \
  -F "key=YOUR-API-KEY" \
  -F "origin=https://skoli.istak.is" \
  -F "activityType=course" \
  -F "name=HSE Training 2026" \
  -F "userName=jon.jonsson"

Example — upload a SCORM activity into that course

curl -X POST https://api2.activatelms.com/api/activityupload/new \
  -F "key=YOUR-API-KEY" \
  -F "origin=https://skoli.istak.is" \
  -F "activityType=scorm" \
  -F "name=HSE Presentation - Fossvogsbru" \
  -F "userName=jon.jonsson" \
  -F "organisationIds=81,27293" \
  -F "parentActivityId=12345" \
  -F "file=@hse-presentation.zip"

Success response — 201 Created

{ "activityId": 12346 }

Endpoint: Add a language version

POST /api/activityupload/addlanguage
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

Adds an additional language version to an activity that already exists. Only the language version is created — the activity itself is not modified.

Form fields

Field	Type	Required	Description
key	string	Yes	Your API security key.
origin	string	Yes	Your system's origin URL.
activityId	integer	Yes	The existing activity to add a language version to. Must belong to your tenant.
languageId	string	Yes	The language culture code for this version, e.g. da-DK, is-IS, en-GB. Must be a language enabled in Activate LMS.
name	string	Yes	The title for this language version.
file	binary	Conditional	The SCORM .zip package for this language. Required when the target activity is a SCORM activity; not needed for a course/container.

Example

curl -X POST https://api2.activatelms.com/api/activityupload/addlanguage \
  -F "key=YOUR-API-KEY" \
  -F "origin=https://skoli.istak.is" \
  -F "activityId=12345" \
  -F "languageId=is-IS" \
  -F "name=HSE kynning - Fossvogsbru" \
  -F "file=@hse-presentation-is.zip"

Success response — 201 Created

{ "activityId": 12345 }

(activityId is the same activity — a language version was added to it.)

Error responses

On failure the response body is:

{ "errorMessage": "<description>" }

HTTP status	Meaning	Examples
400 Bad Request	Invalid or missing input	activityType not "scorm" or "course"; missing file for a SCORM activity; SCORM package has no imsmanifest.xml; parentActivityId not a course; parentActivityId or activityId not found in your tenant; userName not found.
401 Unauthorized	Authentication failed	key or origin not recognised.
500 Internal Server Error	Unexpected server error	Contact Activate LMS support with the timestamp.

SCORM package requirements

• The package must be a .zip file containing a valid imsmanifest.xml at the root.
• SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 are supported.
• The manifest supplies the activity description, launch URL, and (for SCORM 2004) passing-score and completion-threshold values where present.
• Maximum package size: 500 MB.

Notes and recommendations

• Idempotency: The API does not deduplicate. If you POST the same package twice you get two separate activities. Wait for the 201 response before retrying — do not retry blindly on a timeout.
• One activity, multiple languages: Create the activity once with /new, then call /addlanguage once per additional language. Each language version has its own SCORM package.
• Organisations: Use real department IDs from your Activate LMS configuration. -1 or an empty value means "all organisations".
• Owner: The userName you send becomes the activity owner and must be an existing Activate LMS user in your tenant.

Support

Contact your Activate LMS representative for:

• Your API security key and the registered origin URL.
• The list of valid organisation (department) IDs and language codes for your tenant.