Integrate Jitsi Meet with Moodle for Elearning Video Conferencing

This article discusses how to integrate Jitsi Meet with Moodle for eLearning video conferencing.

Below is a complete, start-to-finish how-to guide for integrating a self-hosted Jitsi Meet server with Moodle.

This includes installation, configuration, recommended security options, and full Moodle plugin setup.

🔧 How to Integrate Jitsi Meet with Moodle for eLearning Video Conferencing

Integrating Jitsi Meet with Moodle allows you to provide live video conferencing directly inside your LMS—fully under your control, with no reliance on external SaaS providers. This guide will walk you through installing Jitsi Meet on your own VPS and connecting it to Moodle using the official Jitsi plugin.

✅ Prerequisites

Server Requirements

• Self-hosted Jitsi Meet
• Fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
  e.g., meet.yourdomain.com
• DNS A record pointing the FQDN → your VPS IP
• SSL configured and installed on hostname

Software Requirements

• Moodle Installation: Moodle 3.9+ (works with Moodle 4.x as well)
• Administrator access to Moodle
• Root/SSH access to your VPS

Secure Jitsi with JWT Authentication

By default, anyone can create a room. For Moodle integration, JWT authentication is the most secure—Moodle will generate JWT tokens and users cannot join unless authenticated.

1. Enable Prosody Modules

   sudo nano /etc/prosody/conf.avail/meet.example.com.cfg.lua
   

   Find the VirtualHost section and edit:

   Add internal auth domain

   VirtualHost "auth.meet.example.com"
       authentication = "internal_plain"
   

   Enable token authentication on main host

   Inside the main VirtualHost:

   modules_enabled = {
       "bosh";
       "pubsub";
       "ping";
       "speakerstats";
       "turncredentials";
       "conference_duration";
       "muc_lobby_rooms";
       "token_verification";
   }
   

   Add token settings:

   app_id = "moodle"
   app_secret = "change_me_secret_key_2025"
   allow_empty_token = false
   

   Save and exit.

2. Register Prosody User

   sudo prosodyctl register jitsi_user auth.meet.example.com strongpassword123
   

3. Configure Jicofo

   Edit configuration:

   sudo nano /etc/jitsi/jicofo/jicofo.conf
   

   Add:

   jicofo {
     authentication {
       enabled = true
       type = XMPP
       login-url = "auth.meet.example.com"
     }
   }
   

4. Restart Services

   sudo systemctl restart prosody
   sudo systemctl restart jicofo
   sudo systemctl restart jitsi-videobridge2
   

Install the Moodle Jitsi Plugin

The official plugin:
🔗 https://moodle.org/plugins/mod_jitsi

You can install via GUI or command line.

• Install via Moodle Admin UI

  1. Login to Moodle as admin
  2. Navigate: Site administration → Plugins → Install plugins
  3. Upload the ZIP file from the plugin page
  4. Click Install plugin

  Moodle will check dependencies, then install.

• Configure Moodle to Use Your Jitsi Server

  Navigate to: Site administration → Plugins → Activity modules → Jitsi
  Configure the following:

  1. Jitsi server URL

  https://meet.example.com
  

  2. Use JWT Authentication

  Enable:

  • ✔ Use JWT authentication
  • ✔ Send user info
  • ✔ Send avatar information

  3. Enter JWT Credentials

  Using the same values as in Prosody:

  App ID: moodle
  App Secret: change_me_secret_key_2025
  

  4. Enable Secure Domain

  Set:

  Secure Domain: Yes
  

  5. Security Options

  Recommended:

  • ✔ Only teachers can create rooms
  • ✔ Students can join without password
  • ✔ Enable lobby mode
  • ✔ Enable end-to-end encryption (optional; limits features)
  • ✔ Allow screen sharing

• Test the Integration

  1. Add a New Jitsi Activity

     1. Go to a course
     2. Click Add an activity or resource
     3. Select Jitsi
     4. Configure:
        • Meeting name
        • Start time
        • Duration
        • Participant permissions

  2. Validate Jitsi Opens Inside Moodle

     When clicking the activity:

     • Moodle generates JWT
     • Browser opens an embedded Jitsi meeting
     • Users join automatically using their Moodle name

  3. Check Authentication

     Try:

     • Access as teacher → should open correctly
     • Access as student → should join room if allowed
     • Try opening room URL directly → should NOT work without JWT

     This confirms Jitsi is secured.

Optional Add-Ons

1. 📌 Enable Recording (Jibri)

   If you want cloud recording:

   1. Deploy a second server (Jibri)
   2. Install Google Chrome + FFmpeg
   3. Integrate with Prosody/Jitsi
   4. Add credentials

   Recording is resource-heavy; use a separate dedicated server.

2. 📌 Add TURN Server for NAT Users

   Install coturn:

   sudo apt install coturn -y
   

   Configure at /etc/turnserver.conf:

   realm=meet.example.com
   use-auth-secret
   static-auth-secret=turnSecretKey
   cert=/etc/letsencrypt/live/meet.example.com/fullchain.pem
   pkey=/etc/letsencrypt/live/meet.example.com/privkey.pem
   

   Increase meeting reliability dramatically.

3. 📌 Custom Branding

   Replace logos/backgrounds:

   /usr/share/jitsi-meet/images/
   /usr/share/jitsi-meet/css/
   

Troubleshooting

1. 🔧 Video/Audio Not Connecting

   Enable or install TURN server.

2. 🔧 JWT Authentication Fails

   Check:

   • allow_empty_token = false
   • Matching app_id and app_secret
   • Prosody logs:

   journalctl -u prosody
   

3. 🔧 Moodle Says “Unable to Create Meeting”

   Make sure teacher role has mod/jitsi:addinstance capability enabled.

4. 🔧 Jitsi Does Not Load in Moodle

   Enable:

   • iframe embedding in Moodle
   • Whitelist your Jitsi domain

   Site admin → Security → HTTP Security → Allowed Iframes
   

   Add:

   https://meet.example.com
   

🎉 Integration Complete!

You now have:

✅ Your own self-hosted Jitsi Meet server
✅ Secured with JWT
✅ Fully integrated into Moodle
✅ Automatic login for teachers/students
✅ Optional recording, lobby, and E2EE

Conclusion

You now know how to integrate Jitsi Meet with Moodle for eLearning video conferencing.