Chamilo 2.0:
What's Really New?
Interface, AI tools, REST API, SSO, integrations — a complete guided tour of the new generation of the world's most user-friendly open-source LMS.
In this article
Chamilo 2.0 is the most significant release in the platform's history. After more than a decade of continuous evolution since 2010, BeezNest, the official publisher of Chamilo LMS, undertook a complete architectural overhaul to meet the demands of modern organisations: a modernised interface, AI assistance, deep integrations, and enterprise-grade security.
This article gives you a comprehensive overview of everything that has changed, explained without jargon.
1. A completely redesigned interface — Vue 3 + PrimeVue
The most immediately visible change in Chamilo 2.0 is the front-end. The entire interface has been rebuilt from scratch using Vue 3 and the PrimeVue component library, resulting in a more modern, responsive, and accessible platform.
What this means in practice:
- Reactive navigation: many common actions no longer require a full-page reload, making day-to-day use feel more fluid
- Mobile-friendly: the interface is designed to work on smartphones and tablets
- Color themes: administrators can apply branded color themes to align the platform with their organisation's identity
BeezNest context: According to benchmarks and user testimonials, Chamilo 2.0 requires 3× less training time than competing platforms. The redesigned interface was specifically engineered to reduce the cognitive load on first-time users, teachers and learners alike.
2. AI-powered pedagogy: 7 integrated tools
Chamilo 2.0 introduces a suite of seven AI-powered pedagogical tools, configurable per course. These tools leverage major AI providers : OpenAI, Google Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek, and Grok or your own, sovereign, implementation of a compatible model, giving institutions the flexibility to choose their preferred provider or use multiple simultaneously.
AI tutor
A context-aware chatbot integrated into each course. Learners ask questions, get instant explanations, and receive guidance 24/7, automatically disabled during exams.
Exercise generator
Automatically generates MCQ and exercises from a topic description or existing course content, then corrects open answer questions on demand. All outputs are suggestions, the teacher reviews before publishing.
Learning path generator
Creates structured, sequenced learning paths from a set of objectives or topics. Every step is editable, reorderable, and extendable before being published to learners.
AI grading
Provides AI-assisted evaluation and feedback suggestions for open-ended student submissions. The teacher always makes the final grading decision, AI is advisory only.
Glossary term generator
Automatically suggests glossary terms and definitions from course content, helping teachers build a consistent vocabulary reference for learners without manual effort.
Illustrative image generator
Generates illustrative images directly from the document editor. Teachers can enrich course pages with AI-generated visuals without leaving the authoring interface.
Illustrative video generator
Generates short illustrative videos from the document editor, allowing teachers to add visual explanations to course content directly from the authoring interface.
Important: AI tools must be configured by the platform administrator before becoming available. Administrators can enable or disable them globally and per course, and set usage limits to control API costs. See the AI Configuration guide for setup details.
3. A full REST API with JWT authentication
Chamilo 2.0 exposes a complete REST API built on API Platform (the Symfony PHP framework ecosystem), secured with JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication. This represents a fundamental shift from the older SOAP/XML-RPC web services of previous versions.
What's now possible via API
- Provision and manage users from your HRIS or ERP
- Enrol learners in courses and sessions programmatically
- Retrieve tracking data, scores, and completion status
- Build custom learner-facing portals backed by Chamilo's data
- Power mobile applications with Chamilo as the training backend
The API is fully documented via OpenAPI (Swagger), accessible at /api/doc on any Chamilo 2.0 installation.
4. New authentication: OAuth2, LDAP, SCIM
Enterprise organisations require seamless Single Sign-On integration. Chamilo 2.0 ships with comprehensive support for modern authentication protocols:
- OAuth2: Azure Active Directory, Keycloak, Facebook, and any generic OAuth2 provider
- LDAP / Active Directory: authenticate against your corporate directory
- CAS: Central Authentication Service for university environments
- SCIM: automatic user lifecycle provisioning from external identity providers
Multiple authentication methods can be enabled simultaneously. Users see login buttons for each configured provider alongside the standard form. SCIM provisioning means user accounts are automatically created, updated, and deactivated in Chamilo when changes are made in your identity provider, eliminating manual user management entirely.
5. LTI 1.3, OnlyOffice, cloud storage and more
Chamilo 2.0 comes with a solid set of integrations. Cloud storage support is the most notable new addition in this version; the other integrations listed below were already available in Chamilo 1.x and continue to be supported and maintained.
LTI 1.3: connect any learning tool
The LTI 1.3 standard allows Chamilo to embed and launch any compliant external learning tool, H5P, Wooclap, Mentimeter, Kahoot, simulation platforms, and more, directly inside a course, with grade passback to Chamilo's gradebook.
OnlyOffice: collaborative document editing
With the OnlyOffice integration, teachers and learners can create, edit, and collaborate on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents directly inside Chamilo. No desktop software required, no file downloads, everything happens in the browser within the course space.
Video conferencing
Native integrations for BigBlueButton (open-source, with breakout rooms, whiteboard, polls, and recording) and Zoom (enterprise-grade, with direct session scheduling from Chamilo).
Cloud storage — new in 2.0
Chamilo 2.0 natively supports Azure Blob Storage, Amazon S3, and Google Cloud Storage as file backends. Organisations can store all course files directly in their preferred cloud provider, with scalability, geo-redundancy, and compliance.
xAPI (Tin Can)
Track learning experiences from any source, mobile applications, simulations, external content and aggregate them in Chamilo's reporting engine via the xAPI standard.
6. Summary: what this means for your organisation
Chamilo 2.0 is not an incremental update. It is a platform rebuild that positions Chamilo as a genuinely enterprise-grade LMS while preserving the ease of use and open-source ethos that made it one of the most widely deployed learning platforms in the world.
For L&D teams
Seven AI tools reduce content creation time significantly. Exercise generators, learning path builders, image and video generators, and the AI tutor mean trainers spend more time designing great learning experiences and less time on repetitive authoring tasks.
For IT & admins
The REST API, SCIM provisioning, and SSO support make Chamilo a first-class citizen in any enterprise IT landscape. No more manual user management, your identity provider drives everything.
For learners
A modernised, mobile-friendly interface and a 24/7 AI tutor significantly improve the learning experience. Learners get the support they need, when they need it, on the device of their choice.
In the next articles of the Chamilo Insights series, we'll go deeper into each of these topics, starting with the complete user roles system in Chamilo 2.0.
Want to see Chamilo 2.0 in action?
Our BeezNest experts will walk you through a personalised demo tailored to your organisation's needs.