Canvas Course Materials MCP Server

A remote MCP server that gives Claude access to your Canvas LMS course materials and files.

Tools exposed

Files:

• list_courses — your active (or all) courses
• list_course_files — files in a course's Files section
• list_course_folders — folder structure in a course
• list_folder_files — files within a specific folder
• get_file_metadata — metadata + fresh download URL for a specific file
• get_file_content — downloads a file and extracts its readable text (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, plain text/markdown/CSV). Use this to actually read lecture slides/notes — Claude can't otherwise reach Canvas's file URLs directly.

Course site content:

• list_course_modules — modules and their items (files, pages, assignments)
• get_syllabus — the course syllabus, as readable text
• list_pages — wiki pages in the course (lecture notes, course info, etc.)
• get_page — full readable content of a specific page
• list_announcements — announcements with readable message bodies
• list_assignments — assignments with due dates, points, and readable descriptions
• list_discussion_topics — discussion board topics with readable messages (not replies)

Grades & quizzes:

• get_grades — your overall course grade plus per-assignment score breakdown
• list_quizzes — quizzes with due dates, points, and readable instructions
• get_quiz — full details/instructions for one quiz (see note below on questions)
• get_quiz_submission — your own attempt history and scores for a quiz

Cross-course utilities:

• list_upcoming_deadlines — everything due soon across ALL your courses, sorted by date — good for "what's due this week"
• whoami — confirms the server is authenticated correctly (quick connectivity check)

Note on quiz questions: Canvas only exposes actual quiz question content while you have an active, in-progress attempt (and even then, only for certain quiz types). get_quiz returns the quiz's description/instructions rather than the questions themselves — this is a Canvas API limitation, not something the server withholds.

All Canvas HTML content (pages, announcements, assignment descriptions, discussions, quiz instructions) is converted to plain readable text before being returned. get_file_content caps downloads at 20MB and truncates extracted text past ~60,000 characters (with a note) to keep responses manageable.

1. Get your Canvas credentials

1. Base URL: your school's Canvas domain, e.g. https://canvas.upenn.edu (no trailing slash, no /api/v1).
2. API token: log into Canvas → click your profile picture → Account → Settings → scroll to Approved Integrations → + New Access Token → give it a purpose name like "Claude MCP" → generate → copy the token immediately (Canvas only shows it once).

Keep this token secret — it grants API access to your Canvas account.

2. Deploy (pick one)

Option A: Render (easiest, free tier)

1. Push this folder to a new GitHub repo (or use Render's "Deploy from public repo" with the code inline).
2. Go to https://dashboard.render.com → New → Web Service → connect the repo.
3. Settings:
   • Build command: npm install
   • Start command: npm start
4. Under Environment, add:
   • CANVAS_BASE_URL = https://canvas.yourschool.edu
   • CANVAS_API_TOKEN = (your token from step 1)
   • MCP_SHARED_SECRET = (a long random string — run openssl rand -hex 32 to generate one)
5. Deploy. Render gives you a public URL like https://canvas-mcp-xyz.onrender.com.
6. Your MCP endpoint is https://canvas-mcp-xyz.onrender.com/mcp/<your-secret> (note: the secret is part of the path, not a header — this is what makes the URL private).

Note: Render's free tier spins down after inactivity, so the first request after idling may take ~30s to wake up.

Option B: Fly.io

fly launch --no-deploy   # answer prompts, don't add a database
fly secrets set CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://canvas.yourschool.edu CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your_token_here MCP_SHARED_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
fly deploy

Your endpoint: https://your-app-name.fly.dev/mcp/<your-secret>

Option C: Railway

1. https://railway.app → New Project → Deploy from GitHub repo (or "Empty Project" + upload).
2. Add variables CANVAS_BASE_URL, CANVAS_API_TOKEN, and MCP_SHARED_SECRET under the Variables tab.
3. Railway auto-detects npm start. Your endpoint: https://your-app.up.railway.app/mcp/<your-secret>

3. Connect it to Claude

1. In Claude, go to Settings → Connectors (or Customize → Connectors).
2. Click Add custom connector.
3. Paste your full /mcp/<secret> URL (e.g. https://canvas-mcp-xyz.onrender.com/mcp/9f3a...).
4. Leave OAuth fields blank — this server uses the secret baked into the URL, not per-user OAuth.
5. Click Add, then enable it for your conversation via the + button → Connectors.

Security notes

• This server holds your Canvas token server-side, so treat the /mcp/<secret> URL like a password — anyone who has it can act as you (read-only) in Canvas.
• MCP_SHARED_SECRET is what makes the URL unguessable. Without it, /mcp is open to anyone who finds your deployment's public address. Always set it.
• The server only implements read (GET) endpoints — it can't post, submit, or modify anything in Canvas.
• Rotate your Canvas token any time from Canvas → Settings if you ever suspect it's exposed, and change MCP_SHARED_SECRET (and re-add the connector in Claude) if the URL leaks.

Local testing

npm install
CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://canvas.yourschool.edu CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your_token MCP_SHARED_SECRET=devsecret npm start

Server listens on port 3000 (or $PORT) at /mcp/devsecret (or plain /mcp if you omit MCP_SHARED_SECRET).