canvas-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects your Canvas LMS account to Claude Desktop. Ask Claude natural-language questions about your courses, assignments, grades, files, and more -- all powered by the Canvas REST API.

Features

canvas-mcp exposes 15 tools to Claude Desktop:

Tool	Description
get_courses	List all active enrolled courses
get_assignments	Assignments for a specific course with submission status
get_all_assignments	Every assignment across all courses, sorted by due date
get_upcoming_assignments	Assignments due in the next N days (default 7)
get_calendar_events	Upcoming calendar events (next 30 days)
get_submission_status	Per-assignment submission state (submitted / graded / unsubmitted)
get_grades	Current and final grade plus per-assignment scores
get_course_modules	Modules with item completion status
get_announcements	Recent announcements across all courses
get_todo_items	Your Canvas to-do list
get_course_files	List files uploaded to a course (PDFs, slides, etc.)
get_course_pages	List wiki/content pages in a course
get_page_content	Read the full text of a specific course page
read_course_file	Download and parse a file -- full PDF text extraction
get_module_item_content	Read content of all items in a module (lectures, notes, PDFs)

Project Structure

canvas-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts          # MCP server entry point, tool definitions, and dispatch
│   ├── tools.ts          # Tool implementation functions
│   └── canvas-client.ts  # Canvas API client: HTTP helpers, pagination, type definitions
├── dist/                 # Compiled JavaScript (generated by build)
├── .env                  # Your credentials (not committed)
├── .gitignore
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 18
• A Canvas LMS API access token

Getting a Canvas API Token

1. Log in to your Canvas instance (e.g. https://yourschool.instructure.com)
2. Go to Account > Settings
3. Scroll to Approved Integrations
4. Click + New Access Token
5. Give it a name (e.g. "Claude MCP") and optionally set an expiry
6. Copy the token -- you will not be able to see it again

Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/canvas-mcp.git
cd canvas-mcp

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Configure environment variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

CANVAS_TOKEN=your_canvas_api_token_here
CANVAS_DOMAIN=yourschool.instructure.com

CANVAS_DOMAIN should be just the hostname (no https:// prefix).

4. Build

npm run build

This compiles the TypeScript source to dist/.

5. Verify (optional)

node dist/index.js

The server communicates over stdio using the MCP protocol. It will start and wait for input. Press Ctrl+C to exit. If environment variables are missing, you will see a clear error immediately.

Connecting to Claude Desktop

Add the server to your Claude Desktop configuration file.

macOS

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_TOKEN": "your_canvas_token_here",
        "CANVAS_DOMAIN": "yourschool.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YOU\\path\\to\\canvas-mcp\\dist\\index.js"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_TOKEN": "your_canvas_token_here",
        "CANVAS_DOMAIN": "yourschool.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace the path with the absolute path to your compiled dist/index.js. After saving, restart Claude Desktop.

Example Prompts

Once connected, try these in Claude Desktop:

Assignment planning

• "What assignments do I have due this week?"
• "Show me everything due in the next 14 days."
• "Build me a study schedule for the next two weeks based on my due dates."

Submission tracking

• "Am I missing any submissions?"
• "Which assignments haven't I submitted yet in course 12345?"
• "Show me all overdue assignments."

Grades

• "What's my current grade in my Biology course?"
• "Show me all my graded assignments and scores."
• "Which course am I doing worst in?"

Course content

• "What courses am I enrolled in this semester?"
• "What was covered in this week's lectures for course 12345?"
• "Read the syllabus PDF from my math course."
• "What modules have I completed in course 12345?"

Comprehensive

• "Give me a full academic status report -- courses, grades, upcoming work, and missing submissions."
• "I have a free weekend. What should I prioritize based on upcoming deadlines and my current grades?"

Development

# Run in dev mode without building (uses ts-node)
npm run dev

# Rebuild after making changes
npm run build

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Missing required environment variables	Check your .env file or the env block in claude_desktop_config.json
Canvas API error 401	Your token is invalid or expired -- generate a new one
Canvas API error 403	You do not have permission to access that resource
No active courses found	Your enrollment state may differ -- verify in Canvas directly
Claude does not see the server	Verify the absolute path in your config and restart Claude Desktop

License

This project does not currently include a license file.