canvas-mcp

An MCP server that exposes Canvas LMS data (courses, assignments, announcements) to any MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, etc.).

This repository ships with no credentials. There is no Canvas token and no email address anywhere in it. You supply your own token in a local .env file that is git-ignored and never leaves your machine. See Where your token goes.

Prerequisites

• uv (Python package manager)
• A Canvas LMS account with an API token

Setup

1. Generate a Canvas API token

1. Log in to your school's Canvas site (for example https://canvas.fen.uchile.cl)
2. Go to Account → Settings → Approved Integrations
3. Click + New Access Token, give it a name, and copy the token

2. Configure the environment

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Where your token goes: in a file named exactly .env, in the root of this project folder (right next to main.py). That file is listed in .gitignore, so git will never commit or push it.

Copy the template:

cp .env.example .env

Then open .env and fill in the blanks:

# Your Canvas instance URL -- change this to your school's Canvas address
CANVAS_URL=https://canvas.fen.uchile.cl

# Paste the token from step 1 here
CANVAS_API_TOKEN=

# Optional second account (use account="udd" in the tools). Leave blank if unused.
CANVAS_UDD_URL=
CANVAS_UDD_TOKEN=

Only CANVAS_URL and CANVAS_API_TOKEN are required. The CANVAS_UDD_* pair is for an optional second Canvas account; leave both blank if you only have one.

Never commit .env, never paste your token into a chat, and never put it in a file that gets shared. It grants full access to your Canvas account. If it leaks, delete the token in Canvas (Account -> Settings -> Approved Integrations) and generate a new one.

3. Install dependencies

uv sync

4. Run the server manually (optional test)

uv run python main.py

The server communicates over stdio, so it won't print anything until an MCP client connects.

Connecting to Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop config file:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--project", "/absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp", "python", "main.py"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp with the real path to this folder. Use forward slashes / even on Windows.

No token goes in this file. It is read from your .env (see Where your token goes) -- python-dotenv loads it automatically.

Connecting to Claude Code

Add the MCP server in your Claude Code settings or run:

claude mcp add canvas -- uv run --project /absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp python main.py

Available Tools

Tool	Description
get_courses	Lists all active enrolled courses
get_assignments(days_ahead=30)	Lists upcoming assignments sorted by due date
get_announcements	Lists recent announcements per course

Project structure

canvas-mcp/
├── main.py          # MCP server
├── .env             # Your token lives here (git-ignored, never pushed)
├── .env.example     # Template
├── pyproject.toml   # Project metadata & dependencies
└── uv.lock          # Locked dependency versions