Canvas LMS MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol server that lets Claude read and write Canvas LMS course content — without a Canvas developer key or OAuth2 registration.

How it works

This MCP server authenticates to Canvas using your browser's existing session cookies — the same approach used by the AI Tutor browser extension. No API key or OAuth2 setup is needed. By default, cookies are extracted automatically from your browser. See SECURITY.md for details on the authentication model.

Session lifetime: Canvas sessions typically last days to weeks. When they expire you'll get a 401 error — just log back into Canvas in your browser and restart the server.

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Setup

1. Install dependencies

Requires Python 3.10+.

cd canvas_mcp
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

2. Set your Canvas URL

export CANVAS_BASE_URL="https://yourschool.instructure.com"

This must be an https:// URL — the server will refuse to start with plain HTTP.

3. Authenticate

Automatic (recommended): Just log into Canvas in your browser. The server automatically extracts cookies from your default browser at startup. Supported browsers: Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Chromium, Arc, Opera, Vivaldi, LibreWolf.

To force a specific browser:

export BROWSER=firefox  # or chrome, edge, brave, safari, etc.

Manual fallback: If automatic extraction fails, copy the Cookie header from your browser DevTools (Network tab → any Canvas request → Request Headers) and set:

export CANVAS_COOKIE="canvas_session=AbCdEfGh...; _csrf_token=...; log_session_id=..."

Make sure the cookie string includes _csrf_token=... — without it, all write operations will fail with HTTP 422.

4. Run the server

python3 server.py            # stdio mode (for Claude Desktop)
python3 server.py --http     # HTTP mode on localhost:8080

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Claude Desktop configuration

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "command": "python3",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/canvas_mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://yourschool.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tip: Use the absolute path to server.py. Relative paths may not resolve correctly depending on how Claude Desktop launches the process.

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Available tools (58)

General (students & instructors)

Tool	Description
canvas_get_profile	Current user's name, ID, email, avatar, bio
canvas_list_courses	All enrolled courses with current scores
canvas_get_course	Course details including syllabus body
canvas_get_activity_stream	Recent notifications, submissions, and messages
canvas_get_planner	Upcoming assignments/events from the Canvas planner

Assignments

Tool	Description
canvas_list_assignments	Assignments with due dates, points, rubrics; filterable by bucket
canvas_get_assignment	Full assignment details + rubric criteria
canvas_create_assignment	Create a new assignment with points, due date, submission types
canvas_update_assignment	Edit an existing assignment (partial update)

Pages

Tool	Description
canvas_list_pages	Wiki pages in a course with published status
canvas_get_page	Full page content (HTML body) by URL slug
canvas_create_page	Create a new wiki page (optionally publish immediately)
canvas_update_page	Edit an existing page's title, body, or publish status

Modules

Tool	Description
canvas_list_modules	Course modules with item counts
canvas_list_module_items	Items inside a specific module
canvas_create_module	Create a new module (with optional unlock date)
canvas_update_module	Rename, reposition, publish/unpublish a module
canvas_delete_module	Delete a module (content items are NOT deleted)
canvas_create_module_item	Add an item to a module (assignment, page, quiz, URL, etc.)
canvas_delete_module_item	Remove an item from a module (underlying content is NOT deleted)

Communication

Tool	Description
canvas_list_announcements	Recent course announcements
canvas_create_announcement	Post an announcement, with optional scheduled delivery
canvas_list_discussions	Discussion topics with reply counts and last activity
canvas_post_discussion_reply	Reply to a discussion topic
canvas_send_message	Send a Canvas Inbox message to students, sections, or a course
canvas_list_conversations	List Canvas Inbox conversations

Calendar

Tool	Description
canvas_list_calendar_events	Calendar events for a course (filterable by date range)
canvas_create_calendar_event	Create a calendar event (office hours, exam, meeting)
canvas_update_calendar_event	Update an event's title, time, or location
canvas_delete_calendar_event	Delete a calendar event

Grading & submissions

Tool	Description
canvas_list_submissions	Student submissions for an assignment
canvas_get_submission	Single submission with score, comments, rubric assessment
canvas_list_gradeable_students	Students eligible to be graded for an assignment
canvas_get_submission_counts	Grading progress: graded / ungraded / not submitted
canvas_grade_submission	Grade a submission (score, rubric, comment, excuse)

Overrides

Tool	Description
canvas_list_assignment_overrides	Date overrides for an assignment (per-student/section/group)
canvas_get_assignment_override	Single override details
canvas_create_assignment_override	Create a date override for students, a section, or a group
canvas_update_assignment_override	Update an existing override
canvas_delete_assignment_override	Delete an override (reverts to default dates)

Enrollments & sections

Tool	Description
canvas_list_enrollments	Course roster, filterable by role and section
canvas_list_sections	Course sections with enrollment counts

Quizzes

Tool	Description
canvas_list_quizzes	All quizzes in a course
canvas_get_quiz	Full quiz details (type, attempts, time limit, dates)
canvas_create_quiz	Create a quiz shell (add questions in Canvas UI)
canvas_update_quiz	Update quiz settings, dates, or publish status

Rubrics

Tool	Description
canvas_list_rubrics	Rubrics available in a course with criteria breakdown
canvas_create_rubric	Create a rubric with criteria and rating scales
canvas_associate_rubric	Attach a rubric to an assignment for grading

Assignment groups

Tool	Description
canvas_list_assignment_groups	Gradebook categories with weights and assignment counts
canvas_create_assignment_group	Create a new gradebook category
canvas_update_assignment_group	Update a group's name, weight, or position
canvas_delete_assignment_group	Delete a group (optionally move assignments first)

Late policy

Tool	Description
canvas_get_late_policy	Current late/missing submission policy for a course
canvas_update_late_policy	Update late deductions, grade floors, and missing scores

Analytics

Tool	Description
canvas_get_course_analytics	Per-student participation, page views, and tardiness
canvas_get_student_analytics	Per-assignment submission and score breakdown for a student

Files

Tool	Description
canvas_list_files	Files uploaded to a course with download URLs

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Example prompts

What courses am I enrolled in?

Show me upcoming assignments for course 12345.

Get the syllabus for my CS 101 course (ID 9988).

Create a page called "Week 5 Overview" in course 12345 with a brief intro.

Post an announcement to course 12345: "Midterm is next Thursday -- review chapters 4-7."

What's on my Canvas planner this week?

Grade student 789's submission for assignment 456 in course 123 with a score of 95.

Create an office hours event for course 12345 on Friday from 2-4pm.

Show me the class roster for course 12345.

Send a message to all students in section 678: "Don't forget to submit your project."

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Security

See SECURITY.md for the full security model. Key points:

• Your Canvas session cookie is equivalent to your password — never commit it or share it.
• The server only communicates with your Canvas instance — no other external requests.
• HTTPS is enforced — the server refuses to start with an http:// URL.
• Single-user design — one server instance = one Canvas account. Do not expose the HTTP server to the public internet.
• Write operations require Teacher or TA enrollment; student accounts are read-only.
• The X-CSRF-Token is automatically extracted from your cookies for write requests.

License

MIT