Canvas MCP Server v2.2.0
A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Canvas LMS with complete student, instructor, and account administration functionality
🚀 What's New in v2.2.0
- 🔧 FIXED: Course creation "page not found" error (missing
account_idparameter) - 👨💼 Account Management: Complete account-level administration tools
- 📊 Reports & Analytics: Generate and access Canvas account reports
- 👥 User Management: Create and manage users at the account level
- 🏢 Multi-Account Support: Handle account hierarchies and sub-accounts
- ✅ API Compliance: All endpoints now follow proper Canvas API patterns
🎯 Key Features
🎓 For Students
- Course Management: Access all courses, syllabi, and course materials
- Assignment Workflow: View, submit (text/URL/files), and track assignments
- Communication: Participate in discussions, read announcements, send messages
- Progress Tracking: Monitor grades, module completion, and calendar events
- Quizzes: Take quizzes, view results and feedback
- File Access: Browse and download course files and resources
👨🏫 For Instructors
- Course Creation: Create and manage course structure (now with proper account support)
- Grading: Grade submissions, provide feedback, manage rubrics
- User Management: Enroll students, manage permissions
- Content Management: Create assignments, quizzes, discussions
👨💼 For Account Administrators (NEW!)
- Account Management: Manage institutional Canvas accounts
- User Administration: Create and manage users across accounts
- Course Oversight: List and manage all courses within accounts
- Reporting: Generate enrollment, grade, and activity reports
- Sub-Account Management: Handle account hierarchies and structures
🛠️ Technical Excellence
- Robust API: Automatic retries, pagination, comprehensive error handling
- Cloud Ready: Docker containers, Kubernetes manifests, health checks
- Well Tested: Unit tests, integration tests, mocking, coverage reports
- Type Safe: Full TypeScript implementation with strict types
- 50+ Tools: Comprehensive coverage of Canvas LMS functionality
Quick Start
Option 1: Claude Desktop Integration (Recommended MCP Setup)
Add to claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"canvas-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "canvas-mcp-server"],
"env": {
"CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your_token_here",
"CANVAS_DOMAIN": "your_school.instructure.com"
}
}
}
}
Option 2: NPM Package
# Install globally
npm install -g canvas-mcp-server
# Configure
export CANVAS_API_TOKEN="your_token_here"
export CANVAS_DOMAIN="your_school.instructure.com"
# Run
canvas-mcp-server
Option 3: Docker
docker run -d \
--name canvas-mcp \
-e CANVAS_API_TOKEN="your_token" \
-e CANVAS_DOMAIN="school.instructure.com" \
ghcr.io/dmontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms:latest
💼 Account Admin Workflow Examples
Create a New Course (FIXED!)
"Create a new course called 'Advanced Biology' in account 123"
Now properly creates courses with required account_id parameter
Manage Users
"Create a new student user John Doe with email john.doe@school.edu in our main account"
Creates user accounts with proper pseudonym and enrollment setup
Generate Reports
"Generate an enrollment report for account 456 for the current term"
Initiates Canvas reporting system for institutional analytics
List Account Courses
"Show me all published Computer Science courses in our Engineering account"
Advanced filtering and searching across account course catalogs
🎓 Student Workflow Examples
Check Today's Assignments
"What assignments do I have due this week?"
Lists upcoming assignments with due dates, points, and submission status
Submit an Assignment
"Help me submit my essay for English 101 Assignment 3"
Guides through text submission with formatting options
Check Grades
"What's my current grade in Biology?"
Shows current scores, grades, and assignment feedback
Participate in Discussions
"Show me the latest discussion posts in my Philosophy class"
Displays recent discussion topics and enables posting responses
Track Progress
"What modules do I need to complete in Math 200?"
Shows module completion status and next items to complete
Getting Canvas API Token
- Log into Canvas → Account → Settings
- Scroll to "Approved Integrations"
- Click "+ New Access Token"
- Enter description: "Claude MCP Integration"
- Copy the generated token Save securely!
⚠️ Account Admin Note: For account-level operations, ensure your API token has administrative privileges.
Production Deployment
Docker Compose
git clone https://github.com/DMontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms.git
cd mcp-canvas-lms
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your Canvas credentials
docker-compose up -d
Kubernetes
kubectl create secret generic canvas-mcp-secrets \
--from-literal=CANVAS_API_TOKEN="your_token" \
--from-literal=CANVAS_DOMAIN="school.instructure.com"
kubectl apply -f k8s/
Health Monitoring
# Check application health
curl http://localhost:3000/health
# Or use the built-in health check
npm run health-check
Development
# Setup development environment
git clone https://github.com/DMontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms.git
cd mcp-canvas-lms
npm install
# Start development with hot reload
npm run dev:watch
# Run tests
npm run test
npm run coverage
# Code quality
npm run lint
npm run type-check
📚 Available Tools (50+ Tools)
🎓 Core Student Tools (Click to expand)
canvas_health_check- Check API connectivitycanvas_list_courses- List all your coursescanvas_get_course- Get detailed course infocanvas_list_assignments- List course assignmentscanvas_get_assignment- Get assignment detailscanvas_submit_assignment- Submit assignment workcanvas_get_submission- Check submission statuscanvas_list_modules- List course modulescanvas_get_module- Get module detailscanvas_list_module_items- List items in a modulecanvas_mark_module_item_complete- Mark items completecanvas_list_discussion_topics- List discussion topicscanvas_get_discussion_topic- Get discussion detailscanvas_post_to_discussion- Post to discussionscanvas_list_announcements- List course announcementscanvas_get_user_grades- Get your gradescanvas_get_course_grades- Get course-specific gradescanvas_get_dashboard- Get dashboard infocanvas_get_dashboard_cards- Get course cardscanvas_get_upcoming_assignments- Get due datescanvas_list_calendar_events- List calendar eventscanvas_list_files- List course filescanvas_get_file- Get file detailscanvas_list_folders- List course folderscanvas_list_pages- List course pagescanvas_get_page- Get page contentcanvas_list_conversations- List messagescanvas_get_conversation- Get conversation detailscanvas_create_conversation- Send messagescanvas_list_notifications- List notificationscanvas_get_syllabus- Get course syllabuscanvas_get_user_profile- Get user profilecanvas_update_user_profile- Update profile
👨🏫 Instructor Tools (Click to expand)
canvas_create_course- Create new courses (FIXED: now requires account_id)canvas_update_course- Update course settingscanvas_create_assignment- Create assignmentscanvas_update_assignment- Update assignmentscanvas_list_assignment_groups- List assignment groupscanvas_submit_grade- Grade submissionscanvas_enroll_user- Enroll studentscanvas_list_quizzes- List course quizzescanvas_get_quiz- Get quiz detailscanvas_create_quiz- Create quizzescanvas_start_quiz_attempt- Start quiz attemptscanvas_list_rubrics- List course rubricscanvas_get_rubric- Get rubric details
👨💼 Account Management Tools (NEW!)
canvas_get_account- Get account detailscanvas_list_account_courses- List courses in an accountcanvas_list_account_users- List users in an accountcanvas_create_user- Create new users in accountscanvas_list_sub_accounts- List sub-accountscanvas_get_account_reports- List available reportscanvas_create_account_report- Generate account reports
🔧 Breaking Changes in v2.2.0
Course Creation Fix
BEFORE (Broken):
{
"tool": "canvas_create_course",
"arguments": {
"name": "My Course" // ❌ Missing account_id - caused "page not found"
}
}
AFTER (Fixed):
{
"tool": "canvas_create_course",
"arguments": {
"account_id": 123, // ✅ Required account_id
"name": "My Course",
"course_code": "CS-101"
}
}
🌟 Example Claude Conversations
Student: "I need to check my upcoming assignments and submit my English essay"
Claude: I'll help you check your upcoming assignments and then assist with submitting your English essay. Let me start by getting your upcoming assignments...
[Claude uses canvas_get_upcoming_assignments then helps with canvas_submit_assignment]
Instructor: "Create a new Advanced Physics course in the Science department and enroll my teaching assistant"
Claude: I'll help you create the Advanced Physics course in your Science department account and then enroll your TA...
[Claude uses canvas_create_course with proper account_id, then canvas_enroll_user]
Administrator: "Generate an enrollment report for all Computer Science courses this semester"
Claude: I'll generate a comprehensive enrollment report for your CS courses...
[Claude uses canvas_list_account_courses with filters, then canvas_create_account_report]
🔍 Troubleshooting
Common Issues:
- ❌ 401 Unauthorized: Check your API token and permissions
- ❌ 404 Not Found: Verify course/assignment IDs and access rights
- ❌ "Page not found" on course creation: Update to v2.2.0 for account_id fix
- ❌ Timeout: Increase
CANVAS_TIMEOUTor check network connectivity
Debug Mode:
export LOG_LEVEL=debug
npm start
Health Check:
npm run health-check
🤝 Contributing
We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Quick Contribution Setup
git clone https://github.com/DMontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms.git
cd mcp-canvas-lms
npm install
npm run dev:watch
# Make changes, add tests, submit PR
📈 Roadmap
- v2.3: Enhanced reporting, bulk operations, advanced search
- v2.4: Mobile support, offline capability, analytics dashboard
- v3.0: Multi-tenant, GraphQL API, AI-powered insights
🙋 Support & Community
- 🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
- 💬 Questions: GitHub Discussions
- 📖 Documentation: Wiki
📄 License
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.
Canvas MCP Server v2.2.0
Empowering students, educators, and administrators with seamless Canvas integration
Empowering students, educators, and administrators with seamless Canvas integration
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