Canvas MCP Server
A Model Context Protocol server providing comprehensive access to Canvas LMS for AI assistants.
Features
Access Canvas LMS functionality through 31 MCP tools:
- Courses: List and view course information
- Assignments: Browse, view details, check submissions, and submit work
- Grades: View grades for individual courses or across all courses
- Messaging: Send and receive messages, manage conversations (read/unread, star, archive, delete)
- Calendar: View events and upcoming deadlines
- To-Do Lists: Track pending tasks and assignments
- Modules: Navigate course content structure
- Announcements: Read course and institutional announcements
- Files: Access and download course materials
- Quizzes: View quizzes and submissions
- Users: Search for classmates and instructors
Installation
Prerequisites
- Bun runtime
- Canvas LMS account with API access token
Setup
- Install dependencies:
bun install
-
Get your Canvas API token:
- Log into Canvas
- Navigate to Account → Settings
- Scroll to "Approved Integrations"
- Click "+ New Access Token"
- Generate and copy the token
-
Configure environment variables:
export CANVAS_BASE_URL="https://your-institution.instructure.com"
export CANVAS_ACCESS_TOKEN="your_access_token_here"
- Configure your MCP client with the following settings:
{
"mcpServers": {
"canvas": {
"command": "bun",
"args": ["run", "/absolute/path/to/canvas/src/index.ts"],
"env": {
"CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://your-institution.instructure.com",
"CANVAS_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_access_token_here"
}
}
}
}
Usage
After setup, interact with Canvas through your MCP client:
Show me all my current courses
What assignments do I have due soon?
What are my grades in all my classes?
Show me my recent Canvas messages
Development
Quality Gates
bun run format # Format code with Prettier
bun run lint # Lint code with ESLint
bun run typecheck # Type check with TypeScript
bun test # Run tests
Build
bun run build # Build for production
bun run dev # Run in development mode
Documentation
Architecture
Built with TypeScript and the MCP SDK, this server provides a type-safe interface to the Canvas LMS REST API. All operations use Bearer token authentication and respect Canvas rate limits.
Project Structure
canvas/
├── src/
│ ├── canvas/
│ │ ├── client.ts # Canvas API client
│ │ └── client.test.ts # Client tests
│ └── index.ts # MCP server implementation
├── docs/ # Documentation
├── package.json # Dependencies and scripts
└── tsconfig.json # TypeScript configuration
Security
- Store credentials in environment variables
- Never commit access tokens to version control
- Use token expiration dates
- Rotate tokens regularly
- Follow your institution's API usage policies
API Reference
This server implements the Canvas LMS REST API v1. For detailed API documentation, visit the Instructure Developer Portal.
License
This project uses permissive open-source dependencies with no telemetry or tracking.