v1.11.0 Now Available

AI-Powered Canvas
LMS Integration

Bridge AI assistants with Canvas Learning Management System. Up to 101 MCP tools for students, educators, learning designers, and developers. Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more.

🚀 Quick Start View on GitHub
101
MCP Tools
Local
Bulk Processing
Opt-in
Anonymization
// Features

Tools for Everyday Canvas Workflows

Comprehensive tools designed for real educational workflows, from simple queries to complex bulk operations.

🎯

Natural Language Interface

Ask questions like "What's due this week?" or "Which students haven't submitted?" and get answers from your Canvas data.

⚡

Code Execution API

Process bulk operations locally without loading every item into the model’s context.

🔒

Privacy-First Design

Optional data anonymization can reduce identity data before tool results reach your AI client. Compliance depends on your deployment and institutional policy.

📊

Analytics & Insights

Track student performance, assignment completion rates, peer review analytics, and more with AI-powered analysis.

💬

Discussion Management

Manage discussions, post announcements, facilitate peer reviews, and grade discussion participation efficiently.

🎛️

Role-Based Filtering

Set CANVAS_ROLE to student, educator, or all to control which tool groups are registered and reduce tool-definition overhead.

// For Everyone

Built for Your Role

Canvas MCP includes role-specific workflows for students, educators, and learning designers.

👨‍🎓

For Students

Get AI-powered assistance with your coursework and stay organized throughout the semester.

  • Track upcoming assignments and deadlines
  • Monitor your grades across all courses
  • Manage peer review assignments
  • Access course content and discussions
  • Organize your TODO list
Student Guide →
👨‍🏫

For Educators

Enhance your teaching with powerful tools for course management and student engagement.

  • Assignment and grading management
  • Student analytics and tracking
  • Discussion facilitation
  • Optional data anonymization controls
  • File management and bulk messaging
Educator Guide →
🎨

For Learning Designers

AI-powered course design, quality assurance, and WCAG-oriented accessibility review at scale.

  • Scaffold courses from specs or templates
  • Pre-semester quality audits
  • WCAG accessibility scanning & remediation
  • Course structure analysis in one call
  • Clone structure across courses
Designer Guide →
💻

For Developers

Use the code execution API for custom bulk operations.

  • Execute TypeScript locally
  • Keep bulk item processing out of model context
  • Discover APIs with search tools
  • Build custom integrations
  • Concurrent processing with rate limits
Code API Docs →
// Code Execution API

Bulk Operations,
Less Context

Tool-by-tool workflows can return every submission to the model's context. The code execution API can process items locally and return selected output.

Bulk Workflow Local Processing
Per-item
Model Context
→
Summary
Returned
Learn More →
bulkGrade.ts 
import { bulkGrade } from './canvas/grading';

await bulkGrade({
  courseIdentifier: "60366",
  assignmentId: "123",
  gradingFunction: (submission) => {
    // Analysis happens locally!
    const notebook = submission.attachments
      ?.find(f => f.filename.endsWith('.ipynb'));

    if (!notebook) return null;

    return {
      points: 100,
      comment: "Great work!"
    };
  }
});
// Get Started

Get Started

Install Canvas MCP locally so the server and credentials stay in your environment. Tool results are still sent to your configured AI client under that client's data policies.

1

Clone & Install Dependencies

Clone the repository and set up a Python virtual environment with all dependencies.

git clone https://github.com/vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp.git
cd canvas-mcp
python3 -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .
2

Configure Environment

Copy the template and add your Canvas API credentials.

cp env.template .env
# Edit .env with your CANVAS_API_TOKEN and CANVAS_API_URL
3

Connect Your MCP Client

Add the server to your client's MCP config. Most clients read this exact entry and differ only in where the file lives; some use their own schema (Zed nests it under context_servers). See supported clients or the per-client config blocks and file locations for Claude Desktop, Cursor, Zed, Windsurf, Continue, and others.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-api": {
      "command": "/path/to/canvas-mcp/.venv/bin/canvas-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}
4

Verify & Start Using

Test your connection and start interacting with Canvas through your AI assistant.

canvas-mcp-server --test
# Then restart your MCP client and start chatting!
// Security

Privacy-First Design

Local deployment and optional anonymization provide privacy controls for FERPA-conscious workflows; your institution remains responsible for its configuration and compliance.

🏠

Local Credentials

Local mode reads your token from local configuration. Authenticated institutional deployments pass user credentials per request and do not persist them in Canvas MCP.

🔐

Optional Anonymization

Educators can enable identity masking before supported tool results reach the AI client. Review the documented scope before relying on it.

👤

Canvas-Scoped Access

Student-specific tools use Canvas's "self" endpoints. Shared course content follows the permissions Canvas grants each account.

🚫

No Built-in Telemetry

Canvas MCP does not add product analytics. Canvas, your MCP client, and your AI provider may still retain their own logs.

🏛️ Deploying for your whole institution?

A production-tested Azure deployment guide — campus SSO via Entra ID, per-user Canvas tokens, a FERPA three-tier data model, and copyable CI/CD and config templates — lives in the repository.

Institutional Deployment Guide →
// Testimonial
Canvas MCP is the only tool I've found that lets me bridge my institutionally-secured Gemini instance with a local server that keeps my credentials and student materials where they belong: on my own system. It turns a massive administrative burden, like auditing hundreds of due dates, into a 30-second conversation, all while maintaining a zero-trust security posture that would make any IT Director proud.
Drew Rozema
Drew Rozema Educator & Cybersecurity Strategist LinkedIn
// Agent Skills

Workflow Recipes for 40+ Agents

Pre-built skills that teach AI agents how to use Canvas MCP effectively. Install via skills.sh or use as Claude Code slash commands.

Install with skills.sh

One command to add Canvas workflows to any supported agent.

Claude Code Cursor Codex OpenCode Cline Zed 40+ more
npx skills add vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp
📋

canvas-week-plan

Student weekly planner. Due dates, submission status, grades, and peer reviews across all courses — prioritized by urgency.

Try: "what's due this week"
🌅

canvas-morning-check

Educator morning dashboard. Submission rates, struggling students, grade distribution, and upcoming deadlines in one view.

Try: "morning check for CS 101"
📊

canvas-bulk-grading

Smart grading decision tree. Routes to single, bulk, or code execution based on submission count, with safety-first dry runs.

Try: "grade Assignment 5 using the rubric"
🔍

canvas-peer-review-manager

Full peer review pipeline. Completion analytics, quality analysis, problematic review flagging, targeted reminders, and reports.

Try: "how are peer reviews going"
💬

canvas-discussion-facilitator

Discussion forum facilitation. Browse, read, reply, monitor participation, and post — for both students and educators.

Try: "show discussion posts for Topic 3"
✅

canvas-course-qc

Pre-semester quality audit. Checks structure, content, publishing state, and completeness — generates a prioritized issue report.

Try: "run QC check on CS 101"
♿

canvas-accessibility-auditor

WCAG-oriented review workflow. Scans content, generates prioritized reports, guides remediation, and verifies fixes.

Try: "audit accessibility for BADM 350"
🏗️

canvas-course-builder

Scaffold complete course structures from specs, templates, or by cloning. Creates modules, pages, assignments, and discussions in bulk.

Try: "build a 15-week structure for CS 102"

Want a Custom Skill?

Have a repetitive Canvas workflow you'd like automated? Submit an issue describing your use case!

Request a Skill
// Compatibility

Works with Your Favorite Tools

Canvas MCP is designed for MCP-compatible clients; setup details and supported capabilities vary by client.

🤖
Claude Desktop
⌨️
Claude Code
💬
ChatGPT
🧩
VS Code
⚡
Zed
🖱️
Cursor
🌊
Windsurf
➡️
Continue
💻
Replit
// Community

Open Source Impact

Built in the open, adopted by educators worldwide.

—
GitHub Stars
—
Forks
—
Contributors
—
Monthly Installs

Ready to Transform Your
Canvas Experience?

Join educators and students using AI to make Canvas more powerful and intuitive.

🚀 Get Started Now Star on GitHub