Mcp Canvas Lms

Canvas MCP Server v2.0

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Canvas LMS with complete student and instructor functionality

What’s New in v2.0

Complete Student Experience: 40+ tools covering all student workflows
Remote Ready: Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud deployment support
Fully Tested: Comprehensive test suite with 90%+ coverage
Production Grade: Robust error handling, retry logic, health monitoring
Modern Stack: TypeScript, async/await, automatic pagination
Real-time: Dashboard updates, upcoming assignments, calendar integration

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
Grading: Grade submissions, provide feedback, manage rubrics
User Management: Enroll students, manage permissions
Content Management: Create assignments, quizzes, discussions

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

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

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!

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

Core Student Tools (Click to expand)

canvas_health_check - Check API connectivity
canvas_list_courses - List all your courses
canvas_get_course - Get detailed course info
canvas_list_assignments - List course assignments
canvas_get_assignment - Get assignment details
canvas_submit_assignment - Submit assignment work
canvas_get_submission - Check submission status
canvas_list_modules - List course modules
canvas_mark_module_item_complete - Mark items complete
canvas_list_discussions - List discussion topics
canvas_post_to_discussion - Post to discussions
canvas_list_announcements - List course announcements
canvas_get_user_grades - Get your grades
canvas_get_dashboard - Get dashboard info
canvas_get_upcoming_assignments - Get due dates
canvas_list_calendar_events - List calendar events
canvas_list_files - List course files
canvas_list_pages - List course pages
canvas_get_page - Get page content
canvas_list_conversations - List messages
canvas_create_conversation - Send messages

👨‍🏫 Instructor Tools (Click to expand)

canvas_create_course - Create new courses
canvas_update_course - Update course settings
canvas_create_assignment - Create assignments
canvas_update_assignment - Update assignments
canvas_submit_grade - Grade submissions
canvas_enroll_user - Enroll students
canvas_create_quiz - Create quizzes
canvas_update_quiz - Update quizzes

🌟 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]

Student: “What’s my current grade in Biology and what assignments am I missing?”

Claude: I’ll check your Biology grades and identify any missing assignments…

[Claude uses canvas_get_course_grades and canvas_list_assignments with submission status]

🔍 Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

❌ 401 Unauthorized: Check your API token and permissions
❌ 404 Not Found: Verify course/assignment IDs and access rights
❌ Timeout: Increase CANVAS_TIMEOUT or 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

v2.1: Real-time notifications, bulk operations, advanced search
v2.2: 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 v2.0
Empowering students and educators with seamless Canvas integration

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