canvas-parent-mcp

MCP server for Canvas LMS (Instructure) — 18 tools covering profile, observees, courses, assignments, submissions, grades, calendar, planner, announcements, conversations, discussions, and files. Read-only except for one file-download tool.

• Source: github.com/chrischall/canvas-parent-mcp
• npm: npmjs.com/package/canvas-parent-mcp

Setup

Pick one auth mode. Username/password is recommended — most schools have disabled personal-access-token creation.

Option A — Claude Code (direct MCP, no mcporter)

Add to .mcp.json in your project or ~/.claude/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-parent-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://cms.instructure.com",
        "CANVAS_USERNAME": "[email protected]",
        "CANVAS_PASSWORD": "your-canvas-password",
        "CANVAS_NAME": "CMS"
      }
    }
  }
}

The server logs in lazily on the first request and silently re-mints cookies on 401, so you never have to re-bootstrap. Direct Canvas accounts only — won't work with SAML/Google/Microsoft SSO or 2FA.

Advanced alternatives

If your admin still allows tokens, swap CANVAS_USERNAME/CANVAS_PASSWORD for CANVAS_TOKEN:

"env": {
  "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://cms.instructure.com",
  "CANVAS_TOKEN": "your-personal-access-token"
}

If your account uses SSO (so username/password won't work), mint OAuth credentials by reusing the Canvas mobile-app QR-login flow (canvas-parent-mcp-qr-login), then:

"env": {
  "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://cms.instructure.com",
  "CANVAS_CLIENT_ID": "...",
  "CANVAS_CLIENT_SECRET": "...",
  "CANVAS_REFRESH_TOKEN": "..."
}

Option B — mcporter

1. Install

npm install -g canvas-parent-mcp

Or from source:

git clone https://github.com/chrischall/canvas-parent-mcp
cd canvas-parent-mcp
npm install && npm run build

2. Configure credentials

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env: set CANVAS_BASE_URL plus one of CANVAS_TOKEN, CANVAS_USERNAME+CANVAS_PASSWORD, or the OAuth triple.

3. Register with mcporter

mcporter config add canvas \
  --command "canvas-parent-mcp" \
  --env "CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://cms.instructure.com" \
  --env "[email protected]" \
  --env "CANVAS_PASSWORD=your-canvas-password" \
  --env "CANVAS_NAME=CMS" \
  --config ~/.mcporter/mcporter.json

(Or substitute CANVAS_TOKEN / OAuth env vars per the alternatives above.)

4. Verify

mcporter list --config ~/.mcporter/mcporter.json
mcporter call canvas.canvas_get_profile --config ~/.mcporter/mcporter.json

Calling tools (mcporter)

mcporter call canvas.\x3Ctool_name> [key=value ...] --config ~/.mcporter/mcporter.json

Always pass --config ~/.mcporter/mcporter.json unless a local config/mcporter.json exists.

Most tools accept an optional observeeId (defaults to self) — set it to a student's user ID when an observer is checking on a linked student. List the candidates with canvas_list_observees.

Tools

Profile & observees

Courses

Assignments & submissions

Grades

Calendar & planner

Communication

Files

Workflows

Discovery (first time):

1. canvas_get_profile → confirm credentials
2. canvas_list_observees → if empty, you're a student; otherwise capture observee IDs
3. canvas_list_courses → capture course IDs

Is everything OK at school?

1. canvas_list_courses (capture IDs)
2. canvas_list_recent_submissions(courseId) for each — last 14 days of grading
3. canvas_list_missing_submissions — past-due work
4. canvas_list_announcements(contextCodes=["course_\x3Cid>"]) — recent announcements

What got graded this week?

• canvas_list_recent_submissions(courseId, since="YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ")

What's due soon?

• canvas_list_planner_items(startDate=..., endDate=...) — unified planner
• Or canvas_list_assignments(courseId, bucket="upcoming") per course

Today's calendar:

• canvas_list_upcoming_events

Read a syllabus:

• canvas_get_course(courseId) — syllabus_body is included

Inbox:

1. canvas_list_conversations — find a thread
2. canvas_get_conversation(id) — read it

Download a file:

1. canvas_list_course_files(courseId) → find the file's url
2. Confirm destination path with the user
3. canvas_download_file(url, destinationPath="/Users/.../file.pdf")

Caution

• canvas_download_file writes to disk at destinationPath — confirm the path with the user; pass overwrite:true to replace.
• All auth credentials (password, token, refresh token) grant the same access as the user account. Treat them as secrets — never commit .env.
• Endpoints that return paginated results follow Canvas's RFC 5988 Link headers automatically up to 50 pages (5,000 items at the default per_page=100).