Canva

Create, export, and manage Canva designs via the Connect API. Generate social posts, carousels, and graphics programmatically.

Canva Skill

Create, export, and manage Canva designs via the Connect API.

When to Use

• "Create an Instagram post about [topic]"
• "Export my Canva design as PNG"
• "List my recent designs"
• "Create a carousel from these points"
• "Upload this image to Canva"

Prerequisites

1. Create a Canva Integration:

   • Go to https://www.canva.com/developers/
   • Create a new integration
   • Get your Client ID and Client Secret

2. Set Environment Variables:

   bash

   export CANVA_CLIENT_ID="your_client_id"
   export CANVA_CLIENT_SECRET="your_client_secret"
   

3. Authenticate (first time): Run the auth flow to get access tokens (stored in ~/.canva/tokens.json)

API Base URL

text

https://api.canva.com/rest/v1

Authentication

Canva uses OAuth 2.0. The skill handles token refresh automatically.

bash

# Get access token (stored in ~/.canva/tokens.json)
ACCESS_TOKEN=$(cat ~/.canva/tokens.json | jq -r '.access_token')

Core Operations

List Designs

bash

curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/designs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Get Design Details

bash

curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/designs/{designId}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Create Design from Template

bash

curl -X POST "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/autofills" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "brand_template_id": "TEMPLATE_ID",
    "data": {
      "title": {"type": "text", "text": "Your Title"},
      "body": {"type": "text", "text": "Your body text"}
    }
  }'

Export Design

bash

# Start export job
curl -X POST "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/exports" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "design_id": "DESIGN_ID",
    "format": {"type": "png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080}
  }'

# Check export status
curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/exports/{jobId}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Upload Asset

bash

curl -X POST "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/asset-uploads" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/octet-stream" \
  -H 'Asset-Upload-Metadata: {"name": "my-image.png"}' \
  --data-binary @image.png

List Brand Templates

bash

curl -s "https://api.canva.com/rest/v1/brand-templates" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" | jq .

Export Formats

Format	Options
PNG	width, height, lossless
JPG	width, height, quality (1-100)
PDF	standard, print
MP4	(for video designs)
GIF	(for animated designs)

Common Workflows

Create Instagram Post

1. List brand templates: GET /brand-templates
2. Find Instagram post template
3. Autofill with content: POST /autofills
4. Export as PNG 1080x1080: POST /exports
5. Download the exported file

Create Carousel

1. Create multiple designs using autofill
2. Export each as PNG
3. Combine for posting

Batch Export

1. List designs: GET /designs
2. Loop through and export each
3. Download all files

Rate Limits

• Most endpoints: 100 requests/minute
• Upload/Export: 30 requests/minute

Error Handling

Common errors:

• 401 - Token expired, refresh needed
• 403 - Missing required scope
• 429 - Rate limit exceeded
• 404 - Design/template not found

Scopes Required

• design:content:read - Read designs
• design:content:write - Create/modify designs
• asset:read - Read assets
• asset:write - Upload assets
• brandtemplate:content:read - Read brand templates

Tips

1. Use Brand Templates - Pre-designed templates are faster than creating from scratch
2. Batch Operations - Group exports to avoid rate limits
3. Cache Template IDs - Store commonly used template IDs locally
4. Check Job Status - Exports are async; poll until complete

Resources

• Canva Connect API Docs
• OpenAPI Spec
• Starter Kit

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