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Data & APIs

This skill should be used when the user asks about Canvas LMS (Instructure) data for themselves or any student they observe. Triggers on phrases like "check Canvas", "what's my grade", "Canvas inbox", "what's due", "missing assignments", "Canvas LMS", "Instructure", "course announcements", "syllabus", or any request about courses, assignments, grades, conversations, announcements, planner items, or files.

Install

openclaw skills install canvas-parent-mcp

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.

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": "me@example.com",
        "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 "CANVAS_USERNAME=me@example.com" \
  --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.<tool_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

ToolNotes
canvas_get_profileYour Canvas profile (id, name, email, login, locale, timezone). Call this first to confirm credentials work.
canvas_list_observeesStudents linked to your observer account. Returns [] for plain student tokens.

Courses

ToolNotes
canvas_list_courses(observeeId?)Active courses with course-level grades. Includes total scores + current grading period scores.
canvas_get_course(courseId)Course detail: syllabus, teachers, term.

Assignments & submissions

ToolNotes
canvas_list_assignments(courseId, bucket?)Assignments for a course. bucket can be upcoming, overdue, past, or undated. Includes the user's submission inline.
canvas_list_missing_submissions(observeeId?, courseIds?)Past-due unsubmitted assignments. For an observee, courseIds is required.
canvas_get_submission(courseId, assignmentId, userId?)A single submission with comments + rubric assessment. userId defaults to self.
canvas_list_recent_submissions(courseId, since?)Recently graded submissions in a course. Defaults to a 14-day window.

Grades

ToolNotes
canvas_list_enrollments(observeeId?)Active student enrollments with grades (current_score, final_score, current_grade, final_grade, current grading period).

Calendar & planner

ToolNotes
canvas_list_calendar_events(contextCodes?, type?, startDate?, endDate?)Calendar events / assignments. contextCodes is an array like ["course_123", "user_456"].
canvas_list_upcoming_eventsCanvas's curated next-7-days view.
canvas_list_planner_items(observeeId?, startDate?, endDate?, contextCodes?)Unified planner: assignments + announcements + planner notes + calendar events.

Communication

ToolNotes
canvas_list_announcements(contextCodes, startDate?, endDate?)Announcements across one or more courses. contextCodes is required (e.g. ["course_123"]). Defaults to the last 14 days.
canvas_list_conversations(scope?)Inbox conversation list. scope ∈ unread / starred / archived.
canvas_get_conversation(id)Full conversation thread with messages.
canvas_list_discussion_topics(courseId)Discussion topic list for a course (read-only).

Files

ToolNotes
canvas_list_course_files(courseId, searchTerm?)File metadata: id, display_name, size, content-type, url.
canvas_download_file(url, destinationPath, overwrite?)Writes the file to destinationPath on disk. destinationPath is required — confirm the path with the user before calling.

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_<id>"]) — 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).
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