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This skill should be used when the user asks about Canvas LMS data — their own student account or any observed student. 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 in Canvas.

canvas-parent-mcp

MCP server for Canvas LMS (Instructure) — read courses, grades, assignments, announcements, planner items, and conversations; download course files. Mirrors the parent/observer scope of the sibling infinitecampus-mcp.

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

Setup

Option A — npx (recommended)

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

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-parent-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://cms.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

With the fetchproxy extension installed and a signed-in Canvas tab, that's enough — the MCP reads your session cookies at startup. Add CANVAS_TOKEN, CANVAS_CLIENT_*/CANVAS_REFRESH_TOKEN, or CANVAS_USERNAME/CANVAS_PASSWORD to the env block if you'd rather use one of those modes.

Option B — from source

bash

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

Authentication

fetchproxy fallback (recommended, zero-config). Set only CANVAS_BASE_URL. Install the fetchproxy browser extension, sign into your Canvas instance once. The MCP reads canvas_session + pseudonym_credentials cookies from your tab at startup; all API calls go directly from Node after that. Works with any auth flow (SSO/SAML/2FA included).

Alternatives (env-var)

• Personal access token — set CANVAS_TOKEN. Most institutions have disabled this for non-admins.
• OAuth — set CANVAS_CLIENT_ID, CANVAS_CLIENT_SECRET, CANVAS_REFRESH_TOKEN. Bootstrap via canvas-parent-mcp-qr-login.
• Username/password (session-scrape) — set CANVAS_USERNAME + CANVAS_PASSWORD. Direct Canvas accounts only (no SSO/2FA). Brittle.

Precedence when multiple are set: CANVAS_TOKEN > username/password > OAuth > fetchproxy. Set CANVAS_DISABLE_FETCHPROXY=1 to opt out of the fallback.

Tools (prefix canvas_)

Profile & observees

• canvas_get_profile — your Canvas profile
• canvas_list_observees — students linked to your observer account

Courses

• canvas_list_courses — your active courses with grades
• canvas_get_course(courseId) — course detail with syllabus + teachers

Assignments & submissions

• canvas_list_assignments(courseId) — assignments in a course
• canvas_list_missing_submissions — past-due unsubmitted work
• canvas_get_submission(courseId, assignmentId) — your submission with comments + rubric
• canvas_list_recent_submissions(courseId) — recently graded submissions (default 14d)

Grades

• canvas_list_enrollments — per-course grades

Calendar & planner

• canvas_list_calendar_events — calendar events / assignments
• canvas_list_upcoming_events — server-curated next 7 days
• canvas_list_planner_items — unified to-do feed

Communication

• canvas_list_announcements(contextCodes) — course announcements
• canvas_list_conversations — inbox
• canvas_get_conversation(id) — full conversation thread
• canvas_list_discussion_topics(courseId) — course discussion topics

Files

• canvas_list_course_files(courseId) — file metadata
• canvas_download_file(url, destinationPath) — download a file to disk

Notes

• Set CANVAS_NAME if you want a friendly label other than the host portion of the base URL.
• All read tools that target a user accept an optional observeeId parameter (defaults to self) — useful when an observer is checking on a linked student.