Canvas LMS Student Skill

Use when the user needs to interact with Canvas LMS as a student. Trigger phrases include "check my homework", "what's due", "download my lecture PDFs", "list my Canvas courses", "when is my assignment due", "get my course materials". Provides read-only access to courses, assignments, files, and deadlines. Supports AI-assisted academic workflows including assignment research, deadline tracking, and material gathering.

Efan404@efan404

Install

openclaw skills install @efan404/canvas-lms-student

Canvas LMS Student Skill

This skill enables read-only access to Canvas LMS for student workflows.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks anything related to their Canvas courses, such as:

"Check my homework" / "what's due this week"
"List my Canvas courses" / "what classes am I taking"
"Download my lecture PDFs" / "get course materials"
"When is my assignment due" / "upcoming deadlines"
"Show my grades" / "how am I doing in CS101"
"Find the syllabus" / "search for project requirements"
"Export deadlines to my calendar"
"Help me write my essay" (will gather assignment requirements)

Key indicators: Canvas, course, assignment, homework, deadline, grade, syllabus, lecture notes, materials.

Prerequisites

Configuration (in order of precedence):

Environment Variables (highest priority):
- CANVAS_BASE_URL - Institution Canvas URL (e.g., https://canvas.university.edu)
- CANVAS_API_TOKEN - Personal API token from Canvas Settings
Config File (fallback if env vars not set):
- Location: ~/.config/canvas-lms/config.json
- Format: {"base_url": "...", "api_token": "..."}
- Created automatically if you use the CLI tool (canvas-lms config)

Setup Guide (if not configured):

Guide user to: Canvas → Account → Settings → Approved Integrations
Click "+ New Access Token"

Configure using ONE of these methods:

Environment variables:

bash

export CANVAS_BASE_URL="https://your-school.instructure.com"
export CANVAS_API_TOKEN="copied-token"

CLI tool (easier for humans):

bash

pip install canvas-lms-cli
canvas-lms config  # Interactive setup

Test with: python scripts/canvas_client.py --test

Available Tools

1. List Courses

Script: python scripts/list_courses.py

Purpose: Get course IDs and basic information for other operations.

Key Options:

--active-only - Show only current enrollments
--with-grades - Include current scores
--json - Output structured JSON (recommended for AI parsing)
--resolve "Course Name" - Find course by name instead of ID

Output: Course ID, name, code, grade (optional)

When to Use:

First step before any course-specific operation to get valid course IDs
Or use --resolve to find course ID from name (e.g., --resolve "CS101")

AI Tip: Use --json for reliable parsing, or --resolve to convert course names to IDs automatically.

2. Get Assignments

Script: python scripts/get_assignments.py --course <ID>

Purpose: List assignments with deadlines and submission status.

Key Options:

--course 12345 or --course "CS101" --resolve-name - Course ID or name
--upcoming - Only future assignments
--overdue - Only overdue assignments
--unsubmitted - Only pending work
--with-description - Include full descriptions
--json - Output structured JSON
--assignment-name "Project" - Find specific assignment by name

When to Use: Checking workload, finding deadlines, or getting assignment overview.

AI Tip: Use --resolve-name to avoid manual ID lookup, or --assignment-name to find specific assignments by name.

3. Get Assignment Detail (For AI Writing)

Script: python scripts/get_assignment_detail.py --course <ID> --assignment <ID>

Purpose: Retrieve complete assignment requirements for AI-assisted writing.

Returns:

Full description/prompt (cleaned HTML)
Points possible and rubric criteria
Submission type requirements
Due date and submission status
Allowed file extensions

When to Use: Before AI-assisted essay/assignment writing to get full context and requirements.

4. Download Course Files

Script: python scripts/download_files.py --course <ID> --output <DIR>

Purpose: Download all course materials to local directory.

Key Options:

--folder "Folder Name" - Download specific folder only
--type pdf - Filter by file extension
--dry-run - Preview without downloading
--flat - Flat structure (don't preserve Canvas folders)
--json - Output file list as JSON
--no-id-prefix - Don't add ID prefix to duplicate filenames

When to Use: Gathering reading materials, saving lecture notes, or collecting reference documents.

File Organization: By default, preserves Canvas folder structure. Files with duplicate names get ID prefix (e.g., 12345_lecture.pdf). Use --flat for flat structure.

5. Export Deadlines to Calendar

Script: python scripts/export_calendar.py --course <IDs> --output <FILE>

Purpose: Export assignment deadlines to iCalendar (.ics) format.

Key Options:

--courses 123,456,789 - Multiple courses (comma-separated)
--unsubmitted-only - Only pending assignments

When to Use: Creating calendar reminders, syncing with Google/Apple Calendar.

6. Search Canvas Content

Script: python scripts/search_canvas.py --query "<search>"

Purpose: Find files, assignments, or announcements across courses.

Key Options:

--course <ID> - Search specific course only
--type assignment|file|announcement - Limit search type
--full-content - Show content previews

When to Use: Finding specific resources, locating assignment requirements, checking announcements.

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: AI-Assisted Essay Writing

text

1. List courses → get course ID
2. Get assignments → find target assignment ID
3. Get assignment detail → retrieve full requirements and rubric
4. (Optional) Search for related materials
5. (Optional) Download reference files
6. AI generates essay based on gathered context

Pattern 2: Deadline Management

text

1. List courses → get all course IDs
2. Export calendar → generate .ics with all deadlines
3. Import to calendar app for reminders

Pattern 3: Course Material Collection

text

1. List courses → get course ID
2. Download files → get all course materials
3. Search for specific topics if needed

Safety & Limitations

Read-Only: This skill only reads data. It cannot:

Submit assignments
Modify grades
Post to discussions
Upload files to Canvas

Rate Limits: Canvas API has rate limiting. For bulk operations:

Use pagination (handled automatically)
Add delays between requests if needed
Handle 429 errors with exponential backoff

Data Privacy:

API tokens are password-equivalent
Never log or expose tokens
All data stays local (downloads only)

Error Handling

Common errors and solutions:

Error	Cause	Solution
401 Unauthorized	Invalid/expired token	Guide user to regenerate token
403 Forbidden	Insufficient permissions	Check enrollment status
404 Not Found	Wrong course/assignment ID	Verify IDs from list commands
429 Rate Limited	Too many requests	Add delay and retry

References

API Overview - Authentication and pagination
Courses - Course operations details
Assignments - Assignment handling
Files - File download details
Calendar Export - ICS format details
Search - Search techniques

OpenClaw Integration

This repository can be installed from ClawHub/OpenClaw as a skill bundle. OpenClaw discovers the skill from SKILL.md. The added manifest.json and wrapper.py are supplemental helper files for wrapper-based environments; they do not auto-register seven native OpenClaw tools by themselves. If you want native tool exposure inside OpenClaw, package the wrapper as a plugin or MCP server separately.

Installation

bash

# Preferred: install from ClawHub/OpenClaw
openclaw skills install canvas-lms-student

# Or install with clawhub
clawhub install canvas-lms-student

# Or clone the repository directly
git clone https://github.com/Efan404/canvas-lms-student-skill.git

# Run setup to install dependencies
cd canvas-lms-student-skill
./setup.sh

# Or manually install dependencies
pip3 install canvasapi requests

Configuration

Set up Canvas API access:

bash

# Method 1: Environment variables
export CANVAS_BASE_URL="https://your-school.instructure.com"
export CANVAS_API_TOKEN="your-api-token"

# Method 2: Config file
mkdir -p ~/.config/canvas-lms
echo '{"base_url": "https://...", "api_token": "..."}' > ~/.config/canvas-lms/config.json

Get API token: Canvas → Account → Settings → Approved Integrations → + New Access Token

Available Tools

When used through the local wrapper, these commands are available:

Tool	Description	Example
`list_courses`	List all courses	`list_courses()`
`resolve_course`	Find course by name	`resolve_course(name="CS5293")`
`get_assignments`	Get course assignments	`get_assignments(course="CS5293")`
`get_assignment_detail`	Get assignment info	`get_assignment_detail(course=67488, assignment=319756)`
`search_canvas`	Search content	`search_canvas(query="project", type="assignment")`
`download_files`	Download course files	`download_files(course=67488, type="pdf")`
`export_calendar`	Export deadlines	`export_calendar(courses="67488,67524")`

Wrapper Usage

For programmatic access, use the wrapper:

bash

python3 wrapper.py list_courses '{"active_only": true}'
python3 wrapper.py get_assignments '{"course": "CS5293", "upcoming": true}'
python3 wrapper.py search_canvas '{"query": "deadline", "type": "announcement"}'

Manifest

See manifest.json for complete tool definitions and parameter schemas.

Canvas LMS Student Skill

Install

Canvas LMS Student Skill

When to Use

Prerequisites

Available Tools

1. List Courses

2. Get Assignments

3. Get Assignment Detail (For AI Writing)

4. Download Course Files

5. Export Deadlines to Calendar

6. Search Canvas Content

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: AI-Assisted Essay Writing

Pattern 2: Deadline Management

Pattern 3: Course Material Collection

Safety & Limitations

Error Handling

References

OpenClaw Integration

Installation

Configuration

Available Tools

Wrapper Usage

Manifest

Related skills