Canva Skill

Create, export, upload assets to, and manage Canva designs via the Canva Connect API. Use when the user wants to create social posts, posters, PPT/slide visuals, export Canva designs as PNG/JPG/PDF, list recent Canva designs, upload local images to Canva, or autofill brand templates with content.

Use Canva Connect API for design creation, export, and asset upload workflows.

Prerequisites

Create a Canva Integration:

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

Set environment variables:

bash

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

Authenticate on first use and store tokens in ~/.canva/tokens.json.

API Base URL

bash

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

Authentication

Get access token from local token file:

bash

ACCESS_TOKEN=$(cat ~/.canva/tokens.json | jq -r '.access_token')

Refresh tokens automatically when the auth flow supports it.

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

Start export job:

bash

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:

bash

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

• 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
2. Find an Instagram post template
3. Autofill with content
4. Export as PNG 1080x1080
5. Download exported file

Create Carousel

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

Batch Export

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

Error Handling

Handle common errors clearly:

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

Required Scopes

• design:content:read
• design:content:write
• asset:read
• asset:write
• brandtemplate:content:read

Tips

• Prefer Brand Templates for posters and slides when available.
• Batch exports to reduce repetitive work.
• Cache commonly used template IDs locally.
• Poll export jobs until complete before downloading.

Current Status

This local skill skeleton is installed in the workspace, but Canva API use is not ready until the integration credentials and first-time OAuth authentication are completed.