mcp-canvas-lms

Canvas MCP Server v2.2.0

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Canvas LMS with complete student, instructor, and account administration functionality

🚀 What's New in v2.2.0

• 🔧 FIXED: Course creation "page not found" error (missing account_id parameter)
• 👨‍💼 Account Management: Complete account-level administration tools
• 📊 Reports & Analytics: Generate and access Canvas account reports
• 👥 User Management: Create and manage users at the account level
• 🏢 Multi-Account Support: Handle account hierarchies and sub-accounts
• ✅ API Compliance: All endpoints now follow proper Canvas API patterns

🎯 Key Features

🎓 For Students

• Course Management: Access all courses, syllabi, and course materials
• Assignment Workflow: View, submit (text/URL/files), and track assignments
• Communication: Participate in discussions, read announcements, send messages
• Progress Tracking: Monitor grades, module completion, and calendar events
• Quizzes: Take quizzes, view results and feedback
• File Access: Browse and download course files and resources

👨‍🏫 For Instructors

• Course Creation: Create and manage course structure (now with proper account support)
• Grading: Grade submissions, provide feedback, manage rubrics
• User Management: Enroll students, manage permissions
• Content Management: Create assignments, quizzes, discussions

👨‍💼 For Account Administrators (NEW!)

• Account Management: Manage institutional Canvas accounts
• User Administration: Create and manage users across accounts
• Course Oversight: List and manage all courses within accounts
• Reporting: Generate enrollment, grade, and activity reports
• Sub-Account Management: Handle account hierarchies and structures

🛠️ Technical Excellence

• Robust API: Automatic retries, pagination, comprehensive error handling
• Cloud Ready: Docker containers, Kubernetes manifests, health checks
• Well Tested: Unit tests, integration tests, mocking, coverage reports
• Type Safe: Full TypeScript implementation with strict types
• 50+ Tools: Comprehensive coverage of Canvas LMS functionality

Quick Start

Option 1: Claude Desktop Integration (Recommended MCP Setup)

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your_token_here",
        "CANVAS_DOMAIN": "your_school.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 2: NPM Package

# Install globally
npm install -g canvas-mcp-server

# Configure
export CANVAS_API_TOKEN="your_token_here"
export CANVAS_DOMAIN="your_school.instructure.com"

# Run
canvas-mcp-server

Option 3: Docker

docker run -d \
  --name canvas-mcp \
  -e CANVAS_API_TOKEN="your_token" \
  -e CANVAS_DOMAIN="school.instructure.com" \
  ghcr.io/dmontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms:latest

💼 Account Admin Workflow Examples

Create a New Course (FIXED!)

"Create a new course called 'Advanced Biology' in account 123"

Now properly creates courses with required account_id parameter

Manage Users

"Create a new student user John Doe with email john.doe@school.edu in our main account"

Creates user accounts with proper pseudonym and enrollment setup

Generate Reports

"Generate an enrollment report for account 456 for the current term"

Initiates Canvas reporting system for institutional analytics

List Account Courses

"Show me all published Computer Science courses in our Engineering account"

Advanced filtering and searching across account course catalogs

🎓 Student Workflow Examples

Check Today's Assignments

"What assignments do I have due this week?"

Lists upcoming assignments with due dates, points, and submission status

Submit an Assignment

"Help me submit my essay for English 101 Assignment 3"

Guides through text submission with formatting options

Check Grades

"What's my current grade in Biology?"

Shows current scores, grades, and assignment feedback

Participate in Discussions

"Show me the latest discussion posts in my Philosophy class"

Displays recent discussion topics and enables posting responses

Track Progress

"What modules do I need to complete in Math 200?"

Shows module completion status and next items to complete

Getting Canvas API Token

1. Log into Canvas → Account → Settings
2. Scroll to "Approved Integrations"
3. Click "+ New Access Token"
4. Enter description: "Claude MCP Integration"
5. Copy the generated token Save securely!

⚠️ Account Admin Note: For account-level operations, ensure your API token has administrative privileges.

Production Deployment

Docker Compose

git clone https://github.com/DMontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms.git
cd mcp-canvas-lms
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your Canvas credentials
docker-compose up -d

Kubernetes

kubectl create secret generic canvas-mcp-secrets \
  --from-literal=CANVAS_API_TOKEN="your_token" \
  --from-literal=CANVAS_DOMAIN="school.instructure.com"

kubectl apply -f k8s/

Health Monitoring

# Check application health
curl http://localhost:3000/health

# Or use the built-in health check
npm run health-check

Development

# Setup development environment
git clone https://github.com/DMontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms.git
cd mcp-canvas-lms
npm install

# Start development with hot reload
npm run dev:watch

# Run tests
npm run test
npm run coverage

# Code quality
npm run lint
npm run type-check

📚 Available Tools (50+ Tools)

🔧 Breaking Changes in v2.2.0

Course Creation Fix

BEFORE (Broken):

{
  "tool": "canvas_create_course",
  "arguments": {
    "name": "My Course"  // ❌ Missing account_id - caused "page not found"
  }
}

AFTER (Fixed):

{
  "tool": "canvas_create_course", 
  "arguments": {
    "account_id": 123,              // ✅ Required account_id
    "name": "My Course",
    "course_code": "CS-101"
  }
}

🌟 Example Claude Conversations

Student: "I need to check my upcoming assignments and submit my English essay"

Claude: I'll help you check your upcoming assignments and then assist with submitting your English essay. Let me start by getting your upcoming assignments...

[Claude uses canvas_get_upcoming_assignments then helps with canvas_submit_assignment]

Instructor: "Create a new Advanced Physics course in the Science department and enroll my teaching assistant"

Claude: I'll help you create the Advanced Physics course in your Science department account and then enroll your TA...

[Claude uses canvas_create_course with proper account_id, then canvas_enroll_user]

Administrator: "Generate an enrollment report for all Computer Science courses this semester"

Claude: I'll generate a comprehensive enrollment report for your CS courses...

[Claude uses canvas_list_account_courses with filters, then canvas_create_account_report]

🔍 Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

• ❌ 401 Unauthorized: Check your API token and permissions
• ❌ 404 Not Found: Verify course/assignment IDs and access rights
• ❌ "Page not found" on course creation: Update to v2.2.0 for account_id fix
• ❌ Timeout: Increase CANVAS_TIMEOUT or check network connectivity

Debug Mode:

export LOG_LEVEL=debug
npm start

Health Check:

npm run health-check

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! See for guidelines.

Quick Contribution Setup

git clone https://github.com/DMontgomery40/mcp-canvas-lms.git
cd mcp-canvas-lms
npm install
npm run dev:watch
# Make changes, add tests, submit PR

📈 Roadmap

• v2.3: Enhanced reporting, bulk operations, advanced search
• v2.4: Mobile support, offline capability, analytics dashboard
• v3.0: Multi-tenant, GraphQL API, AI-powered insights

🙋 Support & Community

• 🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Questions: GitHub Discussions
• 📖 Documentation: Wiki

📄 License

MIT License - see file for details.