Canvas MCP工具

Prerequisites (Local Installation)

• Python 3.10+ - Required for modern features and type hints
• Canvas API Access - API token and institution URL
• MCP Client - Any MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Zed, Windsurf, Continue, etc.)

1. Install Dependencies

```bash

Install via skills.sh (Any Agent)

npx skills add vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp

This launches an interactive picker to install skills into your agent of choice (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, Zed, and many more).

Install a specific skill:

npx skills add vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp -s canvas-week-plan

Local Installation

Install the package editable

pip install -e . ```

Bulk Grading Example

import { bulkGrade } from './canvas/grading/bulkGrade';

await bulkGrade({
  courseIdentifier: "60366",
  assignmentId: "123",
  gradingFunction: (submission) => {
    const notebook = submission.attachments?.find(f =>
      f.filename.endsWith('.ipynb')
    );
    if (!notebook) return null;
    return { points: 100, comment: "Great work!" };
  }
});

Usage

MCP clients start the server automatically. Just ask naturally:

• "What's due this week?" / "Show my grades" / "What peer reviews do I need?"
• "Who hasn't submitted Assignment 3?" / "Send reminders to missing students"

Quick start guides: Student | Educator | Real-World Workflows | Troubleshooting

(Recommended) Use a dedicated virtualenv so the MCP binary is in a stable location

python3 -m venv .venv . .venv/bin/activate

2. Configure Environment

```bash

Copy environment template

cp env.template .env

3. MCP Client Configuration

Canvas MCP works with any MCP-compatible client. Below are configuration examples for popular clients:

<details open> <summary><strong>Claude Desktop</strong> (Most Popular)</summary>

Configuration file location: - macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json - Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-api": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp/.venv/bin/canvas-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

Note: Use the absolute path to your virtualenv binary to avoid issues with shell-specific PATH entries (e.g., pyenv shims).

</details>

<details> <summary><strong>Cursor</strong></summary>

Configuration file location: - macOS/Linux: ~/.cursor/mcp_config.json - Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp_config.json

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-api": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp/.venv/bin/canvas-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><strong>Zed</strong></summary>

Configuration: Add to Zed's settings.json (accessible via Settings menu)

{
  "context_servers": {
    "canvas-api": {
      "command": {
        "path": "/absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp/.venv/bin/canvas-mcp-server",
        "args": []
      }
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><strong>Windsurf IDE</strong></summary>

Configuration file location: - macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Windsurf/mcp_config.json - Windows: %APPDATA%\Windsurf\mcp_config.json

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-api": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp/.venv/bin/canvas-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><strong>Continue</strong></summary>

Configuration: Add to Continue's config.json (accessible via Continue settings)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-api": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/canvas-mcp/.venv/bin/canvas-mcp-server"
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary><strong>Other MCP Clients</strong></summary>

For other MCP-compatible clients, the general pattern is:

1. Locate your client's MCP configuration file 2. Add a server entry with: - Server name: canvas-api (or any name you prefer) - Command: Full path to canvas-mcp-server binary - Optional args: Additional arguments if needed

Consult your client's MCP documentation for specific configuration format and file locations.

</details>

Windows users: Replace forward slashes with backslashes in paths (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\canvas-mcp\.venv\Scripts\canvas-mcp-server.exe)

View configuration

canvas-mcp-server --config

Quick Reference

Course identifiers: Canvas ID (12345), course code (badm_350_120251_246794), or SIS ID

Cannot do: Create/delete courses, modify course settings, access other users' data, create/update rubrics (use Canvas UI)

Rate limits: ~700 requests/10 min. Use max_concurrent=5 for bulk operations.

Full documentation: AGENTS.md | tools/TOOL_MANIFEST.json | tools/README.md

Required: CANVAS_API_TOKEN, CANVAS_API_URL

```

Get your Canvas API token from: Canvas → Account → Settings → New Access Token

Note for Students: Some educational institutions restrict API token creation for students. If you see an error like "There is a limit to the number of access tokens you can create" or cannot find the token creation option, contact your institution's Canvas administrator or IT support department to request API access or assistance in creating a token.

Test Canvas API connection

canvas-mcp-server --test

Code Execution API

For bulk operations (30+ items), Canvas MCP supports TypeScript code execution with 99.7% token savings compared to traditional tool calling.

Use search_canvas_tools to discover available operations, then execute_typescript to run them locally. Code runs in a secure sandbox by default (network blocked, env filtered, resource limits). Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

<details> <summary>Code execution examples and security details</summary>

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Server Won't Start - Verify your Configuration setup: .env file, virtual environment path, and dependencies
2. Authentication Errors - Check your Canvas API token validity and permissions
3. Connection Issues - Verify Canvas API URL correctness and network access
4. Debugging - Check your MCP client's console logs (e.g., Claude Desktop's developer console) or run server manually for error output