create_discussion_topic
Create discussion topics in Canvas courses with customizable settings for scheduling, student participation requirements, and topic visibility.
Instructions
Create a new discussion topic for a course.
Args:
course_identifier: The Canvas course code (e.g., badm_554_120251_246794) or ID
title: The title/subject of the discussion topic
message: The content/body of the discussion topic
delayed_post_at: Optional ISO 8601 datetime to schedule posting (e.g., "2024-01-15T12:00:00Z")
lock_at: Optional ISO 8601 datetime to automatically lock the discussion
require_initial_post: Whether students must post before seeing other posts
pinned: Whether to pin this discussion topic
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| course_identifier | Yes | ||
| delayed_post_at | No | ||
| lock_at | No | ||
| message | Yes | ||
| pinned | No | ||
| require_initial_post | No | ||
| title | Yes |
Implementation Reference
- The core handler function for the 'create_discussion_topic' tool. It creates a new discussion topic via Canvas API POST to /courses/{course_id}/discussion_topics with parameters for title, message, scheduling, locking, etc. Returns success message with topic ID.@mcp.tool() @validate_params async def create_discussion_topic(course_identifier: str | int, title: str, message: str, delayed_post_at: str | None = None, lock_at: str | None = None, require_initial_post: bool = False, pinned: bool = False) -> str: """Create a new discussion topic for a course. Args: course_identifier: The Canvas course code (e.g., badm_554_120251_246794) or ID title: The title/subject of the discussion topic message: The content/body of the discussion topic delayed_post_at: Optional ISO 8601 datetime to schedule posting (e.g., "2024-01-15T12:00:00Z") lock_at: Optional ISO 8601 datetime to automatically lock the discussion require_initial_post: Whether students must post before seeing other posts pinned: Whether to pin this discussion topic """ course_id = await get_course_id(course_identifier) data = { "title": title, "message": message, "published": True, "require_initial_post": require_initial_post, "pinned": pinned } if delayed_post_at: data["delayed_post_at"] = delayed_post_at if lock_at: data["lock_at"] = lock_at response = await make_canvas_request( "post", f"/courses/{course_id}/discussion_topics", data=data ) if "error" in response: return f"Error creating discussion topic: {response['error']}" topic_id = response.get("id") topic_title = response.get("title", title) created_at = format_date(response.get("created_at")) course_display = await get_course_code(course_id) or course_identifier return f"Discussion topic created successfully in course {course_display}:\n\n" + \ f"ID: {topic_id}\n" + \ f"Title: {topic_title}\n" + \ f"Created: {created_at}"
- src/canvas_mcp/server.py:42-64 (registration)The register_all_tools function in the main server file calls register_discussion_tools(mcp), which defines and registers the create_discussion_topic tool via its @mcp.tool() decorator.def register_all_tools(mcp: FastMCP) -> None: """Register all MCP tools, resources, and prompts.""" log_info("Registering Canvas MCP tools...") # Register tools by category register_course_tools(mcp) register_assignment_tools(mcp) register_discussion_tools(mcp) register_other_tools(mcp) register_rubric_tools(mcp) register_peer_review_tools(mcp) register_peer_review_comment_tools(mcp) register_messaging_tools(mcp) register_student_tools(mcp) register_accessibility_tools(mcp) register_discovery_tools(mcp) register_code_execution_tools(mcp) # Register resources and prompts register_resources_and_prompts(mcp) log_info("All Canvas MCP tools registered successfully!")
- src/canvas_mcp/tools/__init__.py:5-5 (registration)tools/__init__.py imports register_discussion_tools from discussions.py, making it available for registration in server.py.from .discussions import register_discussion_tools