Canvas MCP Server

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/canvas_mcp/tools/discussions.py:535-662 (handler)

  The main handler function for the 'get_discussion_with_replies' MCP tool. It fetches discussion entries for a given topic in a Canvas course and optionally retrieves and formats detailed replies for each entry using multiple Canvas API endpoints.
  @mcp.tool() @validate_params async def get_discussion_with_replies(course_identifier: str | int, topic_id: str | int, include_replies: bool = False) -> str: """Enhanced function to get discussion entries with optional reply fetching. Args: course_identifier: The Canvas course code (e.g., badm_554_120251_246794) or ID topic_id: The Canvas discussion topic ID include_replies: Whether to fetch detailed replies for all entries (default: False) """ course_id = await get_course_id(course_identifier) # Get basic entries first entries = await fetch_all_paginated_results( f"/courses/{course_id}/discussion_topics/{topic_id}/entries", {"per_page": 100} ) if isinstance(entries, dict) and "error" in entries: return f"Error fetching discussion entries: {entries['error']}" if not entries: return f"No discussion entries found for topic {topic_id}." # Get topic details for context topic_response = await make_canvas_request( "get", f"/courses/{course_id}/discussion_topics/{topic_id}" ) topic_title = "Unknown Topic" if "error" not in topic_response: topic_title = topic_response.get("title", "Unknown Topic") course_display = await get_course_code(course_id) or course_identifier result = f"Discussion '{topic_title}' in Course {course_display}:\n\n" # Process each entry for entry in entries: entry_id = entry.get("id") user_name = entry.get("user_name", "Unknown user") message = entry.get("message", "") created_at = format_date(entry.get("created_at")) # Clean up message for display import re if message: message_preview = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '', message) if len(message_preview) > 200: message_preview = message_preview[:200] + "..." message_preview = message_preview.replace("\n", " ").strip() else: message_preview = "[No content]" result += f"📝 Entry {entry_id} by {user_name}\n" result += f" Posted: {created_at}\n" result += f" Content: {message_preview}\n" # Handle replies if include_replies: replies = [] # Method 1: Check recent_replies from the entry recent_replies = entry.get("recent_replies", []) if recent_replies: replies = recent_replies # Method 2: If no recent_replies or has_more_replies, try direct API call has_more_replies = entry.get("has_more_replies", False) if not replies or has_more_replies: try: replies_response = await fetch_all_paginated_results( f"/courses/{course_id}/discussion_topics/{topic_id}/entries/{entry_id}/replies", {"per_page": 100} ) if not isinstance(replies_response, dict) or "error" not in replies_response: replies = replies_response except Exception as e: log_warning( "Failed to fetch detailed replies", exc=e, course_id=course_id, topic_id=topic_id, entry_id=entry_id ) # Display replies if replies: result += f" 💬 Replies ({len(replies)}):\n" for i, reply in enumerate(replies, 1): reply_user = reply.get("user_name", "Unknown") reply_created = format_date(reply.get("created_at")) reply_msg = reply.get("message", "") # Clean reply message if reply_msg: reply_preview = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>', '', reply_msg) if len(reply_preview) > 150: reply_preview = reply_preview[:150] + "..." reply_preview = reply_preview.replace("\n", " ").strip() else: reply_preview = "[No content]" result += f" └─ Reply {i} by {reply_user} ({reply_created}): {reply_preview}\n" else: recent_count = len(entry.get("recent_replies", [])) has_more = entry.get("has_more_replies", False) if recent_count > 0 or has_more: result += f" 💬 Replies: {recent_count}{'+ (has more)' if has_more else ''} (failed to fetch details)\n" else: result += " 💬 No replies\n" else: # Just show reply count without fetching recent_count = len(entry.get("recent_replies", [])) has_more = entry.get("has_more_replies", False) if recent_count > 0 or has_more: result += f" 💬 Replies: {recent_count}{'+ (has more)' if has_more else ''}\n" else: result += " 💬 No replies\n" result += "\n" if not include_replies: result += "\n💡 Tip: Use include_replies=True to fetch detailed reply content" return result