canvas-session-mcp

Connect Claude, Cursor, Codex and other AI assistants to Canvas LMS — no access token needed. 不用 Access Token，一条命令让 Claude / Cursor / Codex 等 AI 读你的 Canvas。

English · 中文 · Website / 网页

English

Most Canvas integrations ask you to create a personal access token, and many universities no longer let students do that. This MCP server does what the Canvas website itself does: it uses your normal login. Sign in once in a real Chrome/Edge window (SSO and MFA as usual), and your AI assistant can read your courses.

• No token, no admin approval. If you can open Canvas in a browser, this works.

• Read-only. It only ever sends GET requests: it cannot submit, post or change anything.

• Local. Your login and files stay on your computer. Nothing goes anywhere except your school's Canvas.

• Reads and saves course files. Slides, assignment PDFs and Word documents come back as text, and whole courses can be saved into a folder you choose.

One-step setup

You need Node.js 20+ and Chrome or Edge. Then run:

npx -y https://github.com/CorCvusRamboChen/canvas-session-mcp/archive/refs/heads/main.tar.gz setup

Setup asks for three things, then does the rest:

1. Your Canvas address, e.g. https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au.

2. Where to save course files. The default is Documents/Canvas; any folder works.

3. Sign in in the browser window that opens. It closes by itself.

It then finds the AI apps on your computer — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Codex — and asks before connecting each one. Existing settings are kept, and a backup of every file it changes is saved next to it (*.before-canvas-mcp.bak). Restart the app and ask: "What's due this week on Canvas?"

What people actually ask

These are real requests from one student's semester (course codes and IDs changed).

Tools

Staying signed in

Canvas and most school SSOs use session cookies that a browser forgets when it closes, so the server keeps them in your data folder and renews them when needed. Measured on a real university Canvas (Okta SSO behind a Cloudflare bot check):

Prefer no pop-ups? Set CANVAS_MCP_RENEW=hidden and run login yourself when status reports an expired session.

How it was verified

• 18 automated tests run against a fake Canvas server and through a real MCP client: pagination, cookie refresh, hidden-Files fallback, duplicate uploads, setup writing each app's config, and a check that only GET requests are ever sent.

• 60/60 live checks on a real account through a real MCP client (node scripts/verify-live.mjs): 13 courses; modules, files, assignments and pages in each; announcements, grades, inbox, calendar, upcoming work, and a lecture PDF read as text.

• Session expiry simulated by deleting the Canvas session and SSO session cookies separately, with results as in the table above.

• Setup tested against a throwaway home folder: Claude Desktop, Codex and Cursor configs written correctly, existing servers kept, backups made.

Problems found and fixed during live testing:

• Assignment PDFs attached to announcements were missed.

• Last semester's courses were counted as current.

• Timetable events crowded out real deadlines.

• Identical files uploaded twice were saved twice.

Manual configuration

If you'd rather not run setup, point any MCP client at the server:

{ "mcpServers": { "canvas": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "https://github.com/CorCvusRamboChen/canvas-session-mcp/archive/refs/heads/main.tar.gz"] } } }

On Windows, use "command": "cmd", "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "…"]. Then run … login --url https://your-canvas once.

Privacy and responsible use

Your session cookies are stored in ~/.canvas-session-mcp/session.json, readable only by your user account. Treat that file like a password, and delete the folder to sign out. This is an unofficial tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by Instructure. It reads only what you can already see in your own browser, at a normal pace. Check your institution's IT acceptable-use policy, keep course materials private, and follow your subjects' rules on AI use.

Related MCP server: Canvas LMS MCP Server

中文

现有的 Canvas 工具大多要你生成个人 Access Token，但很多大学已经不让学生自己生成了。这个 MCP 服务器的做法和 Canvas 网页版本身一样：用你正常登录后的会话。在真实的 Chrome/Edge 窗口里登录一次（学校 SSO、MFA 照常），之后 AI 就能读你的课程。

• 不用 token，不用管理员批准：浏览器能打开 Canvas 就能用。

• 只读：只发 GET 请求，不会提交、发帖或修改任何东西。

• 数据只在本地：登录状态和下载的文件都留在你自己的电脑上，除了访问学校的 Canvas，不发往任何地方。

• 能读也能存课件：讲义、作业 PDF、Word 都能转成文字给 AI，也能把整门课的文件下载到你选的文件夹。

一键安装

先装好 Node.js 20+ 和 Chrome 或 Edge，然后运行：

npx -y https://github.com/CorCvusRamboChen/canvas-session-mcp/archive/refs/heads/main.tar.gz setup

setup 会问三件事，剩下的它自己完成：

1. Canvas 地址，比如 https://canvas.lms.unimelb.edu.au

2. 课件存到哪里：默认 文档/Canvas，可以换成任何文件夹

3. 登录：在弹出的浏览器窗口里登录，完成后窗口自动关闭

然后它会找到你电脑上的 AI 应用（Claude Desktop、Claude Code、Cursor、Windsurf、Codex），每个都先问你，同意了才接入。原有配置会保留，改动的每个文件旁边都会留一份备份（*.before-canvas-mcp.bak）。重启 AI 应用后问一句：“Canvas 上这周有什么要交？”

真实用例

下面都是一个学生这学期真实问过的问题（课程代码和 id 已替换）。

持续登录（实测）

Canvas 和大部分学校的 SSO 用的是“会话 cookie”，浏览器一关就清空。所以服务器会把它们存在你的数据文件夹里，需要时再自动续期。以下是在一所大学的真实 Canvas 上测的结果（Okta SSO，前面有 Cloudflare 人机验证）：

不想要弹窗的话，设置 CANVAS_MCP_RENEW=hidden，等 status 提示过期后自己运行 login。

验证记录

• 18 个自动测试：用假的 Canvas 服务器加真实的 MCP 客户端，覆盖分页、cookie 续期、Files 页隐藏时的兜底、重复上传、setup 写入各个 AI 应用的配置，并确认只会发 GET 请求。

• 真机 60/60 项检查：用真实账号、通过真实的 MCP 客户端运行（node scripts/verify-live.mjs）。覆盖 13 门课，每门课都查了模块、文件、作业和页面；还有公告、成绩、站内信、日历、近期待办，以及把讲义 PDF 转成文字。

• 模拟会话过期：分别删掉 Canvas 的会话 cookie 和 SSO 的会话 cookie，结果见上表。

• setup 测试：在一个临时的用户目录里运行，Claude Desktop、Codex、Cursor 的配置都写对了，原有的服务器配置保留，也做了备份。

真机测试中发现并修好的问题：

• 漏掉了挂在公告附件里的作业 PDF。

• 上学期的课被当成了“当前课程”。

• 课表事件淹没了真正的截止日期。

• 同一份文件上传两次就会存两份。

隐私与使用须知

会话 cookie 保存在 ~/.canvas-session-mcp/session.json，只有你的系统账户能读。请像对待密码一样对待它，删掉整个文件夹就等于退出登录。本项目是非官方工具，与 Instructure 无关，只读取你在自己浏览器里本来就能看到的内容，请求频率也和正常浏览差不多。请遵守学校的 IT 使用政策，不要外传课程资料，并遵守各科关于 AI 使用的规定。

Development

npm install
npm test                       # 17 tests, fake Canvas
node scripts/verify-live.mjs   # live, read-only checks against your own Canvas

License

MIT