Canvas MCP Server V2.0

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/index.ts:73-106 (registration)

  Registration of the 'canvas_create_course' tool including its input schema definition in the TOOLS array.

  {
    name: "canvas_create_course",
    description: "Create a new course in Canvas",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        account_id: { type: "number", description: "ID of the account to create the course in" },
        name: { type: "string", description: "Name of the course" },
        course_code: { type: "string", description: "Course code (e.g., CS101)" },
        start_at: { type: "string", description: "Course start date (ISO format)" },
        end_at: { type: "string", description: "Course end date (ISO format)" },
        license: { type: "string", description: "Course license" },
        is_public: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether the course is public" },
        is_public_to_auth_users: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether the course is public to authenticated users" },
        public_syllabus: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether the syllabus is public" },
        public_syllabus_to_auth: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether the syllabus is public to authenticated users" },
        public_description: { type: "string", description: "Public description of the course" },
        allow_student_wiki_edits: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether students can edit the wiki" },
        allow_wiki_comments: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether wiki comments are allowed" },
        allow_student_forum_attachments: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether students can add forum attachments" },
        open_enrollment: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether the course has open enrollment" },
        self_enrollment: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether the course allows self enrollment" },
        restrict_enrollments_to_course_dates: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether to restrict enrollments to course start/end dates" },
        term_id: { type: "number", description: "ID of the enrollment term" },
        sis_course_id: { type: "string", description: "SIS course ID" },
        integration_id: { type: "string", description: "Integration ID for the course" },
        hide_final_grades: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether to hide final grades" },
        apply_assignment_group_weights: { type: "boolean", description: "Whether to apply assignment group weights" },
        time_zone: { type: "string", description: "Course time zone" },
        syllabus_body: { type: "string", description: "Course syllabus content" }
      },
      required: ["account_id", "name"]
    }
  },

• src/index.ts:1111-1120 (handler)

  MCP tool handler for 'canvas_create_course' that validates input and delegates to CanvasClient.createCourse method.

  case "canvas_create_course": {
    const courseArgs = args as unknown as CreateCourseArgs;
    if (!courseArgs.account_id || !courseArgs.name) {
      throw new Error("Missing required fields: account_id and name");
    }
    const course = await this.client.createCourse(courseArgs);
    return {
      content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(course, null, 2) }]
    };
  }

• src/client.ts:234-240 (handler)

  Core implementation of course creation in CanvasClient using Canvas API POST /accounts/{account_id}/courses.

  async createCourse(args: CreateCourseArgs): Promise<CanvasCourse> {
    const { account_id, ...courseData } = args;
    const response = await this.client.post(`/accounts/${account_id}/courses`, {
      course: courseData
    });
    return response.data;
  }

• src/types.ts:547-572 (schema)

  TypeScript interface defining input parameters for createCourse (used by both tool handler and client).

  export interface CreateCourseArgs {
    account_id: number;
    name: string;
    course_code?: string;
    start_at?: string;
    end_at?: string;
    license?: string;
    is_public?: boolean;
    is_public_to_auth_users?: boolean;
    public_syllabus?: boolean;
    public_syllabus_to_auth?: boolean;
    public_description?: string;
    allow_student_wiki_edits?: boolean;
    allow_wiki_comments?: boolean;
    allow_student_forum_attachments?: boolean;
    open_enrollment?: boolean;
    self_enrollment?: boolean;
    restrict_enrollments_to_course_dates?: boolean;
    term_id?: number;
    sis_course_id?: string;
    integration_id?: string;
    hide_final_grades?: boolean;
    apply_assignment_group_weights?: boolean;
    time_zone?: string;
    syllabus_body?: string;
  }