canvas_create_user

Add a new user to a Canvas account by specifying account ID, user details, and login credentials, including name, unique ID, and optional time zone or SIS ID.

Instructions

Create a new user in an account

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`account_id`	Yes	ID of the account
`pseudonym`	Yes
`user`	Yes

Implementation Reference

src/client.ts:771-775 (handler)

Core handler function in CanvasClient that performs the POST request to Canvas API endpoint `/accounts/{account_id}/users` to create a new user account.

async createUser(args: CreateUserArgs): Promise<CanvasUser> {
  const { account_id, ...userData } = args;
  const response = await this.client.post(`/accounts/${account_id}/users`, userData);
  return response.data;
}

src/index.ts:755-785 (registration)

Tool registration in the TOOLS array, defining name, description, and input schema for the canvas_create_user tool.

{
  name: "canvas_create_user",
  description: "Create a new user in an account",
  inputSchema: {
    type: "object",
    properties: {
      account_id: { type: "number", description: "ID of the account" },
      user: {
        type: "object",
        properties: {
          name: { type: "string", description: "Full name of the user" },
          short_name: { type: "string", description: "Short name of the user" },
          sortable_name: { type: "string", description: "Sortable name (Last, First)" },
          time_zone: { type: "string", description: "User's time zone" }
        },
        required: ["name"]
      },
      pseudonym: {
        type: "object",
        properties: {
          unique_id: { type: "string", description: "Unique login ID (email or username)" },
          password: { type: "string", description: "User's password" },
          sis_user_id: { type: "string", description: "SIS ID for the user" },
          send_confirmation: { type: "boolean", description: "Send confirmation email" }
        },
        required: ["unique_id"]
      }
    },
    required: ["account_id", "user", "pseudonym"]
  }
},

src/index.ts:1407-1417 (handler)

MCP server handler case that validates arguments, invokes CanvasClient.createUser, and formats the response for the tool call.

case "canvas_create_user": {
  const createUserArgs = args as unknown as CreateUserArgs;
  if (!createUserArgs.account_id || !createUserArgs.user || !createUserArgs.pseudonym) {
    throw new Error("Missing required fields: account_id, user, and pseudonym");
  }
  
  const user = await this.client.createUser(createUserArgs);
  return {
    content: [{ type: "text", text: JSON.stringify(user, null, 2) }]
  };
}

src/types.ts:731-759 (schema)

TypeScript interface defining the input arguments for creating a Canvas user, used for type safety and validation.

export interface CreateUserArgs {
  account_id: number;
  user: {
    name: string;
    short_name?: string;
    sortable_name?: string;
    time_zone?: string;
    locale?: string;
    birthdate?: string;
    terms_of_use?: boolean;
    skip_registration?: boolean;
  };
  pseudonym: {
    unique_id: string;
    password?: string;
    sis_user_id?: string;
    integration_id?: string;
    send_confirmation?: boolean;
    force_validations?: boolean;
    authentication_provider_id?: string;
  };
  communication_channel?: {
    type: 'email' | 'sms';
    address: string;
    skip_confirmation?: boolean;
  };
  force_validations?: boolean;
  enable_sis_reactivation?: boolean;
}

Canvas MCP Server V2.0