brightspace-mcp-server-ddd
Provides caching support using Redis for persistent session and domain cache across multiple instances.
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@brightspace-mcp-server-dddlist my courses"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
brightspace-mcp
π Full documentation site β
MCP server for D2L Brightspace. Gives Claude (and any MCP-compatible client) access to your courses, grades, assignments, content, calendar, and more β with multi-strategy authentication, full MFA support, and production-grade resilience built in.
Quick start
npx brightspace-mcp@latest setup # interactive wizard (recommended for first time)The interactive wizard handles everything: base URL, auth strategy, MFA, credential storage, and auto-registration with Claude Desktop / Cursor / Windsurf.
For CI pipelines or DevContainers with no TTY, use the non-interactive init command instead:
npx brightspace-mcp@latest init \
--base-url https://yourschool.brightspace.com \
--strategy api_token \
--token-ref env:BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKENRelated MCP server: Brightspace MCP Server
Documentation
Deep-dive guides live in docs/ β start with docs/README.md.
Topic | Doc |
Setup walkthrough | |
Auth strategies | |
Known-good presets (Microsoft AAD, etc.) | |
Write operations (submit, post, mark) | |
MCP tools reference | |
MCP Resources + Prompts | |
Troubleshooting | |
Architecture (DDD) | |
Register with MCP clients |
For AI assistants and contributors, AGENTS.md is a one-page map of the repo.
Table of contents
Installation
npx (recommended β no install needed)
npx brightspace-mcp@latest setup # first-time wizard
npx brightspace-mcp@latest serve # run the serverGlobal install
npm install -g brightspace-mcp
brightspace-mcp setup
brightspace-mcp serveFrom source
git clone https://github.com/JhostinAleck/brightspace-mcp.git
cd brightspace-mcp
npm install && npm run build
node build/cli/main.js serveRequirements: Node.js β₯ 20.
Authentication strategies
Pick the strategy that matches your Brightspace setup. Run npx brightspace-mcp@latest setup and it will walk you through the right one.
API Token (simplest)
Requires a Valence API token from your Brightspace admin panel.
profiles:
my_school:
base_url: https://school.brightspace.com
auth:
strategy: api_token
api_token:
token_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKENexport BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKEN="your-token"
npx brightspace-mcp@latest serveHeadless (username + password)
Automates HTTP-level login β no browser window. Supports all MFA strategies including Duo Push.
profiles:
my_school:
base_url: https://school.brightspace.com
auth:
strategy: headless
headless:
login_url: https://school.brightspace.com/d2l/login
username_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_USERNAME
password_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_PASSWORD
mfa:
strategy: duo_push # or: totp, manual_prompt, none
duo_push: {} # uses defaults: poll every 1s, timeout 120sBrowser (Playwright)
Launches a headless Chromium instance and automates the login UI. Best for SSO flows (Microsoft Azure AD, SAML) where the login page has complex JavaScript.
npm install playwright && npx playwright install chromiumauth:
strategy: browser
browser:
login_url: https://school.brightspace.com/d2l/login
headless: true
username_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_USERNAME
password_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_PASSWORD
selectors:
username: "#i0116"
password: "#i0118"
submit: "#idSIButton9"
password_submit: "#idSIButton9"
mfa_input: "#idTxtBx_SAOTCC_OTC"
mfa_submit: "#idSubmit_SAOTCC_Continue"
post_login: "d2l-labs-navigation"
mfa:
strategy: totp
totp:
secret_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_TOTP_SECRETThe setup wizard includes a Microsoft SSO preset that fills all selectors automatically.
Session Cookie
Paste the D2L session cookies from your browser's DevTools. Useful when other strategies are blocked.
auth:
strategy: session_cookie
session_cookie:
cookie_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_COOKIE
session_ttl_seconds: 3600# Cookie format: "d2lSessionVal=XXX; d2lSecureSessionVal=YYY"
export BRIGHTSPACE_COOKIE="d2lSessionVal=...; d2lSecureSessionVal=..."MFA strategies
Strategy | When to use |
| No MFA on your account |
| Authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.) |
| Duo Security β server polls for mobile approval automatically |
| Any TOTP/OTP β server pauses and asks you to paste the code |
TOTP example
mfa:
strategy: totp
totp:
secret_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_TOTP_SECRET # base32 secret from QR code setup
digits: 6 # 6 or 8
period: 30 # seconds
algorithm: SHA1 # SHA1, SHA256, or SHA512Duo Push example
mfa:
strategy: duo_push
duo_push:
poll_interval_ms: 1000 # how often to check (default: 1000)
timeout_ms: 120000 # give up after this many ms (default: 120000)Configuration reference
Full config file (~/.brightspace-mcp/config.yaml):
default_profile: my_school
profiles:
my_school:
base_url: https://school.brightspace.com
auth:
strategy: api_token # api_token | browser | headless | session_cookie | oauth
api_token:
token_ref: env:BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKEN
session:
cache_backend: memory # memory | file | redis
preemptive_refresh_seconds: 300
output:
tz: America/Bogota # IANA timezone; default: auto-detected from system
locale: es-419 # en-US | es-419 | pt-BR | fr-CA; default: auto-detected
format: markdown # markdown (default) | plain
include_meta_footer: true
logging:
level: info # debug | info | warn | error
writes:
enabled: false
dry_run: false
# Optional β required when session.cache_backend: redis
redis:
url: redis://localhost:6379
key_prefix: "brightspace:"Credential references
Secret values are never stored in plain text. Use ref: notation to point to the actual value:
Prefix | Example | Description |
|
| Read from environment variable |
|
| OS keychain (macOS Keychain, GNOME Keyring, Windows Credential Manager) |
|
| Encrypted file ( |
Output: timezone and language
All tool responses are formatted in your configured timezone and language.
output:
tz: America/Bogota # IANA name; default: auto-detected from system
locale: es-419 # en-US | es-419 | pt-BR | fr-CA; default: auto-detected
format: markdown # markdown (default) | plain
include_meta_footer: trueRun brightspace-mcp setup and choose your timezone and language. Or set it in ~/.brightspace-mcp/config.yaml.
Redis cache
When running multiple instances or want cache persistence across restarts, enable Redis:
1. Add the redis section to config:
redis:
url: redis://localhost:6379
key_prefix: "brightspace:"
profiles:
my_school:
session:
cache_backend: redis2. Install ioredis (optional dependency):
npm install ioredis3. Start Redis and the server:
docker run -d -p 6379:6379 redis:7-alpine
npx brightspace-mcp@latest serveThe domain cache (courses, grades, assignments, etc.) automatically uses Redis as persistent layer when the redis: section is present in config. Session tokens are stored with TTL derived from the token expiry.
Write operations
Write tools (submit_assignment, post_discussion_reply, mark_announcement_read) are disabled by default and require two separate opt-ins:
1. Config file:
writes:
enabled: true
dry_run: false # set true to preview without mutating D2L2. CLI flag:
npx brightspace-mcp@latest serve --enable-writesAll write operations:
Require a client-supplied
idempotency_key(8β128 chars). Repeat calls with the same key return the cached response without re-executing.Emit a WARN-level audit log line with correlation ID, tool name, and redacted args.
Respect
dry_run: trueto return a preview response without touching D2L.
Available tools
Read tools (always available)
Tool | Description |
| Verify authentication and show the active user identity |
| List all enrolled courses |
| Get grades for a course |
| List assignments and dropbox folders |
| Download and read instructor-posted assignment files |
| List assignments due in the next N days |
| Read instructor feedback on submitted assignments |
| Fetch the course syllabus |
| Browse modules and topics (includes topic IDs) |
| Download and read a content topic file (DOCX, PDF, HTML, plain text) |
| List course announcements |
| Browse discussion forums and threads |
| List calendar events in a date range |
| Get the full course roster |
| Get classmate email addresses |
| List group enrollments per course with member rosters |
| List quizzes with attempt counts, time limits, due dates |
| Your attempts on a quiz with scores and timestamps |
| User activity feed (announcements, due-date reminders, grade releases) |
| Full-text search across content, announcements, and discussions |
| Local history of write operations (correlation IDs, redacted args) |
| Show cache stats, circuit breaker state, and version info |
| Clear memory and persistent cache backends |
Write tools (require --enable-writes)
Tool | Description |
| Upload a file to a Brightspace Dropbox folder |
| Reply to a discussion thread |
| Mark an announcement as read |
MCP Resources
Four stable URIs for Brightspace content (readable by any MCP client via resources/read):
URI | Content |
| Course syllabus, HTML stripped |
| Topic file (text extracted from PDF, or base64 fallback) |
| All assignment attachments as text |
| Announcement text |
Obtain IDs from tools like list_my_courses, get_assignments, get_announcements.
MCP Prompts
Four pre-built prompt templates visible in your MCP client's prompt picker:
Prompt | Arguments | Purpose |
| none | 7-day overview: due dates, announcements, recent grades |
|
| Grade analysis + what you need to pass |
|
| Study plan from due dates and calendar |
|
| Full course overview |
TUI dashboard
brightspace-mcp tui # launch full-screen terminal dashboard
brightspace-mcp tui --profile work # use a specific profileFull-screen interactive terminal UI (Ink + React). Six tabs navigated with Tab / β / β:
Tab | Contents |
Inicio | 3-column dashboard: upcoming assignments, 7-day calendar agenda, recent announcements |
Cursos | Live-search course list β drill into a course β sub-tabs Tareas / Notas / Anuncios |
Calendario | 30-day event agenda across all active courses |
Config | Profile summary, field-by-field form editor (dropdowns from schema) or |
CachΓ© | Hit rate, miss count, clear button |
Logs | Audit log (last 50 entries, |
Press Ctrl+C to exit.
Register with an MCP client
See docs/clients.md for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf snippets, or run brightspace-mcp setup which auto-detects and registers for you.
Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"brightspace": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["--yes", "brightspace-mcp@latest", "serve"],
"env": {
"BRIGHTSPACE_CONFIG": "/Users/you/.brightspace-mcp/config.yaml"
}
}
}
}CLI reference
npx brightspace-mcp@latest setup Interactive first-time setup wizard (detects system language)
npx brightspace-mcp@latest init [flags] Non-interactive config writer (CI/scripts, no TTY)
npx brightspace-mcp@latest serve Start the MCP server (stdio transport)
npx brightspace-mcp@latest serve --enable-writes Start with write tools enabled
npx brightspace-mcp@latest tui Full-screen terminal dashboard (Ink TUI)
npx brightspace-mcp@latest auth Re-authenticate and test the config
npx brightspace-mcp@latest record-auth Open browser for manual login, capture session cookies
npx brightspace-mcp@latest doctor End-to-end smoke test: config β auth β API β list_my_courses
npx brightspace-mcp@latest profile list List profiles (* marks the default)
npx brightspace-mcp@latest profile use <name> Switch the default profile
npx brightspace-mcp@latest config show Print config (secrets redacted)
npx brightspace-mcp@latest config show --resolved Show all secret refs as [redacted]
npx brightspace-mcp@latest config validate Validate config schema without running
npx brightspace-mcp@latest config set <path> <value> Edit a nested config value
npx brightspace-mcp@latest cache clear Clear memory + file/Redis cache
npx brightspace-mcp@latest cache clear --context <n> Clear a specific cache context
npx brightspace-mcp@latest upgrade Upgrade brightspace-mcp to the latest versionDocker
Standalone
docker pull ghcr.io/jhostinaleck/brightspace-mcp:latest
docker run --rm -i \
-v "$HOME/.brightspace-mcp:/config:ro" \
-e BRIGHTSPACE_CONFIG=/config/config.yaml \
ghcr.io/jhostinaleck/brightspace-mcp:latest serveWith Redis (docker-compose)
# Start server + Redis
docker compose --profile redis up
# Or standalone (in-memory cache)
docker compose upThe config.yaml inside ~/.brightspace-mcp/ must have the redis: section pointing to redis://redis:6379 when using the compose profile.
Architecture highlights
Resilience: retry with exponential backoff + jitter, circuit breaker (5 failures β 30s cooldown), request coalescing, bulkhead (max 5 concurrent requests)
Cache tiers: HTTP response cache (L1, in-memory, 60s TTL) + domain cache (L2, layered memory β file or Redis)
Security: HTTPS-only transport, secrets redaction in all log output, OS keychain integration, AES-256-GCM encrypted credential file, session tokens expire with the D2L token
DDD structure: bounded contexts (
assignments,authentication,calendar,communications,content,courses,grades,groups,notifications,quizzes) with clean domain / application / infrastructure separation
License
MIT Β© Jhostin Aleck
This server cannot be installed
Maintenance
Resources
Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.
Looking for Admin?
If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.
Latest Blog Posts
MCP directory API
We provide all the information about MCP servers via our MCP API.
curl -X GET 'https://glama.ai/api/mcp/v1/servers/JhostinAleck/brightspace-mcp-server'
If you have feedback or need assistance with the MCP directory API, please join our Discord server