Canvas LMS MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that connects Claude to the Canvas LMS API. Lets Claude read your courses, assignments, grades, announcements, files, and more — directly from Canvas.

Works remotely (hosted on Railway, no local setup) or locally (stdio transport for Claude Desktop).

Tools

Quick Start — Remote (Recommended)

No installation needed. Just add this to your Claude Desktop config:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-lms": {
      "url": "https://YOUR_RAILWAY_URL/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "x-canvas-api-token": "YOUR_CANVAS_API_TOKEN",
        "x-canvas-base-url": "https://canvas.yourschool.edu"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR_RAILWAY_URL with the deployed server URL, and fill in your Canvas credentials.

Then restart Claude Desktop (fully quit, not just close the window).

Local Setup (Development)

1. Get a Canvas API Token

1. Log in to your Canvas instance (e.g. https://canvas.yourschool.edu)

2. Go to Account > Settings

3. Scroll to Approved Integrations

4. Click + New Access Token

5. Give it a name (e.g. "Claude MCP"), set expiry as desired, click Generate Token

6. Copy the token immediately — you won't be able to see it again

2. Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/alexherman11/Canvas_MCP.git
cd Canvas_MCP
npm install

3. Configure Credentials

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and fill in your values:

CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://canvas.yourschool.edu
CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your_token_here

4. Test

node test.js

This will:

• Verify your Canvas API credentials work

• Call each API endpoint

• Start both the stdio and HTTP MCP servers and confirm they work

5. Register with Claude Desktop (Local)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-lms": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/Canvas_MCP/src/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://canvas.yourschool.edu",
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace the path in args with the absolute path to src/index.js on your machine.

Self-Hosting on Railway

1. Fork this repo

2. Create a new project on Railway and connect your fork

3. Railway auto-detects Node.js — no Dockerfile needed

4. Optionally set CANVAS_BASE_URL and CANVAS_API_TOKEN in Railway's environment variables for single-tenant mode

5. Deploy — the server starts on the assigned PORT automatically

6. Use the Railway-provided URL in your Claude Desktop config (see Quick Start above)

The server exposes:

• POST/GET/DELETE /mcp — MCP Streamable HTTP endpoint

• GET /health — health check (returns 200 OK)

Verify in Claude Desktop

After restarting, try asking Claude:

• "What courses am I taking this quarter?"

• "What assignments are due this week?"

• "What's my grade in [course name]?"

Project Structure

Canvas_MCP/
  src/
    index.js        — MCP server entry point (stdio transport, local dev)
    server-http.js  — MCP server entry point (HTTP transport, remote)
    tools.js        — All 8 tool definitions and handlers
    canvas-api.js   — Canvas REST API client (pagination, retries)
    config.js       — Environment configuration
  test.js           — Standalone test script
  .env.example      — Template for credentials
  .gitignore        — Excludes .env and node_modules
  package.json
  README.md

Architecture

Remote mode:
  Claude Desktop/claude.ai → HTTPS → Railway → Streamable HTTP → MCP server → Canvas API
                                                                    ↑
                                                      reads x-canvas-api-token &
                                                      x-canvas-base-url from headers

Local mode:
  Claude Desktop → spawns process → stdio → MCP server → Canvas API
                                               ↑
                                    reads CANVAS_API_TOKEN &
                                    CANVAS_BASE_URL from env vars

License

MIT