Click on "Deploy 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., "@courseforge-mcp Build a Canvas course from this syllabus for course ID 12345"
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.
CourseForge turns a syllabus into a real Canvas course. Hand your AI assistant a course outline and get back modules, pages, assignments, quizzes with questions, and discussions, imported straight into Canvas LMS or packaged as a standards-compliant .imscc file that any Canvas instance can import.
Existing Canvas MCP servers read courses well, and some create individual pages or assignments. CourseForge builds the whole course: it generates a Canvas-flavored IMS Common Cartridge (the same format Canvas itself exports) and pushes it through Canvas's content-migrations API, so one import call creates every module, page, assignment, and quiz. The content arrives unpublished, and you review it in Canvas before students see anything.
Related MCP server: Canvas LMS MCP Server
npx -y courseforge-mcp init # interactive: writes config for Claude Code/Desktop/CursorThen ask your assistant: “Here's my syllabus. Build it into Canvas course 12345.”
claude mcp add courseforge \
-e CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://youruni.instructure.com \
-e CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your-token \
-- npx -y courseforge-mcpGet a token in Canvas: Account → Settings → + New access token.
npx -y @courseforge/imscc build examples/intro-to-chemistry.jsonUpload the resulting .imscc in Canvas under Settings → Import Course Content → Common Cartridge 1.x Package.
npx skills add jasp-nerd/courseforge # canvas-course-builder, imscc-editor, canvas-course-qc🏗️ | One tool call: CourseSpec JSON → validated |
📦 | Build, parse, modify, and validate Canvas cartridges (the export → edit → re-import loop), with QTI 1.2 quiz generation for 8 question types |
🔌 | 20 tools: course/module/page/assignment/quiz/discussion creation, import/export, migration progress, and a pre-publish QC linter |
🧠 Agent skills | Interview the teacher, apply university branding, preview the build plan, create everything unpublished. Portable across the open Agent Skills standard |
🌐 | Standalone Canvas REST client: token or browser-cookie auth, Link-header pagination, 429 retry, the 3-step upload dance |
🛡️ Tested | 61 tests: golden-file manifests, round-trips on real Canvas exports, zip-slip/zip-bomb/XXE guards, MSW-mocked API, MCP protocol integration |
flowchart LR
A["📄 Syllabus / course idea"] --> B["🤖 AI agent<br/>+ canvas-course-builder skill"]
B --> C["CourseSpec JSON<br/>Zod-validated"]
C -->|"@courseforge/imscc"| D["📦 .imscc<br/>Canvas cartridge"]
D -->|"content_migrations API"| E["🎓 Canvas course<br/>unpublished, ready for review"]
D -->|"manual upload"| E
C -->|"mode: api"| E
E -->|"export"| DA plain JSON course description called the CourseSpec connects everything. Agents write it, the imscc package turns it into a cartridge with the same structure Canvas's own exports use (including the canvas_export.txt flag and cccv1p0 extension XMLs, which preserve module structure and assignment settings on import), and the MCP server pushes it through the same import pipeline as the Canvas UI.
CourseForge | vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp | bruchris/canvas-lms-mcp | |
Build a whole course in one call | ✅ | — | — |
Generate + import | ✅ | — | — |
Modify existing Canvas exports | ✅ | — | — |
Quiz generation incl. questions | ✅ QTI 1.2 | — | New Quizzes API |
Course/content creation tools | ✅ | partial | ✅ |
Grading / student-facing tools | — | ✅ | ✅ |
Language | TypeScript | Python | TypeScript |
vishalsachdev's and bruchris's servers cover course management (grading, feedback, student workflows) far more deeply than CourseForge does. CourseForge covers creation. They run side by side without conflict.
packages/shared CourseSpec Zod schemas (the shared course format)
packages/imscc .imscc build / parse / modify / validate + CLI
packages/canvas-client Canvas REST client (zero MCP dependencies)
packages/mcp The courseforge-mcp server
skills/ Agent Skills (open SKILL.md standard)
fixtures/ Real .imscc exports used in round-trip tests
docs/ IMSCC format ground truth, specs, launch playbookChrome extension (build courses from inside the Canvas UI, no token needed)
Rubrics + outcomes in cartridges
New Quizzes (QTI 2.x) authoring
Course templates gallery
.mcpb one-click bundle on the MCP registries
Apache-2.0 © jasp-nerd. Not affiliated with Instructure. Canvas is a trademark of Instructure, Inc.
This server cannot be deployed
Build, version and render resumes as PDFs from Claude or any MCP client.
Parse WebVTT, SRT, or TTML for conformance, timing, overlaps, line length, and reading speed.
Create narrated presentations from HTML, poll build status, list them, read one back as text.
Extract public webpages as Markdown, map sites, and run bounded crawl jobs. API key required.