canvas-mcp
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": false
} |
| prompts | {
"listChanged": false
} |
| resources | {
"subscribe": false,
"listChanged": false
} |
| experimental | {} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| get_coursesB | List all active enrolled courses from Canvas LMS. |
| get_assignmentsC | List upcoming assignments across all active enrolled courses, sorted by due date. Args: days_ahead: Number of days ahead to look for assignments (default: 30). |
| get_announcementsA | List recent announcements for all active enrolled courses. |
| get_course_filesA | List files in a Canvas course, optionally scoped to a folder path. Args: course_id: The numeric Canvas course ID (get it from get_courses). folder_path: Subfolder path to list (e.g. "lecture slides"). Leave empty for root. |
| get_course_modulesA | List all modules and their items for a course. Args: course_id: The numeric Canvas course ID (get it from get_courses). |
| get_course_peopleA | List people enrolled in a course, optionally filtered by role. Args: course_id: The numeric Canvas course ID (get it from get_courses). role: Filter by enrollment role. One of: StudentEnrollment, TeacherEnrollment, TaEnrollment, ObserverEnrollment, DesignerEnrollment. Leave empty for all. |
| get_course_gradesC | Show the current user's grades for all assignments in a course. Args: course_id: The numeric Canvas course ID (get it from get_courses). |
| get_course_discussionsA | List discussion topics (not announcements) for a course. Args: course_id: The numeric Canvas course ID (get it from get_courses). |
| get_course_pagesB | List wiki pages in a course, or fetch the body of a specific page. Args: course_id: The numeric Canvas course ID (get it from get_courses). page_url: The URL slug of a specific page to read (e.g. "syllabus"). Leave empty to list all pages. |
| read_course_fileA | Download and read the text content of a file from a Canvas course. Supports PDF (with OCR fallback for scanned PDFs), Word (.docx), PowerPoint (.pptx), Excel (.xlsx), and plain-text/HTML files. Use get_course_files to find file IDs. Args: course_id: The numeric Canvas course ID. file_id: The numeric Canvas file ID. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 10 tools
Every tool targets a distinct resource and action. get_courses vs get_assignments vs get_announcements are clearly separated, and even similar tools like get_course_files (listing) and read_course_file (reading content) are unambiguous.
All tools follow a verb_noun pattern with 'get_' prefix, except read_course_file which uses 'read_'. This is a minor deviation but the rest are consistent, and the naming is predictable overall.
The 10 tools are well-scoped for a read-only Canvas LMS server. They cover the main course-related resources without being excessive, fitting comfortably within the ideal 3-15 range.
For a read-only surface, it covers the major resources: courses, assignments, announcements, files, modules, people, grades, discussions, and pages. Minor gaps exist (e.g., no single-course detail endpoint, no calendar events), but the core read workflows are covered without dead ends.