TIP
Want it on your phone, on the web, or across several computers? Go to the 🌐 Remote Edition →. It has the same 209 tools, served over a password-protected ngrok tunnel with automatic failover between computers.
💻 Canvas LMS MCP: Local Edition
Use Canvas from your AI assistant on your own computer. No tunnel, no passwords, no background service.
209 tools · One config file · Nothing exposed to the internet
Website · Quick start · Configuration · Tools · Troubleshooting
🤔 Local or Remote?
| 💻 Local (this repo) | 🌐 Remote |
|---|
| Works with | Desktop and command-line MCP clients on this computer | Any MCP client that supports remote servers, on any device |
| When it runs | Only while your AI app is open, because the app starts it | Always on, in the background |
| You need | Node.js and a Canvas token | Node.js, a Canvas token, an ngrok account and a password |
| Internet exposure | None: no port is opened | Public HTTPS address, password-protected |
| Multiple computers | Install it separately on each one | Built-in automatic failover between computers |
| Setup time | About 5 minutes | About 15 minutes, plus about 5 per extra computer |
✨ Highlights
- 📊 Grade intelligence:
what_if_grade, compute_needed_score, grade_impact_ranking, full weighted breakdowns
- 📅 Planning:
get_week_ahead, semester_snapshot, study_priority_ranking, cross-course missing work in one call
- 📝 Submissions: submit text, URLs and files, with a dry-run preview first
- 💬 Discussions & inbox: read whole threads in one request and message instructors
- 📁 Content: files, pages, modules, lecture captions and full
.imscc course export
🧭 How it works
Your AI app (MCP client) ──stdio──► node index.js ──HTTPS──► your school's Canvas API
(starts the server) (209 tools, runs only
while your app is open)
No web server, no ports, nothing to keep running. Your AI app starts the server when it opens and stops it when it closes.
🚀 Quick start
You need: Node.js 18+ and a Canvas account. There's nothing to download yourself: your AI app fetches the server with npx.
1. Create a Canvas access token
In Canvas, go to Account → Settings → Approved Integrations → + New Access Token. Canvas only shows the token once, so copy it right away. Student tokens usually expire after 30–120 days.
2. Add it to your AI app
Desktop apps
-
Open your app's MCP config file. It's usually under Settings → Developer or Settings → MCP servers, and most apps use an mcpServers JSON block.
-
Add this canvas entry with your token and school address (also in mcp_config.example.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"canvas": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp-local"],
"env": {
"CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your_token_here",
"CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://yourschool.instructure.com"
}
}
}
}
-
Fully quit the app: on Windows, right-click the tray icon and choose Quit; on macOS, press ⌘Q. Then reopen it. Closing the window isn't enough.
Command-line clients
Register this command as a stdio MCP server named canvas, with CANVAS_API_TOKEN and CANVAS_BASE_URL set in its environment:
npx -y canvas-lms-mcp-local
Then check your client's MCP status to confirm it's connected.
3. Try it
Ask your assistant: "Run test_connection." It checks your identity, courses, planner, inbox and missing submissions, and reports any features your school has disabled.
Then try: "What's due this week?", "What do I need on the final to get a B?" or "Which missing assignments hurt my grade the most?"
Prefer running from source?
git clone https://github.com/Fireiscoolsolo/canvas-lms-mcp-local.git
cd canvas-lms-mcp-local
npm install
Copy .env.example to .env in the same folder as index.js, fill in your token and school address, then point your config at the file instead of npx:
{ "mcpServers": { "canvas": { "command": "node", "args": ["C:/Users/YOUR-NAME/Documents/canvas-lms-mcp-local/index.js"] } } }
Forward slashes work on Windows. On macOS, the path looks like /Users/you/canvas-lms-mcp-local/index.js. On Windows, make sure the file is named .env, not .env.txt. To check, turn on View → File name extensions in File Explorer.
⚙️ Configuration
Put settings in the env block of your config, as in step 2. If you run from source, you can use .env next to index.js instead.
| Variable | Required | Default | Description |
|---|
CANVAS_API_TOKEN | ✅ | — | Your Canvas personal access token |
CANVAS_BASE_URL | ✅ | — | e.g. https://yourschool.instructure.com |
CANVAS_ALLOW_WRITES | | true | false = read-only mode |
CANVAS_PROFILE | | full | core = curated subset of tools |
CANVAS_CACHE_TTL | | 60 | Response cache time in seconds |
CANVAS_TIMEZONE | | system | IANA time zone for due-date math |
CANVAS_DOWNLOAD_DIR | | canvas-downloads next to index.js | Where download tools save files |
| Group | Count | Highlights |
|---|
| Identity | 24 | check_token_expiry, get_rate_limit_status, custom-data storage |
| Courses | 16 | permissions, nicknames, favorites |
| Assignments | 12 | list_missing_submissions, get_late_policy |
| Submissions | 16 | text, URL and file submission, comments, rubric assessments |
| Grades | 13 | what_if_grade, compute_needed_score, grade_impact_ranking |
| Quizzes | 12 | read-only: dates, attempts, reviews |
| Discussions | 17 | get_full_topic_view, replies, ratings |
| Inbox | 14 | messaging, find_recipients, threads |
| Calendar | 11 | events, office-hours booking |
| Content | 33 | files, pages, modules, captions, .imscc export |
| Groups | 11 | group workspaces |
| Rubrics | 11 | peer reviews |
| Search | 3 | smart_search with keyword fallback |
| Planning | 11 | get_week_ahead, semester_snapshot, study_priority_ranking |
| Meta | 4 | raw_canvas_request for any endpoint not listed above |
🔐 Security
- Nothing is exposed: the server doesn't listen on any port. Only the app that started it can talk to it, through a private pipe.
- Confirmation gate: tools that send, submit, post or delete return a preview first and only act when called with
confirm: true.
- Prompt-injection fencing: text other people wrote is wrapped in
<<<CANVAS_CONTENT>>> markers and labelled as untrusted.
- No quiz-taking: quiz attempt endpoints are deliberately not included.
Never commit .env. It's already listed in .gitignore. See SECURITY.md.
🎓 Responsible use
This is a study and organization tool. It helps you see deadlines, understand your grades and plan your week. It never takes quizzes, and nothing is sent or submitted until you've seen a preview and confirmed it.
- Follow your school's academic integrity and acceptable-use policies. Some schools restrict personal API tokens or third-party tools.
- Want zero risk of accidental changes? Set
CANVAS_ALLOW_WRITES=false for read-only mode.
🛠️ Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|
| Canvas tools don't appear in your app | Check that the config is valid JSON and the path to index.js is absolute, then fully quit and reopen the app |
spawn npx ENOENT / "npx" not found | Install Node.js, then restart the app. If it still fails, use the full path as command, e.g. "C:/Program Files/nodejs/npx.cmd" |
| The first start is slow | npx downloads the package the first time. Later starts are fast |
| "CANVAS_API_TOKEN is not set" | Add it to the env block of the canvas entry in your config. If you run from source, check that .env sits next to index.js and isn't named .env.txt |
| Canvas returns 401 | Your token expired. Create a new one (step 2) |
Changes to index.js don't take effect | Restart your AI app, because tool lists are loaded when it connects |
| Where are the logs? | In your AI app's MCP log folder. Every line from this server starts with [canvas-mcp] |
Known limits: a student token can't reach admin endpoints, gradebook history, course analytics or quiz statistics. smart_search is a Canvas beta feature and often returns 404.
📄 License
MIT. This project isn't affiliated with Instructure.