Canvas Assignment Assistant MCP Server

Canvas Assignment Assistant MCP Server

Overview

This Model Context Protocol (MCP) server lets you interact with Canvas/Instructure courses and assignments, without leaving your LLM (e.g. Claude Desktop).

It allows you to retrieve, search, and summarize course and assignment information programmatically, for example to check due dates for upcoming assignments:

Features

Tools

1. List Courses

   • Retrieve a list of courses
   • Filter by course state (active, completed, or all)

2. Search Assignments

   • Search across courses for assignments
   • Filter by:
     • Search query
     • Due date range
     • Specific course
     • Include/exclude completed courses

3. Get Assignment Details

   • Fetch detailed information about a specific assignment
   • Multiple output formats (full HTML, plain text, markdown)

Resources

• Assignment Content: Retrieve full assignment details using a standardized URI format

Prerequisites

• An MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
• Canvas LMS account
• Canvas API Token
• Canvas Domain

Configuration

When you install the MCP bundle, you'll be prompted to configure:

• Canvas API Token: Your Canvas API access token (see instructions below)
• Canvas Domain: Your Canvas institution's domain (e.g., canvas.youruniversity.edu)

These values are stored securely by your MCP client and are not exposed in your configuration files.

Security Note

Keep your Canvas API token confidential. The bundle marks the token as sensitive, so it will be stored securely by your MCP client.

Installation

This MCP server is distributed as an MCP bundle (.mcpb file) for easy installation.

Option 1: Install from Bundle File (Recommended)

1. Download the bundle

   Download the canvas-mcp.mcpb file from the releases page or build it yourself (see Option 2).

2. Install in your MCP client

   For Claude Desktop:

   • Open Claude Desktop settings
   • Navigate to the MCP servers section
   • Click "Add Server" or "Install from Bundle"
   • Select the canvas-mcp.mcpb file
   • When prompted, enter your Canvas API token and domain

   For Cursor:

   • Open Cursor settings
   • Navigate to MCP configuration
   • Install the bundle file
   • Configure your Canvas API token and domain when prompted

3. Configure your credentials

   When you first install the bundle, you'll be prompted to enter:

   • Canvas API Token: Your Canvas API access token (see instructions below)
   • Canvas Domain: Your Canvas institution's domain (e.g., canvas.youruniversity.edu)

Option 2: Build from Source

If you want to build the bundle yourself:

1. Clone the repository and install dependencies

   git clone https://github.com/mbcrosiersamuel/canvas-mcp.git
   cd canvas-mcp
   npm install
   

2. Build the bundle

   npm run package
   

   This will create a canvas-mcp.mcpb file that you can then install using Option 1.

How to Get Your Canvas API Token

1. Log into Canvas
2. Go to Account > Settings
3. Scroll to the "Approved Integrations" section
4. Click "New Access Token"
5. Copy the generated token

For more details, see these instructions from Canvas.

MCP Tools

• list_courses: Shows all active courses by default. Use flags to show completed or all courses
• search_assignments: Searches assignment titles and descriptions
• get_assignment: Retrieves full assignment details

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• Token Invalid:

  • Regenerate your Canvas API token
  • Ensure token has appropriate permissions

• Domain Incorrect:

  • Double-check your Canvas institution domain
  • Verify there are no typos

Disclaimer

This is an unofficial Canvas MCP, and is not affiliated with Canvas or Instructure. I'm also not a professional software engineer, and this project was vibe-coded using Claude, so please use it at your own risk :)

Thanks!

• Thanks to Luke Harries for inspiration and for part of the text of this Readme.
• Thanks to the Anthropic team for great instructions on how to use LLMs to create MCPs!