Canvas Learning Management System MCP server for AI agents

Canvas MCP Server is an implementation of the Message Control Protocol that creates a local interface to the Canvas Learning Management System API. It enables you to manage courses, access assignments, view announcements, and interact with other Canvas resources through Claude Desktop or other MCP clients.

Prerequisites

Before installing the Canvas MCP Server, ensure you have:

Python 3.x installed
A virtual environment tool
Canvas API Token
Canvas API URL (e.g., https://canvas.illinois.edu/api/v1)

Installation

Follow these steps to install the Canvas MCP Server:

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp.git
cd canvas-mcp

Create and activate a virtual environment:

python -m venv canvas-mcp
source canvas-mcp/bin/activate  # On Unix/macOS

Install dependencies:
```
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

Configuration

Setting Up Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory with your Canvas credentials:

CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your_canvas_api_token_here
CANVAS_API_URL=https://canvas.youruniversity.edu/api/v1

Make the start script executable:
```
chmod +x start_canvas_server.sh
```

Configuring Claude Desktop

Create or edit the Claude Desktop configuration file:

vim ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the Canvas MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "canvas-api",
      "command": "/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/path/to/canvas-mcp/start_canvas_server.sh"
    }
  ]
}

Replace the path with the absolute path to your cloned repository
Restart Claude Desktop to load the new configuration

Using Canvas MCP Server

With Claude Desktop

Claude Desktop will automatically start the server when needed. You can:

Click the hammer icon (🔨) to see available Canvas API tools
Ask Claude to perform operations like "Show me my courses" or "Get the syllabus for my Biology course"

Available Tools

Course Management

List all courses for the authenticated user
Get detailed information about a specific course
Generate a comprehensive course summary

Assignments

List all assignments for a course
Get detailed information about specific assignments
Retrieve full assignment descriptions

Submissions and Users

List all submissions for a specific assignment
List all users enrolled in a course

Resources

List course announcements
Get course syllabi
Retrieve course modules

Manual Testing

You can start the server directly for testing:

./start_canvas_server.sh

Troubleshooting

If you encounter problems:

Server Won't Start: Verify your .env file exists with valid credentials, check the virtual environment path, and ensure all dependencies are installed
Authentication Errors: Confirm your Canvas API token is valid and you have the necessary permissions
Connection Issues: Verify your Canvas API URL is correct and check your internet connection
Debugging: Check server logs in the Claude Desktop console or run the server manually to see error output

Security Notes

Your Canvas API token grants access to your Canvas account
Never commit your .env file to version control
Consider using a token with limited permissions if possible

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.