Canvas MCP Server

Canvas MCP Server v2.2.0

The Canvas MCP Server is a fully‑featured bridge between AI assistants and the Canvas Learning Management System. It exposes every major Canvas API endpoint—courses, users, assignments, grades, discussions, files and more—through a single, well‑structured MCP interface. By doing so it eliminates the need for developers to write custom wrappers or handle authentication flows, allowing AI agents like Claude to perform complex LMS tasks directly from conversational prompts.

What problem does it solve? In many educational institutions, Canvas is the backbone of course delivery, yet integrating it into AI workflows requires juggling OAuth tokens, paginated requests, rate limits, and nested account hierarchies. The server centralizes all of that complexity: it authenticates using a single API token, automatically retries failed calls, paginates responses, and normalizes error handling. Developers can focus on designing user experiences rather than plumbing the LMS.

Key capabilities are grouped by role, making it intuitive for students, instructors, and administrators. Students can browse courses, view assignments, submit work, track grades, participate in discussions, and download files—all through simple natural‑language commands. Instructors gain full control over course creation, grading, rubric management, and content publishing. New to v2.2.0 is the Account Administrator layer, which handles institutional account creation, sub‑account hierarchies, bulk user management, and advanced reporting (enrollment, grade distribution, activity logs). The server’s API compliance ensures that every endpoint follows Canvas’ official patterns, reducing surprises during integration.

Real‑world scenarios are plentiful. A campus learning‑analytics team can ask an AI assistant to “Generate a grade distribution report for all CS courses in the Engineering account,” and receive a ready‑to‑export CSV. A faculty member can simply say, “Create a new lab assignment for next week with a rubric,” and the server will create it in Canvas, set due dates, and notify enrolled students. A student can ask, “What assignments are due today?” and get a concise list with submission links. Because the server runs in Docker or Kubernetes, it can be deployed behind an institution’s firewall and scaled to match usage spikes during enrollment periods.

Integration into AI workflows is seamless: a Claude desktop configuration points the assistant to the MCP server, and the agent automatically resolves tool calls like or . The server’s extensive type safety, unit and integration tests, and robust retry logic provide confidence that the AI will interact with Canvas reliably. Its 50+ tools cover almost every Canvas feature, giving developers a one‑stop shop for building AI‑powered educational applications.