AUTOMATIONSWITCH
CommunityProductivity

Canvas LMS MCP

by vishalsachdev

Canvas LMS MCP with 80+ tools and 5 agent skills for students and educators. v1.3.0 released. FERPA-compliance documentation for educators; data-stays-private guidance for students. Hosted server option plus local install.

119·8 tools·Released SEP 2025·MIT
uvx canvas-mcp
Share:

Canvas LMS MCP with 80+ tools and 5 agent skills for students and educators. 119 GitHub stars and 54 commits on main in the last 30 days. v1.3.0 released. FERPA-compliance documentation for educators; data-stays-private guidance for students.

Reviewed by M. Nouriel · MAY 2026

INSTALL THIS SERVER

Requires authenticationCANVAS_API_TOKEN environment variable. Token created via Canvas API Token settings (Account > Settings > Approved Integrations).
{ "mcpServers": { "canvas": { "command": "uvx", "args": [ "canvas-mcp" ], "env": { "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "<your-canvas-api-token>", "CANVAS_API_URL": "https://canvas.instructure.com" } } } }
PrereqRequires uv installed and a Canvas API token from Account > Settings > Approved Integrations. Set CANVAS_API_URL to your institution Canvas instance. PyPI: `canvas-mcp`. Hosted server option per the README. Path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).
{ "mcpServers": { "canvas": { "command": "uvx", "args": [ "canvas-mcp" ], "env": { "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "<your-canvas-api-token>", "CANVAS_API_URL": "https://canvas.instructure.com" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "canvas": { "command": "uvx", "args": [ "canvas-mcp" ], "env": { "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "<your-canvas-api-token>", "CANVAS_API_URL": "https://canvas.instructure.com" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "canvas": { "command": "uvx", "args": [ "canvas-mcp" ], "env": { "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "<your-canvas-api-token>", "CANVAS_API_URL": "https://canvas.instructure.com" } } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "canvas": { "command": "uvx", "args": [ "canvas-mcp" ], "env": { "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "<your-canvas-api-token>", "CANVAS_API_URL": "https://canvas.instructure.com" } } } }

8 TOOLS AVAILABLE

list_courses
List enrolled or taught courses
Read
get_assignment
Retrieve an assignment with submission details
Read
submit_assignment
Submit an assignment (text, file, or URL)
Write
list_grades
List grades for a course or student
Read
create_discussion_post
Create a discussion post
Write
list_calendar_events
List calendar events for the user
Read

OUR ASSESSMENT

Strengths
  • 119 GitHub stars and MIT licence.
  • 54 commits on main in the last 30 days, joint top cadence.
  • 80+ tool surface covers the Canvas LMS API.
  • 5 agent skills shipped for installation via skills.sh on any agent.
  • Claude Code slash commands documented.
  • Hosted server option (zero-install path) plus local install path.
  • FERPA-compliance documentation for educators.
  • Works with Claude, Cursor, Codex, and 40+ other agents per the README.
Weaknesses
  • Single-maintainer governance.
  • Canvas LMS API tokens grant scoped access to the user account; agents should run under read-only or limited-scope tokens for production.
  • Niche audience: a strong fit for higher-ed and K-12 environments using Canvas.
Security Notes

Canvas API tokens are user-scoped: the MCP sees what the token holder sees. Scope tokens via Canvas API Token settings; rotate on a schedule. For students, the MCP runs locally and reads from the student account only. For educators, FERPA compliance considerations apply when running across student-record data.

Best For

Higher-ed and K-12 institutions using Canvas LMS who want agents accessible to students and educators; students who want AI assistance with assignments, calendar, and module navigation; educators who want FERPA-compliant agent surfaces against the Canvas API.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Language
python
Transport
stdiostreamable-http
Clients
Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorVS CodeWindsurf
License
MIT
GitHub
npm
canvas-mcp
Last Release
v1.3.0MAY 3, 2026
First Released
SEP 1, 2025

ADOPTION METRICS

// GitHub Stars
119

// Reading this119 stars on the vishalsachdev/canvas-mcp repo. 54 commits on main in the last 30 days, joint top cadence in this batch.

// Popularity Rank
#8
Globally · #9 in Productivity

// Reading thisHighest-cadence Canvas LMS MCP at time of review across the candidate set.

SOURCES & VERIFICATION

We don't take any single directory's word for it. Before scoring, we cross-reference 4 public MCP sources, install the server ourselves against the clients we cover, and record when we last re-verified.

01
Discovered
Manual submission
First indexed MAY 3, 2026
02
Cross-referenced
4 directories
PulseMCP, MCP.so, Glama, Smithery
03
Verified against
Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex (per README)
Installed and tested across clients
04
Last re-checked
MAY 3, 2026
Weekly re-verification
// How other directories see it

The same server, 4 different lenses. We reconcile these signals into our editorial score, which is why our number sometimes diverges from a directory-aggregate star count.

SourceTheir ratingTheir star countTheir downloadsLast synced
AutomationSwitch This page4.4editorial119MAY 3, 2026
PulseMCP— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026
MCP.so— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026
Glama— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026
Smithery— unratedunavailableunavailableMAY 3, 2026

// Counts are directory-reported; we don't adjust them. Discrepancies usually come from different snapshot times or star-caching.

OTHER PRODUCTIVITY MCP SERVERS

Community4.5

Excel MCP Server

Haris Musa

Manipulate Excel files locally or remotely with zero Microsoft Excel installation required. Three transport modes (stdio, SSE deprecated, Streamable HTTP recommended) and full coverage of formulas, formatting, charts, pivot tables, and conditional formatting. 3,767 stars.

8 tools3,767
Community4.5

Google Workspace MCP

Taylor Wilsdon

Most feature-complete Google Workspace MCP available. One server covers Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Tasks, Contacts, Apps Script, Chat, and Custom Search. OAuth 2.1 multi-user support, stateless mode, and an MIT license with no CLA.

12 tools2,233
Community4.3

Obsidian MCP Server

cyanheads

Obsidian vault MCP server with read, write, search, and surgical edit tools via the Local REST API plugin. 14 tools, three search modes (text, Dataview DQL, JSONLogic), STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports.

7 tools481
Community4.2

MCP Atlassian

sooperset

Community-built MCP server for Atlassian products covering Jira and Confluence across both Cloud and Server/Data Center deployments. Supports three authentication paths: API tokens (Cloud), Personal Access Tokens (Server/Data Center), and OAuth 2.0.

8 tools5,055
Vendor4

Notion

Notion

Knowledge base layer providing read and write access to Notion workspaces. Query databases, create pages, update blocks, and search across your workspace.

12 tools1,800
Community4

Airtable MCP Server

domdomegg

Schema-aware Airtable MCP server. 9 tools covering base and table discovery, schema introspection at three detail levels, and per-record CRUD. Available as a Claude Desktop Extension via the Extensions browser.

9 tools440
// Get in touch

DISCUSS YOUR
MCP REQUIREMENTS.

Evaluating a server, scoping an internal deployment, or working out whether MCP is the right fit at all. Start the conversation and we will point you at the right piece of the ecosystem.

Discuss Your MCP Requirements →