canvas-student-mcp-server by a-ariff - MCP Server

🎓 Canvas Student MCP Server

Transform your Canvas LMS experience with AI-powered automation! Connect Claude Desktop or ChatGPT directly to Canvas for instant access to courses, assignments, grades, and more.

🚀 Live Server

Production URL: https://canvas-mcp-sse.ariff.dev

Available Endpoints:

/sse - OAuth 2.1 authenticated SSE transport (recommended)
/mcp - MCP endpoint with API key or OAuth
/public - Public endpoint (config via query params)
/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server - OAuth discovery
/health - Health check endpoint

🌟 Why Choose Canvas Student MCP Server?

For Students

Save Hours: Automate assignment tracking and deadline management
Never Miss Deadlines: AI-powered reminders for upcoming assignments
Smart Study Planning: Let AI analyze your course load and suggest study schedules
Grade Tracking: Instant access to all your grades and progress

For Developers

Production-Ready: Deployed on Cloudflare's global edge network
Secure by Design: OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, no passwords stored
Open Source: MIT licensed, contribute and customize freely
Well-Documented: Comprehensive guides for every integration

For Institutions

Privacy-First: No data collection, all processing happens locally
Multi-User Safe: Each user authenticates with their own Canvas credentials
Zero Infrastructure: Serverless deployment, no maintenance required
API Compliant: Follows Canvas API best practices and rate limits

✨ Features

🎓 Canvas Integration (12 Tools)

Course Management - List courses, modules, and user profiles
Assignment Tools - Get assignments, grades, submissions, and todos
Communication - Access announcements, discussions, and calendar events
Quiz Tools - View quiz information and results
Upcoming Tracking - See all upcoming assignments across courses

🔐 Security

OAuth 2.1 with PKCE - Secure authorization flow
Client Whitelist - Restricted access control
Secure Token Storage - Durable Objects for session management
Rate Limiting - API protection
CORS Protection - Cross-origin security

⚡ Performance

Edge Deployment - Low latency via Cloudflare Workers
<100ms Response - Fast API responses
99.9% Uptime - Production-grade reliability
Global Distribution - Deployed to multiple regions

📦 Repository Structure

canvas-student-mcp-server/
├── README.md                       # This file
├── CHANGELOG.md                    # Version history
├── package.json                    # Workspace configuration
└── packages/
    ├── remote-mcp-server-authless/ # Main MCP Server with OAuth 2.1
    │   ├── src/
    │   │   ├── index.ts            # Main server implementation
    │   │   ├── oauth-config.ts     # OAuth 2.1 configuration
    │   │   ├── oauth-handlers.ts   # Authorization flow handlers
    │   │   ├── types.ts            # TypeScript type definitions
    │   │   └── well-known.ts       # OAuth discovery endpoints
    │   ├── package.json            # Server dependencies
    │   ├── tsconfig.json           # TypeScript configuration
    │   ├── wrangler.jsonc          # Cloudflare deployment config
    │   └── README.md               # Detailed server documentation
    └── cloudflare-canvas-api/      # Canvas REST API Proxy
        ├── src/
        │   ├── index.ts            # API proxy implementation
        │   ├── canvas-proxy.ts     # Canvas API forwarding
        │   └── landing-page.ts     # Marketing landing page
        ├── static/
        │   └── index.html          # Landing page HTML
        └── README.md               # Proxy documentation

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Install via Smithery (Easiest)

Install directly from the Smithery registry:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @a-ariff/canvas-student-mcp

Or add to your Claude Desktop config manually:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-student-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@smithery/cli", "run", "@a-ariff/canvas-student-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Use Hosted Server with OAuth

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/client-oauth2",
        "https://canvas-mcp-sse.ariff.dev/sse"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop and you'll be prompted for OAuth authorization.

Option 3: Deploy Your Own

Prerequisites

Cloudflare account (free tier works)
Wrangler CLI installed (npm install -g wrangler)
Canvas API token

Deploy Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/a-ariff/canvas-student-mcp-server.git
cd canvas-student-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
npm run install:all

# Navigate to the MCP server
cd packages/remote-mcp-server-authless

# Login to Cloudflare
wrangler login

# Deploy to Cloudflare Workers
npm run deploy

🔧 Configuration

Canvas API Token

Log into Canvas
Go to Account → Settings
Scroll to Approved Integrations
Click New Access Token
Name it "MCP Server"
Copy the token (save securely)

OAuth Configuration

The server uses OAuth 2.1 with PKCE. Configuration is in packages/remote-mcp-server-authless/src/oauth-config.ts:

export const OAUTH_CONFIG = {
  clientWhitelist: [
    "claude-desktop",
    "mcp-client"
  ],
  redirectUris: [
    "http://localhost:*",
    "https://canvas-mcp-sse.ariff.dev/*"
  ]
}

📚 Available Tools

Course Management

list_courses - Get all active courses
get_modules - Get modules for a course
get_user_profile - Get user profile information

Assignment Tools

get_assignments - Get course assignments
get_upcoming_assignments - Get upcoming assignments
get_submission_status - Check submission status
get_todo_items - Get todo list
get_grades - Get course grades

Communication

get_announcements - Get course announcements
get_discussions - Get discussion topics
get_calendar_events - Get calendar events

Quiz Tools

get_quizzes - Get quiz information

🎯 Use Cases

Student Use Cases

📚 Quick access to all course materials
📅 Track deadlines and upcoming assignments
💬 Stay updated with announcements
📊 Monitor grades and submissions
🤖 Use AI to help organize your coursework

Developer Use Cases

🔌 Easy Canvas API integration
🛠️ Built on modern standards (OAuth 2.1, TypeScript)
⚡ Serverless deployment (no infrastructure management)
🌐 Global edge network (fast anywhere)
🔒 Security best practices out of the box

🛠️ Development

Local Development

# Navigate to MCP server
cd packages/remote-mcp-server-authless

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

Testing

# Test OAuth endpoint
curl https://canvas-mcp-sse.ariff.dev/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server

# Test health endpoint
curl https://canvas-mcp-sse.ariff.dev/health

Available Scripts

# Root workspace
npm run install:all    # Install all package dependencies
npm run build          # Build both packages
npm run deploy:mcp     # Deploy MCP server
npm run deploy:api     # Deploy API proxy
npm run clean          # Clean all node_modules and dist

# MCP Server (packages/remote-mcp-server-authless)
npm run dev            # Development mode with hot reload
npm run deploy         # Deploy to Cloudflare Workers
npm test               # Run tests
npm run type-check     # TypeScript type checking

# API Proxy (packages/cloudflare-canvas-api)
npm run dev            # Development mode
npm run deploy         # Deploy to Cloudflare Workers

🔐 Security

OAuth 2.1 Implementation

PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) required
State parameter validation
Client ID whitelist
Redirect URI validation
Secure token storage in Durable Objects

Best Practices

Never commit API tokens
Use environment variables for secrets
Regularly rotate Canvas tokens
Monitor access logs
Use HTTPS only

🌟 Why This MCP Server?

Feature	This Server	Others
Deployment	Cloudflare Workers (Global Edge)	Traditional servers
Authentication	OAuth 2.1 with PKCE	API keys only
Response Time	<100ms worldwide	Varies by location
Uptime	99.9% (Cloudflare SLA)	Depends on hosting
Cost	Free tier available	Monthly fees
Security	Enterprise-grade	Basic
Maintenance	Serverless (auto-scaling)	Manual management

📖 Documentation

- Version history and release notes
- Detailed server docs
- REST API documentation
- Data handling and privacy
- Security details

📄 License

MIT License - see file for details

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please read for guidelines.

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

🔗 Links

💬 Support

For issues or questions:

Check the Documentation
Search existing issues
Open a new issue
Review Canvas API documentation

🎯 Roadmap

⭐ Show Your Support

If you find this project useful, please consider:

⭐ Star this repository - Help us reach 16 stars for the GitHub achievement!
🔀 Fork and contribute - Your improvements help everyone
📢 Share with classmates - Spread the word about automated Canvas management
💬 Join the discussion - Share your use cases and ideas

Share on Social Media

🎓 Just discovered Canvas Student MCP Server - connects AI directly to Canvas LMS!

✨ Features:
• Auto-track assignments & deadlines
• AI-powered study planning
• Grade monitoring
• OAuth 2.1 security

Built with @CloudflareWorkers & TypeScript
100% open source!

⭐ GitHub: github.com/a-ariff/canvas-student-mcp-server
🚀 Install: smithery.ai/server/@a-ariff/canvas-student-mcp

#EdTech #AI #Canvas #OpenSource #MCP

Built with ❤️ by Ariff | MIT License

Making education smarter with AI, one Canvas integration at a time.