Canvas MCP Server#

This is a stream http transport Canvas LMS mcp server. A nice fancy bit of goblygook that just means its a remote integration you can plug into chatgpt, claude, poke, or anywhere else that supports mcp. If you want to try the hosted version its over at canvas.dunkirk.sh or feel free to self host!

Quick Start#

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Generate encryption key
bun run generate-key

# Copy and configure environment
cp .env.example .env
# Add the generated encryption key to .env

# Run development server
bun dev

Visit http://localhost:3000 to connect your Canvas account.

MCP Tools#

• list_courses: List Canvas courses with enrollment filtering
• search_assignments: Search assignments across courses
• get_assignment: Get detailed assignment information

Client Configuration#

After connecting your Canvas account, add this to Claude Desktop config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "url": "https://canvas.dunkirk.sh/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_MCP_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Security#

• Canvas tokens encrypted with AES-256-GCM before storage
• MCP tokens hashed with Argon2id (cannot be retrieved after creation)
• No Canvas tokens exposed to MCP clients

The canonical repo is hosted on tangled at knot.dunkirk.sh/canvas-mcp

© 2026-present Kieran Klukas