Canvas LMS Skill

Access Canvas LMS data via the REST API.

Setup

1. Generate an API token in Canvas: Account → Settings → New Access Token
2. Store token in environment or .env file:

bash export CANVAS_TOKEN="your_token_here" export CANVAS_URL="https://your-school.instructure.com" # or canvas.yourschool.edu

Authentication

Include token in all requests:

bash
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/..."

Common Endpoints

Courses & Profile

bash
# User profile
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/users/self/profile"

# Active courses
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/courses?enrollment_state=active&per_page=50"

# Dashboard cards (quick overview)
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/dashboard/dashboard_cards"

Assignments & Due Dates

bash
# To-do items (upcoming work)
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/users/self/todo"

# Upcoming events
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/users/self/upcoming_events"

# Missing/overdue submissions
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/users/self/missing_submissions"

# Course assignments
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/courses/{course_id}/assignments?per_page=50"

# Assignment details
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/courses/{course_id}/assignments/{id}"

# Submission status
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/courses/{course_id}/assignments/{id}/submissions/self"

Grades

bash
# Enrollments with scores
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/users/self/enrollments?include[]=current_grading_period_scores&per_page=50"

Extract grade: .grades.current_score

Course Content

bash
# Announcements
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/announcements?context_codes[]=course_{course_id}&per_page=20"

# Modules
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/courses/{course_id}/modules?include[]=items&per_page=50"

# Files
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/courses/{course_id}/files?per_page=50"

# Discussion topics
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/courses/{course_id}/discussion_topics?per_page=50"

# Inbox
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_TOKEN" "$CANVAS_URL/api/v1/conversations?per_page=20"

Response Handling

• List endpoints return arrays
• Pagination: check Link header for rel="next"
• Dates are ISO 8601 (UTC)
• Use --max-time 30 for slow endpoints

Parse with jq:

bash
curl -s ... | jq '.[] | {name: .name, due: .due_at}'

Or Python if jq unavailable:

bash
curl -s ... | python3 -c "import sys,json; data=json.load(sys.stdin); print(json.dumps(data, indent=2))"

Tips

• Course IDs appear in todo/assignment responses
• File download URLs are in the url field of file objects
• Always include per_page=50 to get more results (default is often 10)