canvas

name	canvas
description	Canvas LMS (Instructure) — read and write courses, modules, assignments, rubrics, grades, and submissions for K-12 classroom workflows.
metadata	{"openclaw":{"requires":{"env":["CANVAS_API_TOKEN","CANVAS_BASE_URL"]}},"primaryEnv":"CANVAS_API_TOKEN"}

Canvas

What it is

Canvas by Instructure is a leading cloud-based Learning Management System used widely in K-12 districts for course content delivery, assignment management, grading, and student communication. It exposes a comprehensive REST API supporting both read and write operations across its full data model.

When to use this skill

• Retrieving assignment descriptions, rubrics, and due dates to give tutoring or writing-feedback context
• Publishing lesson modules, assignment shells, or pacing calendars created by the lesson-planning agent
• Uploading teacher-created content (worksheets, slide decks) to a course module
• Reading student submission text or attached documents for writing feedback workflows
• Pushing finalized quiz scores or rubric-scored grades back to the Canvas gradebook after teacher approval

Credentials

This skill authenticates using env vars declared in the frontmatter metadata and provided via ~/.openclaw/.env (see .env.example at the segment root). Required variables:

• CANVAS_BASE_URL - root URL of the Canvas instance (e.g. https://district.instructure.com)
• CANVAS_API_TOKEN - user or service-account API token generated in Canvas account settings

Key operations

• GET /api/v1/courses — list courses for the authenticated user
• GET /api/v1/courses/{id}/assignments — retrieve assignments with rubrics and due dates
• GET /api/v1/courses/{id}/modules — read course module structure and items
• POST /api/v1/courses/{id}/pages — create a new content page in a course
• GET /api/v1/courses/{id}/submissions — fetch student submission bodies and metadata
• PUT /api/v1/courses/{id}/assignments/{aid}/submissions/{uid} — post a grade or rubric assessment
• POST /api/v1/courses/{id}/quizzes — create a new quiz (New Quizzes via LTI integration)

Notes

• Canvas API uses pagination via Link headers; always follow next links when listing large collections.
• Rate limit is 3000 requests per hour per token by default; batch operations where possible.
• Write operations (grade passback, content publishing) require teacher-level or higher token scope.
• Prefer the Canvas Data 2 (CD2) streaming export for bulk analytics rather than paginated REST calls.