v1.1.0: read course files, GPA calculator, prompts and attachments

New

• Read course files. read_course_file reads PDFs, Word documents and PowerPoint slides (including speaker notes), so you can ask for a summary of the week 5 slides or flashcards from a chapter. Long files come back in parts.
• GPA calculator. calculate_gpa works out your GPA on a 4.0 scale from your current grades, weighted by credit hours, with what-if grades and extra points for AP or Honors classes.
• Prompts. Five one-click prompts in your AI app's menu: Plan my week, What did I miss?, Prep me for an exam, How are my grades? and Catch me up on a course. Course names autocomplete.
• Attach Canvas items. Attach a course syllabus, or an assignment due in the next 14 days, to a chat like a file.

Improved

• MCP SDK 1.32 and dependency updates. npm audit is clean.
• 211 tools. The Identity group count in the docs was off by one and is fixed.

Upgrade

Nothing to change if you use npx -y canvas-lms-mcp-local. Fully restart your AI app to pick up 1.1.0. If it still shows 209 tools, npx kept an older saved copy: run npx -y canvas-lms-mcp-local@latest once, or use Auto update in the Windows app.

Windows app: Canvas MCP Installer Assistant

The free Canvas MCP Installer Assistant for Windows (download) walks you through setting up the Local or Remote Edition with pictures and checks each step. Its free Tool guide explains all 211 tools in plain English with search, and Optional features shows how to turn on phone and Discord alerts. An optional $5 unlock adds one-click Auto install, Auto update and Patch version. It isn't code-signed yet, so Windows may say "Windows protected your PC": click More info, then Run anyway.

SHA-256: 0d64435670655acb7333e8aef3d4cf3c21c3e52996ecca30e9e92555fdfc7193

v1.0.3: setup tools work without a token

Improved

• get_server_config, search_tools and get_rate_limit_status work before you've set a token. They never contact Canvas, so they no longer fail when CANVAS_API_TOKEN or CANVAS_BASE_URL is missing. get_server_config is the one to run first if setup isn't working, because it reports whether a token is present (without revealing it).

Upgrade

Nothing to change if you use npx -y canvas-lms-mcp-local. Just restart your AI app to pick up 1.0.3.

Windows app

The newest Canvas MCP Installer Assistant is on the latest release.

v1.0.2: every tool documented

Improved

• Every tool and parameter is documented. All 209 descriptions now say what the tool returns, whether it only reads or is visible to other people, and which related tool to use instead. All 404 parameters explain what they mean and where each ID comes from. Your AI assistant picks the right tool more often and needs fewer retries.
• Tools have readable titles (for example "Get Tool Launch URL") and complete safety hints for apps that show them.

Fixed

• post_submission_comment can attach files: pass the file_ids from upload_comment_attachment. Before, uploaded comment files had no way to be attached.
• get_custom_data ignored scope; it now reads only that path.
• get_quiz_assignment_overrides ignored its quiz filter; it now sends it.
• raw_canvas_request was marked read-only even though it can write. It's now marked as able to change data.
• The server told apps it was version 1.0.0; it now reports its real version.
• Removed the include_planner_overrides parameter from list_missing_submissions, because it never did anything.

Upgrade

Nothing to change if you use npx -y canvas-lms-mcp-local. Just restart your AI app to pick up 1.0.2.

v1.0.1: excused-assignment fix and tested grade math

Fixed

• compute_needed_score now skips excused assignments. Before, they were counted as work still to do, which made "what do I need on the final?" answers wrong whenever something was excused.

Improved

• The grade math (get_course_grade_breakdown, compute_needed_score, what_if_grade) now lives in its own module, grade-calculators.js, with unit tests. Run them with npm test.

Thanks

• @dharamdan01 for extracting the grade helpers, adding the tests and catching the excused-assignment bug (#4)
• @kukirin-ui for the Linux systemd instructions in the Remote Edition (canvas-lms-mcp-server#4)

Upgrade

Nothing to change if you use npx -y canvas-lms-mcp-local. Just restart your AI app to pick up 1.0.1.

v1.0.0: Local Edition

First public release of the Local Edition: Canvas LMS in your AI assistant, right on your computer.

Install

Add this to your AI app's MCP config, with your Canvas token and school address:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp-local"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your_token_here",
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://yourschool.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Highlights

• 209 student tools: grades (what-if, score needed on the final, impact ranking), deadlines, missing work, submissions, discussions, inbox, calendar, files and study planning
• Nothing exposed: runs over stdio, so no ports are opened and no tunnel is needed
• Safe by design: confirmation before sending anything, prompt-injection fencing, no quiz-taking, and a read-only mode

📦 npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/canvas-lms-mcp-local

Want it on your phone or across several computers? See the Remote Edition.