manual-setup.md

Manual Client Setup

Use this guide if npx canvas-lms-mcp init doesn't support your client yet, or if you prefer to edit config files by hand.

For the interactive setup wizard, see the Quick Start section.

Prerequisites

1. Log in to your Canvas instance.
2. Go to Account > Settings.
3. Scroll to Approved Integrations and click + New Access Token.
4. Give it a name (e.g., "MCP Server") and click Generate Token.
5. Copy the token immediately — you won't see it again.

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-lms": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here",
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://your-institution.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor

One-click install: Add to Cursor — opens Cursor with canvas-lms-mcp pre-configured (replace placeholder credentials after install).

Or add manually to .cursor/mcp.json in your project or ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-lms": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here",
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://your-institution.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

One-click install: Install in VS Code · VS Code Insiders — opens VS Code with canvas-lms-mcp pre-configured (replace placeholder credentials after install).

Or add manually to your VS Code settings (settings.json or mcp.json):

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "canvas-lms": {
        "command": "npx",
        "args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp"],
        "env": {
          "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here",
          "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://your-institution.instructure.com"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Or use the one-liner:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"canvas-lms","command":"npx","args":["-y","canvas-lms-mcp"],"env":{"CANVAS_API_TOKEN":"your-token","CANVAS_BASE_URL":"https://school.instructure.com"}}'

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-lms": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here",
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://your-institution.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex CLI

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.canvas-lms]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp"]

[mcp_servers.canvas-lms.env]
CANVAS_API_TOKEN = "your-token-here"
CANVAS_BASE_URL = "https://your-institution.instructure.com"

Or use the one-liner:

codex mcp add canvas-lms -- npx canvas-lms-mcp

Continue

Add to ~/.continue/config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-lms": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here",
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://your-institution.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add canvas-lms --env CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your-token --env CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://school.instructure.com -- npx -y canvas-lms-mcp

Or add to ~/.claude.json under mcpServers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canvas-lms": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "canvas-lms-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CANVAS_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here",
        "CANVAS_BASE_URL": "https://your-institution.instructure.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add canvas-lms npx canvas-lms-mcp

ChatGPT / HTTP Clients

Run the server in HTTP mode, then point your client at the endpoint:

npx canvas-lms-mcp serve --port 3001 \
  --token your-token-here \
  --base-url https://your-institution.instructure.com

The MCP endpoint is http://localhost:3001/mcp. Per-request credentials can be passed via X-Canvas-Token and X-Canvas-Base-URL headers.