Unofficial TypeScript SDK for Canvas LMS

A fully-typed TypeScript SDK for the Canvas LMS API, compatible with Node.js and Cloudflare Workers.

Features

• 🚀 Full TypeScript Support - Complete type definitions for all API endpoints and models
• 🔧 Auto-generated - Built from official Canvas LMS API documentation
• 🌐 Universal Compatibility - Works in Node.js, browsers, and Cloudflare Workers
• 📚 Comprehensive Coverage - Supports all major Canvas LMS API endpoints
• ⚡ Fetch-based - Uses modern Fetch API for maximum compatibility

Installation

npm install canvas-lms-sdk
# or
yarn add canvas-lms-sdk
# or
pnpm add canvas-lms-sdk

Quick Start

Basic Setup

import { Configuration, CoursesApi } from 'canvas-lms-sdk';

// Configure the SDK
const config = new Configuration({
    basePath: 'https://your-canvas-instance.instructure.com',
    headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${YOUR_API_TOKEN}`
    }
});

// Create an API instance
const coursesApi = new CoursesApi(config);

// Make API calls
const courses = await coursesApi.listCoursesForUser({
    userId: 'self',
    enrollmentState: 'active'
});

Usage Examples

List Active Courses

import { Configuration, CoursesApi } from 'canvas-lms-sdk';

async function listActiveCourses() {
    const config = new Configuration({
        basePath: process.env.CANVAS_HOST,
        headers: {
            'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.CANVAS_TOKEN}`
        }
    });

    const coursesApi = new CoursesApi(config);
    
    try {
        const courses = await coursesApi.listCoursesForUser({
            userId: 'self',
            enrollmentState: 'active'
        });
        
        console.log('Active Courses:');
        courses.forEach(course => {
            console.log(`- ${course.name} (ID: ${course.id})`);
        });
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error fetching courses:', error);
    }
}

Get Assignment Due Dates

import { Configuration, AssignmentsApi } from 'canvas-lms-sdk';

async function getUpcomingAssignments(courseId: number) {
    const config = new Configuration({
        basePath: process.env.CANVAS_HOST,
        headers: {
            'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.CANVAS_TOKEN}`
        }
    });

    const assignmentsApi = new AssignmentsApi(config);
    
    const assignments = await assignmentsApi.listAssignmentsForCourse({
        courseId,
        orderBy: 'due_at',
        buckets: ['upcoming']
    });
    
    return assignments.filter(a => a.dueAt && new Date(a.dueAt) > new Date());
}

Get Canvas Page Content

import { Configuration, PagesApi } from 'canvas-lms-sdk';

async function getCanvasPage(courseId: number, pageUrl: string) {
    const config = new Configuration({
        basePath: process.env.CANVAS_HOST,
        headers: {
            'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.CANVAS_TOKEN}`
        }
    });

    const pagesApi = new PagesApi(config);
    
    const page = await pagesApi.apiV1CoursesCourseIdPagesUrlOrIdGet({
        courseId,
        urlOrId: pageUrl
    });
    
    console.log(`Page Title: ${page.title}`);
    console.log(`Content: ${page.body}`);
    return page;
}

Submit an Assignment

import { Configuration, SubmissionsApi } from 'canvas-lms-sdk';

async function submitAssignment(courseId: number, assignmentId: number, body: string) {
    const config = new Configuration({
        basePath: process.env.CANVAS_HOST,
        headers: {
            'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.CANVAS_TOKEN}`
        }
    });

    const submissionsApi = new SubmissionsApi(config);
    
    const submission = await submissionsApi.submitAssignment({
        courseId,
        assignmentId,
        submissionType: 'online_text_entry',
        submissionBody: body
    });
    
    return submission;
}

Cloudflare Workers Example

import { Configuration, CoursesApi, AssignmentsApi } from 'canvas-lms-sdk';

export default {
    async fetch(request: Request, env: Env): Promise<Response> {
        const url = new URL(request.url);
        
        const config = new Configuration({
            basePath: env.CANVAS_HOST,
            headers: {
                'Authorization': `Bearer ${env.CANVAS_TOKEN}`
            }
        });

        if (url.pathname === '/api/courses') {
            const coursesApi = new CoursesApi(config);
            const courses = await coursesApi.listCoursesForUser({
                userId: 'self',
                enrollmentState: 'active'
            });
            return Response.json(courses);
        }
        
        if (url.pathname.startsWith('/api/assignments/')) {
            const courseId = parseInt(url.pathname.split('/')[3]);
            const assignmentsApi = new AssignmentsApi(config);
            const assignments = await assignmentsApi.listAssignmentsForCourse({
                courseId,
                orderBy: 'due_at'
            });
            return Response.json(assignments);
        }
        
        return new Response('Not Found', { status: 404 });
    }
}

Available APIs

The SDK provides the following API classes:

• CoursesApi - Course management and information
• AssignmentsApi - Assignment operations
• SubmissionsApi - Assignment submissions
• UsersApi - User management
• EnrollmentsApi - Course enrollments
• GradesApi - Gradebook operations
• PagesApi - Wiki pages
• ModulesApi - Course modules
• FilesApi - File uploads and management
• QuizzesApi - Quiz operations
• DiscussionTopicsApi - Discussion forums
• AnnouncementsApi - Course announcements
• CalendarEventsApi - Calendar and scheduling
• ConversationsApi - Messaging system
• GroupsApi - Group management
• SectionsApi - Course sections
• RubricsApi - Rubric management
• OutcomesApi - Learning outcomes

And many more! See the full API documentation for complete details.

Environment Setup

Create a .env file in your project root:

CANVAS_HOST=https://your-canvas-instance.instructure.com
CANVAS_TOKEN=your_api_token_here

Getting an API Token

1. Log into your Canvas instance
2. Go to Account → Settings
3. Click "+ New Access Token"
4. Enter a purpose and expiration (optional)
5. Copy the generated token

TypeScript Configuration

The SDK is built with TypeScript and includes full type definitions. For best results, use these TypeScript settings:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true
  }
}

Error Handling

The SDK throws errors for failed API calls. Always wrap API calls in try-catch blocks:

try {
    const courses = await coursesApi.listCoursesForUser({
        userId: 'self'
    });
} catch (error) {
    if (error.response) {
        // API returned an error response
        console.error('Status:', error.response.status);
        const errorBody = await error.response.text();
        console.error('Error:', errorBody);
    } else {
        // Network or other error
        console.error('Error:', error.message);
    }
}

Pagination

Many Canvas APIs return paginated results. The SDK handles this automatically:

// The SDK automatically follows pagination links
const allAssignments = await assignmentsApi.listAssignmentsForCourse({
    courseId: 123,
    perPage: 100  // Adjust page size (max 100)
});

Development

For information on contributing to the SDK or regenerating from updated Canvas API documentation, see Development Documentation.

API Documentation

Complete API documentation is available at: https://avarant.github.io/canvas-lms-sdk/

This includes:

• Detailed endpoint descriptions
• Request/response models
• Parameter specifications
• Example requests

Examples

The examples/ directory contains runnable examples:

cd examples
npm install

# List active courses
npx ts-node list_active_courses.ts

# Get assignment due dates
npx ts-node fetch_assignment_due_dates.ts 123  # Replace with course ID

# Get a Canvas page
npx ts-node get_canvas_page.ts 123 "page-url"  # Course ID and page URL

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Canvas API Docs: Canvas LMS REST API Documentation
• SDK Documentation: API Reference

License

MIT - See LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

This SDK is auto-generated from the official Canvas LMS API documentation. Canvas LMS is a product of Instructure, Inc.