Fetch Canvas LMS courses and assignments via API token.
Skill metadata
| Source | Optional — install with hermes skills install official/productivity/canvas |
| Path | optional-skills/productivity/canvas |
| Version | 1.0.0 |
| Author | community |
| License | MIT |
| Platforms | linux, macos, windows |
| Tags | Canvas, LMS, Education, Courses, Assignments |
Reference: full SKILL.md
info
The following is the complete skill definition that Hermes loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active.
Canvas LMS — Course & Assignment Access
Read-only access to Canvas LMS for listing courses and assignments.
Scripts
scripts/canvas_api.py— Python CLI for Canvas API calls
Setup
- Log in to your Canvas instance in a browser
- Go to Account → Settings (click your profile icon, then Settings)
- Scroll to Approved Integrations and click + New Access Token
- Name the token (e.g., "Hermes Agent"), set an optional expiry, and click Generate Token
- Copy the token and add to
${HERMES_HOME:-~/.hermes}/.env:
CANVAS_API_TOKEN=your_token_here
CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://yourschool.instructure.com
The base URL is whatever appears in your browser when you're logged into Canvas (no trailing slash).
Usage
CANVAS="python $HERMES_HOME/skills/productivity/canvas/scripts/canvas_api.py"
# List all active courses
$CANVAS list_courses --enrollment-state active
# List all courses (any state)
$CANVAS list_courses
# List assignments for a specific course
$CANVAS list_assignments 12345
# List assignments ordered by due date
$CANVAS list_assignments 12345 --order-by due_at
Output Format
list_courses returns:
[{"id": 12345, "name": "Intro to CS", "course_code": "CS101", "workflow_state": "available", "start_at": "...", "end_at": "..."}]
list_assignments returns:
[{"id": 67890, "name": "Homework 1", "due_at": "2025-02-15T23:59:00Z", "points_possible": 100, "submission_types": ["online_upload"], "html_url": "...", "description": "...", "course_id": 12345}]
Note: Assignment descriptions are truncated to 500 characters. The html_url field links to the full assignment page in Canvas.
API Reference (curl)
# List courses
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_API_TOKEN" \
"$CANVAS_BASE_URL/api/v1/courses?enrollment_state=active&per_page=10"
# List assignments for a course
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $CANVAS_API_TOKEN" \
"$CANVAS_BASE_URL/api/v1/courses/COURSE_ID/assignments?per_page=10&order_by=due_at"
Canvas uses Link headers for pagination. The Python script handles pagination automatically.
Rules
- This skill is read-only — it only fetches data, never modifies courses or assignments
- On first use, verify auth by running
$CANVAS list_courses— if it fails with 401, guide the user through setup - Canvas rate-limits to ~700 requests per 10 minutes; check
X-Rate-Limit-Remainingheader if hitting limits
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| 401 Unauthorized | Token invalid or expired — regenerate in Canvas Settings |
| 403 Forbidden | Token lacks permission for this course |
| Empty course list | Try --enrollment-state active or omit the flag to see all states |
| Wrong institution | Verify CANVAS_BASE_URL matches the URL in your browser |
| Timeout errors | Check network connectivity to your Canvas instance |