Questions and limits
Whether canvas-cli can change Canvas, who can see it, whether it is allowed, what it costs, and what it cannot do.
Can it change anything in Canvas?
No. canvas-cli only reads from Canvas. It cannot submit an assignment, post in a discussion, or change anything in your account. Submitting is still something you do in Canvas yourself.
Can my instructor see that I use it?
canvas-cli is not visible in your courses, but it signs in with a personal access token you created, like any other app that uses the Canvas API. Canvas can record those requests in its access logs, and your school’s administrators can see the tokens on your account. Treat it as you would any other tool connected to your account.
Is it allowed on my coursework?
That depends on your course. canvas-cli is built to help you understand assignments: the assistant is told to explain requirements and point to sources, not to do the work for you. Your instructor’s rules on AI tools and academic integrity still apply, so check your syllabus.
What does it cost?
canvas-cli itself is free and open source under the MIT license. The AI features use your own provider: an API key is billed by that provider, and a GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT plan counts the usage against the plan. Everything except the assistant works without one. See AI providers.
Does it work offline?
Not fully. The shell connects to Canvas when it starts, and the assistant needs your AI provider. Everything canvas-cli has downloaded stays in .canvas-cli/ as ordinary files, though, so you can open your course material, extracted text, and workspace notes with any other app without a connection.
Does it work on Windows?
Yes, through npm (npm install -g @reyabsaluja/canvas-cli, with Node.js 20.10 or later). The install script and the standalone binaries are for macOS and Linux. On Windows, credentials are stored in files under your user folder rather than a system keychain.
How far can I trust the answers?
In an assignment workspace, answers cite the page or section they came from, and every date and figure is checked against what the assistant actually read; anything it could not confirm is flagged. Course and global chat answers get the same date and figure check, without citations. That makes mistakes easy to spot, not impossible. Check the cited source for anything that matters, and ask your instructor when the course material is unclear. See Checks.
Limitations
- It reads Canvas but never writes to it.
- Scanned PDFs, older Office formats (.doc, .ppt, .xls), and notebooks are downloaded but not searchable.
- Answers are only verified in assignment workspaces, not in course or global chat.
- Input is a single line, and there is no history of previous questions.
- Claude Pro and Max subscriptions cannot be used; use an Anthropic API key or Bedrock for Claude.
- Grade breakdowns are calculated locally and do not apply drop rules.