Note that there is now a Python Canvas API library created by the University of Central Florida that is much more complete, much better documented ans in general much better than this. I recommend you use their library for new projects.

I will probably end up converting my utility scripts to use their library eventually.

Some python scripts for the Canvas learning management system

The Canvas course management system by Instructure has a RESTful API that allows easy access to a number of features.

These are some scripts that allow an instructor to interact with the system from the command line, to do things like get a class roster, post an announcement, create a class syllabus from a source written in markdown, add links to course navigation that redirect to external websites, etc.

In order to use these scripts, you need an access token from your Canvas server. For information on how to generate an access token, see https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth.html and https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-3013. Place the access token in ~/.canvas/access_token (make sure you set proper permissions for the file to keep others from snooping), or use it directly in your scripts. If the token is in ~/.canvas/access_token, you can do this:

import canvas

canvas.read_access_token()
#base_url = "https://your.canvas.server/" #default is the SVSU server

courseid = 666 #replace with your course id number

students = canvas.get_students(courseid)

print("Student,ID,Section,\nPoints Possible,,,")
for stud in students:
    print('"{sortable_name}",{id},,'.format(**stud))

to get a csv roster of your course that you can use to upload grades to Canvas gradebook.

You can find more examples at the lahvak/canvas_utils repo.