Canvas

Canvas Conversations API

The Conversations API from Canvas — 8 operation(s) for conversations.

GitHub OpenAPI

Operations 12

Each operation below carries the questions people ask an LLM about it and the instructions they give an agent to run it. Generated by API Evangelist overlay

GET /v1/conversations List my inbox conversations · List conversations #
Ask an LLM
“How do I see my Canvas inbox conversations, newest first?”
“Can I filter my conversations to only unread or starred ones?”
Tell an agent
List my conversations.
Show my {scope} conversations.
POST /v1/conversations Send a new inbox message · Create a conversation #
Ask an LLM
“How do I send a private message to a student in Canvas?”
“Can I message a whole course section in one go?”
Tell an agent
Message {recipients}: {body}
Start a conversation with {recipients} titled {subject} saying {body}.
PUT /v1/conversations Apply one change to many conversations · Batch update conversations #
Ask an LLM
“How do I mark a bunch of conversations as read at once?”
“Can I archive or star several conversations in a single request?”
Tell an agent
Apply {event} to conversations {conversation_ids}.
Bulk {event} the conversations {conversation_ids}.
GET /v1/conversations/batches Check my bulk message batches in progress · Get running batches #
Ask an LLM
“Is my bulk private message still being sent?”
“What conversation batches are currently running for me?”
Tell an agent
Show my running conversation batches.
Check whether my bulk messages have finished sending.
GET /v1/conversations/{id} Read a single conversation · Get a single conversation #
Ask an LLM
“How do I open one conversation with all its messages?”
“Can I read a conversation without marking it as read?”
Tell an agent
Open conversation {id}.
Show all messages and participants in conversation {id}.
PUT /v1/conversations/{id} Star, archive or mute a conversation · Edit a conversation #
Ask an LLM
“How do I star or archive one conversation?”
“Can I unsubscribe from a conversation so I stop getting notified?”
Tell an agent
Set conversation {id} to {workflow_state}.
Star conversation {id}.
DELETE /v1/conversations/{id} Delete a conversation from my inbox · Delete a conversation #
Ask an LLM
“How do I delete a whole conversation from my inbox?”
“Does deleting a conversation remove it for the other participants too?”
Tell an agent destructive · confirm first
Delete conversation {id}.
Remove conversation {id} and all its messages from my view.
POST /v1/conversations/mark_all_as_read Mark all my conversations as read · Mark all as read #
Ask an LLM
“Can I clear every unread conversation in my inbox at once?”
“What's the quickest way to mark my whole inbox as read?”
Tell an agent
Mark all my conversations as read.
Clear my entire unread inbox.
POST /v1/conversations/{id}/add_recipients Add people to a group conversation · Add recipients #
Ask an LLM
“How do I add more people to an existing group conversation?”
“Can I bring a new student into a conversation already underway?”
Tell an agent
Add {recipients} to conversation {id}.
Invite {recipients} into group conversation {id}.
POST /v1/conversations/{id}/add_message Reply in an existing conversation · Add a message #
Ask an LLM
“How do I reply to a conversation that's already going?”
“Can I reply to only some of the people in a conversation?”
Tell an agent
Reply to conversation {id} with {body}.
Reply to conversation {id} with {body}, sent only to {recipients}.
POST /v1/conversations/{id}/remove_messages Delete specific messages from a conversation · Delete a message #
Ask an LLM
“How do I delete individual messages from a conversation?”
“What happens if I delete every message in a conversation?”
Tell an agent destructive · confirm first
Delete messages {remove} from conversation {id}.
Remove message {remove} from my view of conversation {id}.
GET /v1/conversations/unread_count Count my unread conversations · Unread count #
Ask an LLM
“How many unread conversations do I have?”
“What's my unread inbox count in Canvas?”
Tell an agent
Tell me how many unread conversations I have.
Get my unread conversation count.

Documentation

📖
Documentation
https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/
📖
Authentication
https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth.html
📖
APIReference
https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/
📖
RateLimits
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/canvas/refs/heads/main/rate-limits/canvas-rate-limits.yml

Specifications

⚙
OpenAPI
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/canvas/refs/heads/main/openapi/canvas-conversations-api-openapi.yml

SDKs

📦
GitHubRepository
https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms

Other Resources

🔗
Pagination
https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.pagination.html
🔗
Swagger
https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/api-docs.json
🔗
OAuthScopes
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/canvas/refs/heads/main/scopes/canvas-scopes.yml
🔗
ErrorCatalog
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/canvas/refs/heads/main/errors/canvas-problem-types.yml
🔗
DataModel
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/canvas/refs/heads/main/data-model/canvas-data-model.yml

Work with this as data

Every API here is available over the APIs.io API and to AI agents over MCP.

MCP server

One button, every client — Claude, Cursor, VS Code and the rest.

https://apis.io/mcp

Tools for apis

7 MCP tools reach this
  • find_apisBrowse and filter every API in the catalog.
  • get_api_artifactsOne API's artifacts, grouped by type.
  • get_openapiThe primary OpenAPI for this API.
  • find_similar_apisAPIs that look like this one.
  • apis_io_searchSTART HERE — APIs, providers and tags for one query, each with its total.
  • resolveTurn a domain, URL or GitHub org into the provider it belongs to.
  • find_cohortsEvery scored population of providers in the catalog.
All 92 tools →

Call it yourself

curl for this page
This API 
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/apis/canvas:canvas-conversations-api"
All apis 
curl "https://apis.io/api/v1/apis?limit=25"

Discovery needs no key. Ratings and market analysis are Pro.

Get an API key

Free tier, no form to fill in. Signing in shares your email address with us — we store it to create your key and to recognise you if you sign in with another provider. See our Privacy Policy and Terms.

GitHub Google LinkedIn

A second provider on the same verified email joins the account you already have.

OpenAPI Specification

canvas-conversations-api-openapi.yml Raw ↑ 
openapi: 3.2.0
info:
  title: Canvas LMS REST Conversations API
  version: v1
  summary: The complete Canvas LMS REST API, converted from the Swagger 1.2 documents Instructure publishes under https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/.
  description: The Canvas LMS REST API covers courses, assignments, quizzes, grades, users, enrollments, accounts, files, modules, rubrics, submissions, SIS imports, LTI, analytics and account administration.
  contact:
    name: Instructure Canvas
    url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/
  license:
    name: AGPL-3.0
    url: https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms/blob/master/LICENSE
servers:
- url: https://canvas.instructure.com/api
  description: Instructure-hosted Canvas (canvas.instructure.com)
- url: https://{canvas_host}/api
  description: Any Canvas instance; Canvas is multi-tenant and self-hostable, so the host is the institution's Canvas domain.
  variables:
    canvas_host:
      default: canvas.instructure.com
      description: Your institution's Canvas hostname, e.g. school.instructure.com
security:
- bearerAuth: []
- oauth2: []
tags:


# --- truncated at 32 KB (37 KB total) ---
# Full source: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/canvas/refs/heads/main/openapi/canvas-conversations-api-openapi.yml