Canvas

Canvas Inst Access Tokens API

The Inst Access Tokens API from Canvas — 1 operation(s) for inst access tokens.

Documentation GitHub OpenAPI

Operations 1

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

POST /v1/inst_access_tokens Create a short-lived InstAccess token · [DEPRECATED] Create InstAccess token #

Ask an LLM

“How do I get an InstAccess token for calling Instructure services?”

“How long does an InstAccess token stay valid?”

Tell an agent

Create a new InstAccess token for me.

Generate a one-hour InstAccess token using the deprecated endpoint.

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-inst-access-tokens-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

openapi: 3.2.0
info:
  title: Canvas LMS REST Inst Access Tokens 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:
- name: Inst Access Tokens
  x-resource: inst_access_tokens
  externalDocs:
    url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/inst_access_tokens.html
paths:
  /v1/inst_access_tokens:
    post:
      tags:
      - Inst Access Tokens
      operationId: deprecated_create_instaccess_token
      summary: '[DEPRECATED] Create InstAccess token'
      description: 'Create a unique, encrypted InstAccess token.


        Generates a different InstAccess token each time it''s called, each one expires

        after a short window (1 hour).'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Success
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/InstAccessToken'
      externalDocs:
        url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/inst_access_tokens.html
components:
  schemas:
    InstAccessToken:
      type: object
      properties:
        token:
          type: string
          example: eyJhbGciOiJSU0ExXzUiLCJlbmMiOiJBMTI4Q0JDLUhTMjU2In0.EstatUwzltksvZn4wbjHYiwleM986vzryrv4R9jqvYDGEY4rt6KPG4Q6lJ3oI0piYbH7h17i8vIWv35cqrgRbb7fzmGQ0Ptj74OEjx-1gGBMZCbZTE4W206XxPHRm9TS4qOAvIq0hsvJroE4xZsVWJFiUIKl_Wd2udbvqwF8bvnMKPAx_ooa-9mWaG1N9kd4EWC3Oxu9wi7j8ZG_TbkLSXAg1KxLaO2zXBcU5_HWrKFRxOjHmWpaOMKWkjUInt-DA6fLRszBZp9BFGoop8S9KDs6f1JebLgyM5gGrP-Gz7kSEAPO9eVXtjpd6N29wMClNI0X-Ppp_40Fp4Z3vocTKQ.c_tcevWI68RuZ0s04fDSEQ.wV8KIPHGfYwxm19MWt3K7VVGm4qqZJruPwAZ8rdUANTzJoqwafqOnYZLCyky8lV7J-m64SMVUmR-BOha_CmJEKVVw7T5x70MTP6-nv4RMVPpcViHsNgE2f1GE9HUauVePw7CrnV0PyVaNq2EZasDgdHdye4iG_-hXXQZRnGYzxl8UceTLBVkpEYHlXKdD7DyQ0IT2BYOcZSpXyW7kEIvAHpNaNbvTPCR2t0SeGbuNf8PpYVjohKDpXhNgQ-Pyl9pxs05TrdjTq1fIctzTLqIN58nfqzoqQld6rSkjcAZZXgr8bOsg8EDFMov5gTv2_Uf-YOm52yD1SbL0lJ-VdpKgXu7XtQ4UmEOj40W4uXF-KmLTjEwQmdbmtKrruhakIeth7EZa3w0Xg6RRyHLqKUheAdTgxAIer8MST8tamZlqW1b9wjMw371zSSjeksF_UjTS9p9i7eTtRPuAbf9geDhKb5e-y29MJaL1eKkhTMiEOPY3O4XGGuqRdRMrbjkNmla_RxiQhFJ3T8Dem-yDRan8gqaJLfRRrvGViz-lty96bQT-Z0hVer1uJhAtkM6RT_DgrnAUP_66LfaupZr6bLCKwnYocF1ICcAzkcYw7l5jHa4DTc2ZLgLi-yfbv2wGXpybAvLfZcO424TxHOuQykCSvbfPPuf06kkjPbYmMg6_GdM3JcQ_50VUXQFZkjH45BH5zX7y-2u0ReM8zxt65RpJAvlivrc8j2_E-u0LhlzCwEgsnd61lG4baaI86IVl4wNXkMDui4CgGvAUAf4AXW7Imw_cF0zI69z0SLfahjaYkdREGIYKStBtPAR04sfsR7o.LHBODYub4W4Vq-SXfdbk1Q
          description: The InstAccess token itself -- a signed, encrypted JWT
  securitySchemes:
    bearerAuth:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      description: 'Canvas OAuth2 access token sent as "Authorization: Bearer <token>". See https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth.html'
    oauth2:
      type: oauth2
      description: Canvas OAuth2. See https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth.html and https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/file.oauth_endpoints.html
      flows:
        authorizationCode:
          authorizationUrl: https://canvas.instructure.com/login/oauth2/auth
          tokenUrl: https://canvas.instructure.com/login/oauth2/token
          refreshUrl: https://canvas.instructure.com/login/oauth2/token
          scopes: {}
externalDocs:
  description: Canvas LMS REST API Documentation
  url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/
x-generated-from: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/api-docs.json
x-provenance:
  method: derived
  derived_by: API Evangelist enrichment pipeline (Swagger 1.2 -> OpenAPI 3.1 conversion)
  source: openapi/_original/swagger-1.2/*.json (144 verbatim first-party Swagger 1.2 documents)
  source_url: https://canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/api-docs.json
  fetched: '2026-09-05'
  http_status: 200

Canvas Inst Access Tokens API

Operations 1

Documentation

Specifications

SDKs

Other Resources