The Canvas API, but simpler and more powerful

This project is designed by educators for educators. Each endpoint is a black box that just works. We don't have full API coverage, but we add functions as they are requested.

Quickstart

1. Get an `api` instance

In your CACCL project, you should have access to an api instance (via getAPI, for example). Read through the CACCL docs to learn more.

2. Call an endpoint function

All endpoint functions are asynchronous, so we recommend using async/await syntax:

const submissions = await api.course.listStudents();

API Config

Every endpoint function can take a second argument that overwrites default settings:

Argument	Type	Description
onNewPage	function	this function is called when each page is received from Canvas
maxPages	number	maximum number of pages to fetch
itemsPerPage	number	number of items to request in each page
numRetries	number	number of times to retry failed network requests
canvasHost	string	hostname for Canvas
accessToken	string	access token to use for authentication
authenticityToken	string	Canvas authenticity token (we recommend that you use accessToken instead)

In most cases, you will not need to include any of these parameters because the defaults will suffice.

Tips and Tricks

For giant requests, process data as it arrives:

Instead of waiting until the endpoint function returns with all the pages of data, process it page by page using onNewPage.

const allCourses = await api.account.listCourses({
  accountId: 29,
  onNewPage: (batchOfCourses) => {
    // Increment the number of courses that have been downloaded
    this.incrementNumberOfCourses(batchOfCourses.length);

    // Add the new batch of courses to the table shown to the user
    this.addCoursesToTable(batchOfCourses);
  },
});

Hit any endpoint, even ones that aren't listed in our docs:

Use api.other.endpoint(...) to hit any endpoint in Canvas.