canvaslms 6.3
Command-line interface to Canvas LMS
Requires Python: >=3.8

# canvaslms: A CLI to Canvas LMS.

This program provides a command-line interface for Canvas. The command
is `canvaslms` and it has several subcommands in the same style as Git.
`canvaslms` provides output in a format useful for POSIX tools, this
makes automating tasks much easier.

## Getting started

Start by login to your Canvas server

```bash
pipx install canvaslms
canvaslms login
```

Let's consider how to grade students logging into the student-shell SSH
server. We store the list of students' Canvas and KTH IDs in a file.

```bash
canvaslms users -sc DD1301 | cut -f 1,2 > students.csv
```

Then we check who has logged into student-shell.
```bash
ssh student-shell.sys.kth.se last | cut -f 1 -d " " | sort | uniq \
  > logged-in.csv
```

Finally, we check who of our students logged in.
We can set their grade to P and add the comment "Well done!" in
Canvas. We set the grades for the two assignments whose titles match the
regular expression `(Preparing the terminal|The terminal)`.
```bash
for s in $(cut -f 2 students.csv); do
  grep $s logged-in.csv && \
    canvaslms grade -c DD1301 -a "(Preparing the terminal|The terminal)" \
      -u $(grep $s students.csv | cut -f 1) \
      -g P -m "Well done!"
done
```

### Analyzing Quiz/Survey Results

The `quizzes analyse` command helps you analyze Canvas quiz or survey evaluation data. 
Download the Student Analysis Report CSV from Canvas and run:

```bash
# Markdown output (default, rendered with rich)
canvaslms quizzes analyse --csv survey_results.csv

# LaTeX output (for PDF compilation)
canvaslms quizzes analyse --csv survey_results.csv --format latex > report.tex
```

This will provide:
- Statistical summaries for quantitative questions (ratings, multiple choice)
- Proper handling of multi-select questions (comma-separated options)
- All individual responses for qualitative questions (free text)
- AI-generated summaries of qualitative responses (requires `llm`, install with `canvaslms[llm]`)

If you installed with the `[llm]` extra, configure your API keys:
```bash
llm keys set openai  # or another provider
```

### Managing Quiz Content

View and edit quiz content directly from the command line:

```bash
# View quiz questions rendered as markdown
canvaslms quizzes view -c "Course" -a "Quiz Name"

# Edit quiz content interactively
canvaslms quizzes edit -c "Course" -a "Quiz Name"

# Export quiz items for backup or migration
canvaslms quizzes items export -c "Course" -a "Quiz Name" --importable

# Add questions to a quiz bank (use --example to see question formats)
canvaslms quizzes items add -c "Course" -a "Quiz Name" --example
```

### Editing Announcements and Discussions

Edit existing announcements using the same workflow as pages:

```bash
# Edit interactively (opens in editor)
canvaslms discussions edit -c "Course" -t "Announcement Title"

# Edit from a markdown file with YAML front matter
canvaslms discussions edit -c "Course" -t "Announcement Title" -f announcement.md
```

## Installation

Install the PyPI package using `pip` or `pipx`:
```bash
# Basic installation (Python 3.8+)
python3 -m pip install canvaslms
# or
pipx install canvaslms # recommended

# With optional LLM support for AI summaries (Python 3.9+)
python3 -m pip install canvaslms[llm]
# or
pipx install canvaslms[llm] # recommended
```

The `[llm]` extra includes the `llm` package and various LLM provider plugins (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Azure) for AI-powered features like quiz analysis summaries.

Some subcommands use `pandoc`, so you will likely have to [install 
pandoc][pandoc] on your system manually.

[pandoc]: https://pandoc.org/installing.html

## Development

This project uses literate programming with [noweb](https://www.cs.tufts.edu/~nr/noweb/). 
The source code is written in `.nw` files which combine documentation and code.

### GitHub Copilot Setup

This repository includes GitHub Copilot configuration files:
- `.github/copilot-instructions.md`: Project context and coding guidelines
- `.copilotignore`: Files to exclude from Copilot context

The configuration helps Copilot understand the literate programming approach, 
Canvas LMS domain, and project-specific patterns.