🎓 Canvas Dashboard

A lightweight Python script that pulls your Canvas assignments, due dates, submission statuses, and calendar events — then generates a clean daily Markdown summary and SQLite database you can actually query.

Built because Canvas's own interface buries the things you need to see every morning under three menus and a notification badge.

What it produces

Setup

1. Prerequisites

• Python 3.9+
• A Canvas account (any school that uses Instructure Canvas)

2. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Configure your environment

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

CANVAS_TOKEN=your_token_here
CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://your-school.instructure.com
KEEP_COURSE_IDS=123456,789012    # optional — leave blank for all active courses
OUTPUT_DIR=                       # optional — defaults to this folder

Getting your Canvas token:
Canvas → your profile picture (top-left) → Settings → scroll to "Approved Integrations" → + New Access Token

Finding course IDs:
Open a course in Canvas. The URL will look like /courses/204930 — that number is the course ID.

4. Run

python canvas_dashboard.py

Automate it (run every morning)

macOS — cron (simplest)

crontab -e

Add this line to run at 8:00 AM every day:

0 8 * * * cd /path/to/canvas-dashboard && .venv/bin/python canvas_dashboard.py >> canvas_dashboard.log 2>&1

macOS — launchd (native, more reliable)

Create ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.canvasdashboard.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.canvasdashboard</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/path/to/.venv/bin/python</string>
        <string>/path/to/canvas_dashboard.py</string>
    </array>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/path/to/canvas-dashboard</string>
    <key>StartCalendarInterval</key>
    <dict>
        <key>Hour</key><integer>8</integer>
        <key>Minute</key><integer>0</integer>
    </dict>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/canvas-dashboard/canvas_dashboard.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/canvas-dashboard/canvas_dashboard.log</string>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>PATH</key>
        <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin</string>
    </dict>
</dict>
</plist>

Load it:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.canvasdashboard.plist

Note on external drives (macOS): If you store this project on an external drive, replace /path/to/ with the full volume path (e.g. /Volumes/MyDrive/projects/canvas-dashboard/). The script itself works fine on external drives — the only gotcha is that launchd runs before the drive mounts at login, so either delay the scheduled time or use a symlink from ~/canvas_dashboard → /Volumes/YourDrive/canvas-dashboard.

Linux / WSL — cron

Same as the macOS cron approach above.

Windows — Task Scheduler

1. Open Task Scheduler → Create Basic Task
2. Trigger: Daily at your preferred time
3. Action: Start a program
   • Program: C:\path\to\python.exe
   • Arguments: C:\path\to\canvas_dashboard.py
   • Start in: C:\path\to\canvas-dashboard\

Querying the database

sqlite3 canvas_data.db

-- Upcoming assignments
SELECT name, due_at FROM assignments WHERE due_at > datetime('now') ORDER BY due_at;

-- Missing work
SELECT a.name, c.name FROM submissions s
JOIN assignments a ON s.assignment_id = a.id
JOIN courses c ON a.course_id = c.id
WHERE s.missing = 1;

-- Completion rate by course
SELECT c.name,
       COUNT(DISTINCT a.id) AS total,
       COUNT(DISTINCT CASE WHEN s.workflow_state='submitted' THEN a.id END) AS submitted
FROM courses c
LEFT JOIN assignments a ON c.id = a.course_id
LEFT JOIN submissions s ON a.id = s.assignment_id
GROUP BY c.id;

Security

• Your API token lives only in .env which is excluded from version control via .gitignore
• The token gives read access to your Canvas data — treat it like a password
• Revoke and regenerate tokens at any time: Canvas → Settings → Approved Integrations

Notes on the course filter

KEEP_COURSE_IDS is optional. If you leave it blank, the script tracks all active enrollments. If your school uses a multi-term system and old courses keep showing up as "active," add just your current course IDs to filter them out.

License

MIT — use it, modify it, share it.