dauber

Canvas LMS from your terminal. dauber lets instructors list courses, create assignments, manage pages and modules, inspect submissions, post grades, work with rubrics, and run AI-assisted grading workflows without clicking through Canvas.

You do not need to be a programmer to use it. You need a terminal, Python, and a Canvas API token.

Contents

• Installation
• First-time setup
• Quick start
• Global flags
• Commands
  • courses
  • assignments
  • rubrics
  • grading
  • assess
  • modules
  • pages
  • discussions
  • config
  • commands
• Configuration
• Output formats
• Anonymizing student data
• AI skill commands
• Shell completions
• Development

Installation

PyPI with uv, recommended

uv is a fast Python package installer. If you already have uv, install dauber as a command-line tool:

uv tool install dauber
dauber --version

If your shell cannot find dauber, run:

uv tool update-shell

Then restart your terminal.

Run once with uvx

Use uvx when you want to try dauber without installing it permanently:

uvx dauber --version
uvx dauber --help

You can run any command this way:

uvx dauber courses list

For regular use, uv tool install dauber is nicer because you can type dauber directly.

PyPI with pip

If you prefer standard Python tooling:

pip install dauber
dauber --version

Depending on your Python setup, you may need:

python -m pip install dauber
dauber --version

If dauber is installed but not found, your Python scripts directory is probably not on your PATH.

From source

Use this if you want latest code from GitHub or plan to edit dauber itself:

git clone https://github.com/francojc/dauber.git
cd dauber
uv tool install .
dauber --version

For editable development install, where local code changes take effect immediately:

uv tool install -e .

Requirements

• Python 3.11 or newer
• Canvas account with permission to use Canvas API
• Canvas API token
• Canvas base URL, usually something like https://your-institution.instructure.com

First-time setup

1. Get Canvas API token

In Canvas, open:

Account > Settings > Approved Integrations > New Access Token

Create a token, copy it, and keep it private. Treat it like a password.

2. Set environment variables

dauber reads Canvas credentials from environment variables.

export CANVAS_API_KEY="your-canvas-api-token"
export CANVAS_BASE_URL="https://your-institution.instructure.com"

Do not include /api/v1; dauber adds that automatically.

To make these available every time you open your terminal, add those two lines to your shell config, such as ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc.

3. Test connection

dauber --test

If connection works, try:

dauber courses list

4. Optional course config

Inside a course project folder, run:

dauber config init

This creates ./dauber/config.toml, so you do not need to pass --course on every command.

Quick start

# Show help
dauber --help

# List your Canvas courses
dauber courses list

# Show one course, using course code or Canvas numeric ID
dauber courses show --course IS505

# List assignments in a course
dauber assignments list --course IS505

# Show assignment details
dauber assignments show --course IS505 42

# View submissions
dauber grading submissions --course IS505 42

# View submissions without student names/emails
dauber grading submissions --course IS505 42 --anonymize

# Save machine-readable JSON
dauber grading submissions --course IS505 42 --format json > submissions.json

IS505 is example course code. 42 is example Canvas assignment ID.

Global flags

These flags work from top-level dauber command.

Commands

dauber courses

List courses, inspect one course, and view enrollments.

dauber courses list [--concluded]
dauber courses show [--course COURSE]
dauber courses enrollments [--course COURSE]

Examples:

dauber courses list
dauber courses list --concluded
dauber courses show --course IS505
dauber courses enrollments --course IS505

--course accepts course code, such as IS505, or numeric Canvas course ID.

dauber assignments

Create, update, list, and inspect assignments.

dauber assignments list [--course COURSE]
dauber assignments show [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID
dauber assignments create [--course COURSE] NAME [--points N] [--due ISO] [--publish]
dauber assignments update [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID [--name NAME] [--points N]

Examples:

dauber assignments list --course IS505
dauber assignments show --course IS505 42
dauber assignments create --course IS505 "Reflection 1" --points 10 --publish
dauber assignments update --course IS505 42 --points 15

For guided AI-assisted assignment creation, install skill commands and use /assignments:create.

dauber rubrics

List, inspect, create, import, and attach rubrics.

dauber rubrics list [--course COURSE]
dauber rubrics show [--course COURSE] RUBRIC_ID
dauber rubrics create [--course COURSE] --file PATH
dauber rubrics import [--course COURSE] --csv PATH
dauber rubrics attach [--course COURSE] RUBRIC_ID ASSIGNMENT_ID [--use-for-grading]

Examples:

dauber rubrics list --course IS505
dauber rubrics show --course IS505 123
dauber rubrics create --course IS505 --file rubric.json
dauber rubrics import --course IS505 --csv rubric.csv
dauber rubrics attach --course IS505 123 42 --use-for-grading

Minimal rubric JSON:

{
  "title": "Essay Rubric",
  "criteria": [
    {
      "description": "Thesis",
      "points": 25,
      "ratings": [
        {"description": "Excellent", "points": 25},
        {"description": "Needs work", "points": 10},
        {"description": "Missing", "points": 0}
      ]
    }
  ]
}

dauber grading

View submissions, inspect individual student work, and post grades.

dauber grading submissions [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID [--anonymize]
dauber grading show [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID USER_ID [--anonymize]
dauber grading submit [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID USER_ID GRADE [--comment TEXT]
dauber grading submit-rubric [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID USER_ID FILE [--comment TEXT]

Examples:

dauber grading submissions --course IS505 42
dauber grading submissions --course IS505 42 --anonymize
dauber grading show --course IS505 42 1001
dauber grading submit --course IS505 42 1001 9.5 --comment "Nice work."
dauber grading submit-rubric --course IS505 42 1001 assessment.json

dauber assess

Rubric-based assessment workflow. Useful for staged grading and AI-assisted grading.

dauber assess setup [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID [--exclude-graded] [--anonymize]
dauber assess load FILE
dauber assess update FILE USER_ID [--rubric-json JSON] [--approved]
dauber assess submit FILE [--course COURSE] ASSIGNMENT_ID [--confirm]

Typical flow:

dauber assess setup --course IS505 42 --anonymize --format json > assess.json
dauber assess load assess.json
dauber assess submit assess.json --course IS505 42        # dry run
dauber assess submit assess.json --course IS505 42 --confirm

submit runs dry-run by default. It only posts grades when --confirm is present.

dauber modules

Manage Canvas modules and module items.

dauber modules list [--course COURSE] [--items] [--search TEXT]
dauber modules show [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID
dauber modules create [--course COURSE] NAME [--position N] [--publish]
dauber modules update [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID [--name NAME] [--publish/--unpublish]
dauber modules delete [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID

dauber modules items list [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID
dauber modules items show [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID ITEM_ID
dauber modules items create [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID TITLE --type TYPE [--content-id ID] [--page-url SLUG] [--url URL]
dauber modules items update [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID ITEM_ID [--title TITLE] [--position N]
dauber modules items delete [--course COURSE] MODULE_ID ITEM_ID

Module item types:

dauber pages

Create, update, list, inspect, and delete Canvas pages.

dauber pages list [--course COURSE] [--search TEXT] [--sort title|created_at|updated_at]
dauber pages show [--course COURSE] PAGE_URL
dauber pages create [--course COURSE] TITLE [--body TEXT] [--publish]
dauber pages update [--course COURSE] PAGE_URL [--title TITLE] [--body TEXT]
dauber pages delete [--course COURSE] PAGE_URL

Example:

dauber pages create --course IS505 "Week 1 Overview" --body "Welcome to week 1." --publish

Canvas pages use URL slugs, such as week-1-overview.

dauber discussions

Manage Canvas discussions and announcements.

dauber discussions list [--course COURSE] [--announcements]
dauber discussions show [--course COURSE] TOPIC_ID
dauber discussions create [--course COURSE] TITLE [--message TEXT] [--announcement] [--publish]
dauber discussions update [--course COURSE] TOPIC_ID [--title TITLE] [--message TEXT]

Examples:

dauber discussions list --course IS505
dauber discussions list --course IS505 --announcements
dauber discussions create --course IS505 "Reminder" --message "Project due Friday." --announcement --publish

dauber config

Manage global and course-local config files.

dauber config init [--base PATH]
dauber config global [--defaults]
dauber config show

Examples:

dauber config global              # interactive global setup
dauber config global --defaults   # write starter global config
dauber config init                # create local ./dauber/config.toml
dauber config show                # show merged config and sources

dauber commands

Install bundled AI skill commands for Claude Code or Pi.

dauber commands install [--overwrite] [--local]
dauber commands install --pi [--overwrite]
dauber commands install --pi --global [--overwrite]

Use --overwrite to replace existing files.

Configuration

dauber uses environment variables for Canvas credentials and TOML files for course defaults.

Required environment variables

Example:

export CANVAS_API_KEY="your-canvas-api-token"
export CANVAS_BASE_URL="https://your-institution.instructure.com"

Config files

Local config overrides global config.

Create them with:

dauber config global
dauber config init

Show active settings:

dauber config show

Output formats

Most commands support --format / -f.

Examples:

dauber courses list --format table
dauber assignments list --course IS505 --format json
dauber grading submissions --course IS505 42 --format csv > submissions.csv

Anonymizing student data

Use --anonymize when output may be shared with an AI tool or saved outside Canvas.

dauber assess setup --course IS505 42 --anonymize --format json
dauber grading submissions --course IS505 42 --anonymize
dauber grading show --course IS505 42 1001 --anonymize

With --anonymize, user_name and user_email are removed. user_id remains because Canvas needs it to submit grades back to correct student.

Affected commands:

• assess setup
• grading submissions
• grading show

AI skill commands

Some workflows need multiple dauber commands plus judgment, drafting, or normalization. dauber commands install copies ready-made skills for Claude Code or Pi.

Install for Claude Code:

dauber commands install

Install for Pi in current project:

dauber commands install --pi

Skills included:

Shell completions

Install tab-completion for your current shell:

dauber --install-completion

Then restart your terminal.

To inspect completion script instead:

dauber --show-completion

Development

uv sync                         # install dependencies
uv run dauber --help             # run from source
uv run pytest tests/             # run tests
uv run ruff check src/ tests/    # lint
uv run ruff format src/ tests/   # format

With coverage:

uv run python -m pytest --cov=dauber --cov-report=term-missing tests/

Integration tests require live Canvas sandbox credentials:

CANVAS_SANDBOX_COURSE_ID=123 \
CANVAS_API_KEY=... \
CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://your-institution.instructure.com \
uv run python -m pytest tests/integration/ -m integration

The ExternalUrl CRUD integration test creates and deletes a temporary module. Enable it explicitly:

CANVAS_SANDBOX_COURSE_ID=123 \
CANVAS_API_KEY=... \
CANVAS_BASE_URL=https://your-institution.instructure.com \
CANVAS_SANDBOX_WRITE_ENABLED=1 \
uv run python -m pytest tests/integration/test_module_items.py -m integration

Architecture

CLI (Typer) -> services (async) -> core (HTTP client, config, cache)

• src/dauber/core/: HTTP client, settings, Canvas cache, config files
• src/dauber/services/: async Canvas business logic
• src/dauber/cli/: Typer commands, async bridge, output formatting
• tests/services/: service tests, mocked at Canvas client layer
• tests/cli/: CLI tests, mocked at service layer

License

See LICENSE.