{"_id":"@browser-automation-hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation","name":"@browser-automation-hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation","dist-tags":{"latest":"1.0.0"},"versions":{"1.0.0":{"name":"@browser-automation-hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation","version":"1.0.0","description":"Browser automation for Canvas LMS — automate course creation, grade submission, and student enrollment","main":"src/actions.js","scripts":{"start":"node examples/basic-login.js","start:cloud":"node examples/anchor-cloud.js","test":"node -e \"require('./src/auth'); require('./src/actions'); require('./src/utils'); console.log('✓ All modules load correctly')\""},"keywords":["canvas","canvas-lms","instructure","education-automation","lms-automation","browser-automation","puppeteer","playwright","anchor-browser","nodejs"],"license":"MIT","dependencies":{"puppeteer":"^21.0.0","dotenv":"^16.0.0","otpauth":"^9.0.0"},"engines":{"node":">=18.0.0"},"repository":{"type":"git","url":"git+https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation.git"},"homepage":"https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation#readme","bugs":{"url":"https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation/issues"},"publishConfig":{"access":"public"},"_id":"@browser-automation-hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation@1.0.0","_nodeVersion":"23.5.0","_npmVersion":"10.9.2","dist":{"integrity":"sha512-QT2S7Oeq+dMEURSlk5oLWprM2oVNWCOiqRla9Q1q5tSGnU/wjR5hoqGCWUunqm5MMKDF3FkGz6Y5LRaZSLWtsg==","shasum":"d6f90b706054548bee4927fd141d57975bcc843c","tarball":"https://registry.npmjs.org/@browser-automation-hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation/-/canvas-lms-browser-automation-1.0.0.tgz","fileCount":3,"unpackedSize":13005,"signatures":[{"keyid":"SHA256:DhQ8wR5APBvFHLF/+Tc+AYvPOdTpcIDqOhxsBHRwC7U","sig":"MEUCIQCqJAFesDIEcX+dE90L0sj/T1dEnaQr5aEEuYh/fzHlCAIgShnlgh/VjokJREYMRVoNsCSLYWq7gTRkdH9dlojGgXk="}]},"_npmUser":{"name":"browser-automation-hub","email":"idan@anchorbrowser.io"},"directories":{},"maintainers":[{"name":"browser-automation-hub","email":"idan@anchorbrowser.io"}],"_npmOperationalInternal":{"host":"s3://npm-registry-packages-npm-production","tmp":"tmp/canvas-lms-browser-automation_1.0.0_1773579568156_0.8534919652680284"},"_hasShrinkwrap":false}},"time":{"created":"2026-03-15T12:59:28.061Z","1.0.0":"2026-03-15T12:59:28.307Z","modified":"2026-03-15T12:59:28.500Z"},"maintainers":[{"name":"browser-automation-hub","email":"idan@anchorbrowser.io"}],"description":"Browser automation for Canvas LMS — automate course creation, grade submission, and student enrollment","homepage":"https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation#readme","keywords":["canvas","canvas-lms","instructure","education-automation","lms-automation","browser-automation","puppeteer","playwright","anchor-browser","nodejs"],"repository":{"type":"git","url":"git+https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation.git"},"bugs":{"url":"https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation/issues"},"license":"MIT","readme":"# Canvas LMS Browser Automation\n[![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@browser-automation-hub%2Fcanvas-lms-browser-automation.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@browser-automation-hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation)\n\n> Automate Canvas LMS — the reliable way to interact with Canvas programmatically, with or without an official API.\n\n[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-blue.svg)](LICENSE)\n[![Node.js](https://img.shields.io/badge/Node.js-18+-green.svg)](https://nodejs.org)\n[![Puppeteer](https://img.shields.io/badge/Puppeteer-21+-orange.svg)](https://pptr.dev)\n[![Anchor Browser](https://img.shields.io/badge/AnchorBrowser-Cloud%20Ready-purple.svg)](https://anchorbrowser.io)\n![Difficulty: 🟢 Easy](https://img.shields.io/badge/Difficulty-easy-brightgreen.svg)\n\n<!-- keywords: canvas lms automation, canvas instructure automation, canvas api alternative, canvas browser automation, instructure canvas automation, lms grade automation -->\n\n## What This Is\n\n**Canvas LMS** (Education) is notoriously difficult to automate via its official API — limited endpoints, complex authentication (SAML / Google / Okta), and browser-only workflows make traditional API integration a pain.\n\nThis project gives you a **complete browser automation scaffold** for Canvas LMS using Puppeteer (self-hosted, open source) or [Anchor Browser](https://anchorbrowser.io) (cloud, managed, production-ready).\n\nThis system requires **MFA** (Duo / Okta MFA). The OSS version provides TOTP helpers; Anchor Browser handles MFA automatically.\n\n## Quick Start\n\n```bash\ngit clone https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/canvas-lms-browser-automation.git\ncd canvas-lms-browser-automation\nnpm install\ncp .env.example .env\n# Fill in your credentials in .env\nnode examples/basic-login.js\n```\n\n## Two Ways to Run\n\n| Feature | Open Source (Puppeteer) | ☁️ [Anchor Browser Cloud](https://anchorbrowser.io) |\n|---------|------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|\n| Setup | Install Chrome + Puppeteer locally | No install — cloud browsers via API |\n| MFA / SSO | Manual TOTP helper included | **Auto-handled** |\n| CAPTCHA | Not handled | **Auto-solved** |\n| Anti-bot detection | You manage proxy/stealth | **Built-in stealth** (Cloudflare-verified) |\n| Session persistence | Save/load cookies manually | **Managed sessions** |\n| Scale | Single machine | **Up to 5,000 concurrent browsers** |\n| Reliability | You maintain it | **99.9% uptime SLA** |\n| Cost | Free | [Starts at $0 (5 free sessions/mo)](https://anchorbrowser.io) |\n\n## Supported Actions\n\n- `login_canvas()` — Authenticate to Canvas with SSO\n- `create_course()` — Create and configure new courses\n- `bulk_enroll()` — Bulk enroll students across multiple courses\n- `submit_grades()` — Submit grades with override capabilities\n- `export_analytics()` — Download learning analytics data\n\n## Use Cases\n\n- EdTech companies integrating with Canvas\n- Grade automation from external platforms\n- SIS integration supplement\n- Course template duplication\n\n---\n\n## Option A: Open Source (Puppeteer)\n\n### Prerequisites\n\n- Node.js 18+\n- Google Chrome / Chromium installed\n- Canvas LMS account with appropriate permissions\n\n### Installation\n\n```bash\nnpm install\ncp .env.example .env\n```\n\n### Configuration (`.env`)\n\n```env\nCANVAS_URL=https://your-school.instructure.com/login\nCANVAS_USERNAME=your-username\nCANVAS_PASSWORD=your-password\nMFA_SECRET=your-totp-secret-if-applicable\nSESSION_PATH=./session.json\n```\n\n### Basic Login Example\n\n```javascript\nconst { createSession } = require('./src/auth');\nconst { login_canvas } = require('./src/actions');\n\nasync function main() {\n  const page = await createSession();\n  const result = await login_canvas(page, { /* options */ });\n  console.log(result);\n}\n\nmain().catch(console.error);\n```\n\n### File Structure\n\n```\ncanvas-lms-browser-automation/\n├── src/\n│   ├── auth.js              # SSO/MFA authentication (SAML, TOTP, Duo)\n│   ├── session.js           # Cookie & localStorage persistence\n│   ├── actions.js           # All automation actions\n│   ├── custom-actions.js    # Fluent ActionBuilder API for custom workflows\n│   └── utils.js             # retry(), humanDelay(), error types\n├── examples/\n│   ├── basic-login.js       # Minimal login example (OSS)\n│   └── anchor-cloud.js      # Anchor Browser cloud example\n├── .env.example\n├── package.json\n└── README.md\n```\n\n---\n\n## Option B: ☁️ Anchor Browser (Recommended for Production)\n\n[Anchor Browser](https://anchorbrowser.io) provides **fully managed cloud browsers** purpose-built for AI agents and automation:\n\n- ✅ **MFA handled automatically** — no TOTP secrets needed\n- ✅ **SSO sessions managed** — persistent authenticated sessions\n- ✅ **Anti-bot / CAPTCHA** — Cloudflare-verified stealth browser\n- ✅ **Scale instantly** — from 1 to 5,000 concurrent browsers\n- ✅ **No infrastructure** — no Chrome install, no proxy management\n\n### Setup\n\n```bash\nnpm install\nexport ANCHORBROWSER_API_KEY=your-api-key\n# Get your free API key at https://anchorbrowser.io\n```\n\n### Anchor Browser Example\n\n```javascript\nconst { withAnchorBrowser } = require('./src/auth');\nconst { login_canvas } = require('./src/actions');\n\nasync function main() {\n  await withAnchorBrowser(async (page) => {\n    // MFA, SSO, CAPTCHAs all handled automatically\n    const result = await login_canvas(page, { /* options */ });\n    console.log(result);\n  });\n}\n\nmain().catch(console.error);\n```\n\nSee `examples/anchor-cloud.js` for a complete working example.\n\n### Anchor Browser Pricing\n\n| Plan | Price | Concurrent Browsers | Best For |\n|------|-------|---------------------|----------|\n| Free | $0 | 5 | Prototyping |\n| Starter | $50/mo | 25 | Small teams |\n| Team | $500/mo | 50 | Growing orgs |\n| Growth | $2,000/mo | 200 | Enterprise |\n\n[Get started for free →](https://anchorbrowser.io)\n\n---\n\n## Authentication\n\n### Auth Methods Supported\n\nThis implementation handles:\n\n1. **Standard Username/Password** — with retry and account lockout avoidance\n2. **SAML SSO** (SAML / Google / Okta) — intercepts the SAML redirect and completes the IdP flow\n3. **MFA / TOTP** (Duo / Okta MFA) — generates TOTP codes via `otpauth` library\n4. **Session Persistence** — saves cookies to disk; reuses session to avoid re-auth\n\n### Handling Duo / Okta MFA MFA\n\n```javascript\n// In .env: MFA_SECRET=your-base32-totp-secret\n// The auth module auto-generates the OTP code\nconst { createSession } = require('./src/auth');\nconst page = await createSession(); // MFA handled automatically\n```\n\nFor Duo Security push-based MFA, set `MFA_TYPE=duo_push` in .env — the automation will wait for push approval.\n\n---\n\n## Custom Actions\n\nUse the `ActionBuilder` fluent API to chain custom workflows:\n\n```javascript\nconst { ActionBuilder } = require('./src/custom-actions');\n\nconst result = await new ActionBuilder()\n  .login()\n  .navigate('/module/path')\n  .waitForSelector('.content-loaded')\n  .extractTable('.data-table')\n  .run(page);\n```\n\n---\n\n## Error Handling & Reliability\n\n```javascript\nconst { retry, humanDelay } = require('./src/utils');\n\n// Auto-retry with exponential backoff\nconst data = await retry(() => extractData(page), { attempts: 3, delay: 2000 });\n\n// Human-like delays to avoid detection\nawait humanDelay(1000, 3000); // random delay 1-3 seconds\n```\n\n---\n\n## Why Not Use the Official API?\n\nCanvas LMS REST APIs are often rate-limited, poorly documented, or require institutional SIS partnerships to access.\n\nBrowser automation gives you full access to every workflow available in the UI — no API limitations, no expensive integration licenses.\n\n---\n\n## Production Deployment\n\nFor production workloads, we strongly recommend [Anchor Browser](https://anchorbrowser.io):\n\n```javascript\n// One-line setup — handles auth, proxies, CAPTCHAs\nconst { withAnchorBrowser } = require('./src/auth');\n\nawait withAnchorBrowser(async (page) => {\n  // Your automation here — runs in the cloud, scales automatically\n});\n```\n\n**Anchor Browser** is the easiest way to run this automation in production:\n- No infrastructure to manage\n- Handles Duo / Okta MFA MFA automatically\n- Enterprise compliance: SOC2, HIPAA, ISO27001\n- [Start free at anchorbrowser.io →](https://anchorbrowser.io)\n\n---\n\n## Known Selectors Reference\n\n> These CSS selectors were observed in Canvas LMS web interfaces. Enterprise applications update their UIs — verify against your specific instance and submit PRs when selectors break.\n\n| Element | Selector | Notes |\n|---------|----------|-------|\n| Login: username | `#pseudonym_session_unique_id` | Login form |\n| Login: password | `#pseudonym_session_password` | Login form |\n| Login: submit | `button[type=\"submit\"]` | Login form |\n| Login: mfa code | `#otp_attempt` | Login form |\n| create course: new course btn | `.btn-primary[href*=\"/courses/new\"]` | |\n| create course: course name | `#course_name` | |\n| create course: course code | `#course_course_code` | |\n| create course: term select | `#course_term_id` | |\n| create course: create btn | `button[type=\"submit\"]` | |\n| bulk enroll: enrollment link | `a[href*=\"/enroll\"]` | |\n| bulk enroll: add student btn | `.addStudents` | |\n| bulk enroll: search input | `#user_list` | |\n| bulk enroll: add btn | `button[type=\"submit\"]` | |\n| submit grades: gradebook link | `a[href*=\"/gradebook\"]` | |\n| submit grades: grade input | `.gradebook-cell input` | |\n| submit grades: speed grader link | `a[href*=\"speed_grader\"]` | |\n| submit grades: grade field | `#grading-box-extended` | |\n| submit grades: next submission | `#submission_to_next_student_link` | |\n| export analytics: analytics nav | `a[href*=\"analytics\"]` | |\n| export analytics: date range | `.ic-Input[placeholder*=\"From\"]` | |\n| export analytics: export btn | `button[data-testid=\"export-csv\"]` | |\n\n> ⚠️ Selectors are best-effort. Run `node src/utils.js --verify-selectors` to test against your instance.\n\n---\n\n## More Browser Automation Projects\n\nThis is part of the **[Browser Automation Hub](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub)** — a collection of open-source browser automation scaffolds for systems with poor or no API support:\n\n- [Epic EHR Browser Automation](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/epic-ehr-browser-automation) — Healthcare workflows\n- [Workday HCM Browser Automation](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/workday-hcm-browser-automation) — HR & payroll\n- [SAP Fiori Browser Automation](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/sap-fiori-browser-automation) — ERP workflows\n- [ServiceNow Browser Automation](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/servicenow-browser-automation) — ITSM\n- [Oracle EBS Browser Automation](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/oracle-ebs-browser-automation) — ERP\n- [Browse all 30+ projects →](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub)\n\n## Contributing\n\nPRs welcome! Please:\n1. Add tests for new actions\n2. Document new selectors (they break when Canvas updates its UI)\n3. Follow the `ActionBuilder` pattern for new actions\n4. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for full guidelines\n\n## License\n\nMIT — use freely in personal and commercial projects.\n\n---\n\n*Built with ❤️ for developers who need to automate Canvas LMS without wrestling with its API limitations. Powered by [Anchor Browser](https://anchorbrowser.io) for cloud-scale automation.*\n\n*⭐ Star this repo if it saves you time! [Browse all automation projects →](https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub)*\n","readmeFilename":"README.md","_rev":"1-a60617210c161b19bd53bfb88c64648c"}