This MCP server uses OAuth authentication.
The OAuth flow is handled automatically by the MCP client. Tokens are persisted
to ~/.mcp-skill/auth/ so subsequent runs reuse the same credentials without
re-authenticating.
app = CanvaApp() # uses default OAuth flow
To bring your own OAuth provider, pass it via the auth argument:
app = CanvaApp(auth=my_oauth_provider)
Dependencies
This skill requires the following Python packages:
mcp-skill
Install with uv:
uv pip install mcp-skill
Or with pip:
pip install mcp-skill
How to Run
Important: Add .agents/skills to your Python path so imports resolve correctly:
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, ".agents/skills")
from canva.app import CanvaApp
Or set the PYTHONPATH environment variable:
export PYTHONPATH=".agents/skills:$PYTHONPATH"
Preferred: use uv run (handles dependencies automatically):
PYTHONPATH=.agents/skills uv run --with mcp-skill python -c "
import asyncio
from canva.app import CanvaApp
async def main():
app = CanvaApp()
result = await app.upload_asset_from_url(url="example", name="example", user_intent="example")
print(result)
asyncio.run(main())
"
Alternative: use python directly (install dependencies first):
Upload an asset (e.g. an image, a video) from a URL into Canva
If the API call returns "Missing scopes: [asset:write]", you should ask the user to disconnect and reconnect their connector. This will generate a new access token with the required scope for this tool.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
url
str
Yes
URL of the asset to upload into Canva
name
str
Yes
Name for the uploaded asset
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.upload_asset_from_url(url="example", name="example", user_intent="example")
resolve-shortlink
Resolves a Canva shortlink ID to its target URL. IMPORTANT: Use this tool FIRST when a user provides a shortlink (e.g. https://canva.link/abc123). Shortlinks need to be resolved before you can use other tools. After resolving, extract the design ID from the target URL and use it with tools like get-design, start-editing-transaction, or get-design-content.
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.resolve_shortlink(shortlink_id="example", user_intent="example")
search-designs
Search docs, presentations, videos, whiteboards, sheets, and other designs in Canva, except for templates or brand templates.
Use when you need to find specific designs by keywords rather than browsing folders.
Use 'query' parameter to search by title or content.
If 'query' is used, 'sortBy' must be set to 'relevance'. Filter by 'any' ownership unless specified. Sort by relevance unless specified.
Use the continuation token to get the next page of results, when there are more results.
CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. ALWAYS use the 'search-brand-templates' tool when the user is searching for templates or wants to use a template.
2.** 🚫 When a user says search a template, they ALWAYS mean brand-templates. Therefore NEVER call this tool, ALWAYS call the 'search-brand-templates' tool to search for the templates. **
3.** 🚫 NEVER use this tool when the user expresses intent to “generate”, “create”, “autofill”, “search a template”, “start from a template”, “use my template”, or “pick a template for generation”.
In all such cases, ALWAYS use search-brand-templates.
ANY query involving:
– “generate a presentation”
– “generate a report”
– “make a design using a template”
– “generate from a template”
– “produce a presentation from their template”
- "search for available templates"
MUST NOT use search-designs.
This tool ONLY searches existing designs (docs, presentations, whiteboards, videos, etc.) that the user already owns or that are shared with them.
It DOES NOT find templates and MUST NOT be used as a fallback for template selection. **
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
query
str
No
Optional search term to filter designs by title or content. If it is used, 'sortBy' must be set to 'relevance'.
ownership
str
No
Filter designs by ownership: 'any' for all designs owned by and shared with you (default), 'owned' for designs you created, 'shared' for designs shared with you
sort_by
str
No
Sort results by: 'relevance' (default), 'modified_descending' (newest first), 'modified_ascending' (oldest first), 'title_descending' (Z-A), 'title_ascending' (A-Z). Optional sort order for results. If 'query' is used, 'sortBy' must be set to 'relevance'.
continuation
str
No
Pagination token for the current search context.
CRITICAL RULES:
- ONLY set this parameter if the previous response included a continuation token.
- If no continuation token was returned → OMIT this parameter completely. NEVER EVER fabricate a token.
- Do not set to null, empty string, or any other value when no token was provided.
Usage:
- First request: omit this parameter
- Previous response had continuation token: use that exact token
- Previous response had NO continuation token: omit this parameter
- New search query: omit this parameter
|
| user_intent | str | No | Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended). |
Example:
result = await app.search_designs(query="example", ownership="example", sort_by="example")
get-design
Get detailed information about a Canva design, such as a doc, presentation, whiteboard, video, or sheet. This includes design owner information, title, URLs for editing and viewing, thumbnail, created/updated time, and page count. This tool doesn't work on folders or images. You must provide the design ID, which you can find by using the search-designs or list-folder-items tools. When given a URL to a Canva design, you can extract the design ID from the URL. Example URL: https://www.canva.com/design/{design_id}. If the user provides a shortlink (e.g. https://canva.link/abc123), use resolve-shortlink with the shortlink ID first to get the full URL.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design to get information for
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.get_design(design_id="example", user_intent="example")
get-design-pages
Get a list of pages in a Canva design, such as a presentation. Each page includes its index and thumbnail. This tool doesn't work on designs that don't have pages (e.g. Canva docs). You must provide the design ID, which you can find using tools like search-designs or list-folder-items. You can use 'offset' and 'limit' to paginate through the pages. Use get-design to find out the total number of pages, if needed.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
The design ID to get pages from
offset
int
No
The page index to start the range of pages to return, for pagination. The first page in a design has an index value of 1
limit
int
No
Maximum number of pages to return (for pagination)
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.get_design_pages(design_id="example", offset=1, limit=1)
get-design-content
Get the text content of a doc, presentation, whiteboard, social media post, and other designs in Canva (except sheets, as it does not return data in sheets). Use this when you only need to read text content without making changes. IMPORTANT: If the user wants to edit, update, change, translate, or fix content, use start-editing-transaction instead as it shows content AND enables editing. You must provide the design ID, which you can find with the search-designs tool. When given a URL to a Canva design, you can extract the design ID from the URL. Do not use web search to get the content of a design as the content is not accessible to the public. Example URL: https://www.canva.com/design/{design_id}.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design to get content of
content_types
list[str]
Yes
Types of content to retrieve. Currently, only richtexts is supported so use the start-editing-transaction tool to get other content types
pages
list[int]
No
Optional array of page numbers to get content from. If not specified, content from all pages will be returned. Pages are indexed using one-based numbering, so the first page in a design has the index value 1.
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.get_design_content(design_id="example", content_types="value", pages="value")
get-presenter-notes
Get the presenter notes from a presentation design in Canva. Use this when you need to read the speaker notes attached to presentation slides. You must provide the design ID, which you can find with the search-designs tool. When given a URL to a Canva design, you can extract the design ID from the URL. Example URL: https://www.canva.com/design/{design_id}.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design to get presenter notes from
pages
list[int]
No
Optional array of page numbers to get notes from. If not specified, notes from all pages will be returned. Pages are indexed using one-based numbering, so the first page in a design has the index value 1.
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.get_presenter_notes(design_id="example", pages="value", user_intent="example")
import-design-from-url
Import a file from a URL as a new Canva design. URL must be a public HTTPS link (e.g., https://example.com/file.pdf, https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/...). Local file paths (file://..., /Users/..., C:..., or mentions of Downloads/Documents/Desktop) cannot be accessed. If user provides a local path, tell them to upload file to public, internet-accessible URLs that resolve directly to a downloadable file and share a public HTTPS link.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
url
str
Yes
MUST BE HTTPS URL STARTING WITH https://. CRITICAL: Check if user input is a local pattern (starts with /, C:, file://, or mentions Downloads/Documents/Desktop). If so, DO NOT USE THIS TOOL. LOCAL PATHS CANNOT BE IMPORTED. ✅ ONLY: https://example.com/file.pdf, https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/... CHECK THE USER INPUT FIRST. If it looks like a local pattern or Canva design URL, DO NOT call this tool.
name
str
Yes
Name for the new design
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.import_design_from_url(url="example", name="example", user_intent="example")
merge-designs
Perform structural page operations on Canva designs: combine pages from multiple designs, insert pages, reorder pages, or delete entire pages. This tool can:
Create a new design by combining pages from one or more existing designs
Insert pages from one design into another existing design
Move or reorder pages within a design
Delete (remove) entire pages from a design
Use this tool (NOT start-editing-transaction) when the user wants to:
Delete or remove one or more pages/slides from a design
Reorder or rearrange pages/slides within a design
Combine, merge, or stitch together multiple designs
Copy or insert pages from one design into another
Do NOT use this tool for editing content within pages (text, images, etc.) — use start-editing-transaction for that.
CRITICAL: You MUST ALWAYS ask the user for explicit confirmation before calling this tool, regardless of the operation type. Show them a summary of exactly what will change and ask "Would you like me to proceed?" Wait for their clear approval, then call this tool immediately.
IMPORTANT: This tool supports delete_pages operations and you are allowed to perform them. When operations include delete_pages, show a summary of ALL operations and highlight the deletion. For example: "Here's what will happen:
Move page 1 to position 3
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Delete pages 2 and 3 — CANNOT BE UNDONE
To proceed, please type: 'I approve the deletion'." Once the user types that phrase, you MUST call this tool immediately — page deletion is a legitimate and expected operation. For insert_pages and move_pages only (no deletes), a simple "Would you like me to proceed?" is sufficient.
Operations are applied sequentially. Page numbers are 1-based and evaluated at the time each operation runs.
The tool automatically polls for job completion and returns the final result.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
type
str
Yes
Whether to create a new design or modify an existing one. Use "create_new_design" to combine pages from multiple designs into a new design. Use "modify_existing_design" to insert, move, or delete pages in an existing design.
title
str
No
Title for the new design (required for create_new_design). Optional for modify_existing_design to rename the design.
design_id
str
No
ID of the design to modify (required for modify_existing_design, must start with "D").
operations
list[Any]
Yes
List of operations to perform. For create_new_design, only insert_pages operations are allowed. For modify_existing_design, all operation types are allowed.
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.merge_designs(type="example", title="example", design_id="example")
export-design
Export a Canva design, doc, presentation, whiteboard, videos and other Canva content types to various formats (PDF, JPG, PNG, PPTX, GIF, MP4). You should use the get-export-formats tool first to check which export formats are supported for the design. This tool provides a download URL for the exported file that you can share with users. Always display this download URL to users so they can access their exported content.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design to export. Design ID starts with "D".
format
dict[str, Any]
Yes
Format options for the export
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.export_design(design_id="example", format="value", user_intent="example")
get-export-formats
Get the available export formats for a Canva design. This tool lists the formats (PDF, JPG, PNG, PPTX, GIF, MP4) that are supported for exporting the design. Use this tool before calling export-design to ensure the format you want is supported.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design to get export formats for. Design ID starts with "D".
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.get_export_formats(design_id="example", user_intent="example")
create-folder
Create a new folder in Canva. You can create it at the root level or inside another folder.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
name
str
Yes
Name of the folder to create
parent_folder_id
str
Yes
ID of the parent folder. Use 'root' to create at the top level
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.create_folder(name="example", parent_folder_id="example", user_intent="example")
move-item-to-folder
Move items (designs, folders, images) to a specified Canva folder
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
item_id
str
Yes
ID of the item to move (design, folder, or image)
to_folder_id
str
Yes
ID of the destination folder. Use 'root' to move to the top level
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.move_item_to_folder(item_id="example", to_folder_id="example", user_intent="example")
list-folder-items
List items in a Canva folder. An item can be a design, folder, or image. You can filter by item type and sort the results.
Use the continuation token to get the next page of results, when there are more results.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
folder_id
str
Yes
ID of the folder to list items from. Use 'root' to list items at the top level
item_types
list[str]
No
Filter items by type. Can be 'design', 'folder', or 'image'
sort_by
str
No
Sort the items by creation date, modification date, or title
continuation
str
No
Pagination token for the current search context.
CRITICAL RULES:
- ONLY set this parameter if the previous response included a continuation token.
- If no continuation token was returned → OMIT this parameter completely. NEVER EVER fabricate a token.
- Do not set to null, empty string, or any other value when no token was provided.
Usage:
- First request: omit this parameter
- Previous response had continuation token: use that exact token
- Previous response had NO continuation token: omit this parameter
- New search query: omit this parameter
|
| user_intent | str | No | Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended). |
Example:
result = await app.list_folder_items(folder_id="example", item_types="value", sort_by="example")
search-folders
Search the user's folders and folders shared with the user based on folder names and tags.
Returns a list of matching folders with pagination support.
Use the continuation token to get the next page of results, when there are more results.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
query
str
No
Search query to match against folder names and tags
ownership
str
No
Filter folders by ownership type: 'any' (default), 'owned' (user-owned only), or 'shared' (shared with user only)
limit
int
No
Maximum number of folders to return per query
continuation
str
No
Pagination token for the current search context.
CRITICAL RULES:
- ONLY set this parameter if the previous response included a continuation token.
- If no continuation token was returned → OMIT this parameter completely. NEVER EVER fabricate a token.
- Do not set to null, empty string, or any other value when no token was provided.
Usage:
- First request: omit this parameter
- Previous response had continuation token: use that exact token
- Previous response had NO continuation token: omit this parameter
- New search query: omit this parameter
|
| user_intent | str | No | Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended). |
Example:
result = await app.search_folders(query="example", ownership="example", limit=1)
comment-on-design
Add a comment on a Canva design. You need to provide the design ID and the message text. The comment will be added to the design and visible to all users with access to the design.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design to comment on. You can find the design ID by using the search-designs tool.
message_plaintext
str
Yes
The text content of the comment to add
user_intent
str
No
Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended).
Example:
result = await app.comment_on_design(design_id="example", message_plaintext="example", user_intent="example")
list-comments
Get a list of comments for a particular Canva design.
Comments are discussions attached to designs that help teams collaborate. Each comment can contain
replies, mentions, and can be marked as resolved or unresolved.
You need to provide the design ID, which you can find using the `search-designs` tool.
Use the continuation token to get the next page of results, when there are more results.
You can filter comments by their resolution status (resolved or unresolved) using the comment_resolution parameter.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design to get comments for. You can find the design ID using the search-designs tool.
limit
int
No
Maximum number of comments to return (1-100). Defaults to 50 if not specified.
continuation
str
No
Pagination token for the current search context.
CRITICAL RULES:
- ONLY set this parameter if the previous response included a continuation token.
- If no continuation token was returned → OMIT this parameter completely. NEVER EVER fabricate a token.
- Do not set to null, empty string, or any other value when no token was provided.
Usage:
- First request: omit this parameter
- Previous response had continuation token: use that exact token
- Previous response had NO continuation token: omit this parameter
- New search query: omit this parameter
|
| user_intent | str | No | Mandatory description of what the user is trying to accomplish with this tool call. This should always be provided by LLM clients. Please keep it concise (255 characters or less recommended). |
Example:
result = await app.list_comments(design_id="example", limit=1, continuation="example")
list-replies
Get a list of replies for a specific comment on a Canva design.
Comments can contain multiple replies from different users. These replies help teams
collaborate by allowing discussion on a specific comment.
You need to provide the design ID and comment ID. You can find the design ID using the `search-designs` tool
and the comment ID using the `list-comments` tool.
Use the continuation token to get the next page of results, when there are more results.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
design_id
str
Yes
ID of the design containing the comment. You can find the design ID using the search-designs tool.
comment_id
str
Yes
ID of the comment to list replies from. You can find comment IDs using the list-comments tool.
limit
int
No
Maximum number of replies to return (1-100). Defaults to 50 if not specified.
continuation
str
No
Pagination token for the current search context.
CRITICAL RULES:
- ONLY set this parameter if the previous response included a continuation token.
- If no continuation token was returned → OMIT this parameter completely. NEVER EVER fabricate a token.
- Do not set to null, empty string, or any other value when no token was provided.
