Brightspace vs NTNU Courses (unofficial)
A side-by-side look at the Brightspace and NTNU Courses (unofficial) MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Brightspace for education work as a local process; choose NTNU Courses (unofficial) for education over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Brightspace when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKEN, BRIGHTSPACE_USERNAME, BRIGHTSPACE_PASSWORD, BRIGHTSPACE_TOTP_SECRET, BRIGHTSPACE_COOKIE, BRIGHTSPACE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK. - You want tools like
check_auth, list_my_courses, get_my_grades.
Choose NTNU Courses (unofficial) when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Education domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
search_courses, get_course_schedule, get_weekly_timetable.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Education | Education |
| Quality signal | 59/100 · Good | 55/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKENBRIGHTSPACE_USERNAMEBRIGHTSPACE_PASSWORDBRIGHTSPACE_TOTP_SECRETBRIGHTSPACE_COOKIEBRIGHTSPACE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 13 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 29 | 12 |
| Full listing | View Brightspace | View NTNU Courses (unofficial) |
Tools & capabilities
Brightspace tools 29
check_authVerify authentication and show the active user identitylist_my_coursesList all enrolled coursesget_my_gradesGet grades for a courseget_assignmentsList assignments and dropbox foldersget_assignment_filesDownload and read instructor-posted assignment filesget_upcoming_due_datesList assignments due in the next N daysget_feedbackRead the grade, instructor comments and per-criterion rubric results for an assignmentget_assignment_rubricShow an assignment's grading rubric (criteria, levels, points, descriptions)get_my_submissionsList and download the files you (or your group) submitted, even after the folder closesget_syllabusFetch the course syllabusget_course_contentBrowse modules and topics (includes topic IDs)get_topic_fileDownload and read a content topic file (DOCX, PDF, HTML, plain text)- +17 more on the listing page
NTNU Courses (unofficial) tools 12
search_coursesSearch NTNU's course catalog for a given year (server-side free-text search over course names and codes; Norwegian terms often match best, e.g. 'maskinlæring' rather than 'machine learning'). Call this first when you don't know the exact course code. Returns course codes, Norwegian names, campus, and exam dates.get_course_scheduleEvery dated teaching activity (lectures, labs) for a course in a year, with Oslo-local times and rooms. Long output for large courses — prefer get_weekly_timetable for a compact recurring-week overview.get_weekly_timetableThe recurring weekly timetable grid for a course in a year: weekday, times, ISO-week ranges, rooms, and a classified 'kind' per slot (lecture / exercise / lab / seminar / unknown). The compact way to answer 'when are the lectures for X' — filter on kind == 'lecture', since NTNU's own activity titles are free-form Norwegian text.get_grade_distributionHistorical grade distribution for an NTNU course (per year and semester, with counts and percentages; grades A-F, or pass/fail codes). Accepts bare codes like 'TDT4100'. Omit years to get all recorded years. Small counts may be privacy-masked. Data comes from Norway's official DBH statistics.get_course_versionsThe DBH-versioned course codes (like 'TDT4100-1') that exist for a bare NTNU course code. Useful when grade lookups come back empty.get_semestersNTNU's terms (semesters) with ids like '26h' (autumn 2026) / '26v' (spring), teaching weeks, exam-period dates, and which term is current.get_course_infoEverything about an NTNU course except exam logistics: credits, level, campus, language of instruction, prerequisites, mandatory activities, course content / learning outcomes, credit reductions ('studiepoengreduksjon'), which study programs the teaching is planned for, contacts, and any alert notices (e.g. 'no longer taught'). English text by default; pass language 'nb' for Norwegian. Omit year for the current study year. For exam dates, times, aid codes, and rooms use get_exam_info.get_exam_infoExam logistics for one or more NTNU courses in a single call: every exam occasion (ordinary / re-sit) with date, start time, duration, permitted-aids code ('hjelpemiddelkode') with its meaning, exam system, and assigned rooms. The way to answer 'when and where are my exams and what can I bring' for a whole semester at once. Rooms are only published days before the exam; unpublished fields are null. Omit year for the current study year.search_study_programsSearch NTNU's study-program catalog (~400 programs) by free text (name, code, keywords), study level (e.g. 'bachelor', 'master', 'ph.d'), and/or city (Trondheim, Gjøvik, Ålesund). Returns program codes like 'MTDT' — the input for get_study_plan. Call this first when you only know a program's name.get_study_planThe official study plan for an NTNU program and cohort intake year: which courses (codes, credits, mandatory/elective) belong to each semester, and the specialization choice points with their course groups. The bridge from 'I study X' to concrete course codes — feed them to get_weekly_timetable, check_timetable_conflicts, or get_exam_info. cohort_year is the year the student STARTED (defaults to the current cohort); students in their Nth year started N-1 years ago.compare_coursesSide-by-side comparison of NTNU courses for a given year — campus, exam dates, weekly teaching hours, and latest grade distribution — to help choose between courses. Accepts bare course codes.check_timetable_conflictsChecks a set of NTNU courses for the same year for clashing lecture/lab times and colliding exam dates — a clash check to run before registering for courses. Accepts bare course codes. Each side of a conflict carries its activity 'kind': a lecture-vs-lecture clash is unavoidable, while one involving an exercise or lab often has alternative groups. Exam dates come from the catalog, which does not mark deferred (utsatt/kont) sittings.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Brightspace
{
"mcpServers": {
"brightspace": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"brightspace-mcp@latest"
],
"env": {
"BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_BRIGHTSPACE_API_TOKEN_HERE",
"BRIGHTSPACE_USERNAME": "YOUR_BRIGHTSPACE_USERNAME_HERE",
"BRIGHTSPACE_PASSWORD": "YOUR_BRIGHTSPACE_PASSWORD_HERE",
"BRIGHTSPACE_TOTP_SECRET": "YOUR_BRIGHTSPACE_TOTP_SECRET_HERE",
"BRIGHTSPACE_COOKIE": "YOUR_BRIGHTSPACE_COOKIE_HERE",
"BRIGHTSPACE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK": "YOUR_BRIGHTSPACE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK_HERE"
}
}
}
}
NTNU Courses (unofficial)
{
"mcpServers": {
"ntnu-courses-unofficial": {
"url": "https://ntnu-mcp.martinsundal.no/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Brightspace is categorized under Education and uses a local stdio subprocess. NTNU Courses (unofficial) belongs to Education and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Brightspace for education work and NTNU Courses (unofficial) for education.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Brightspace has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. NTNU Courses (unofficial) has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add brightspace and ntnu-courses-unofficial as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Brightspace has a quality signal of 59/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 13 GitHub stars. NTNU Courses (unofficial) has 55/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.
