Brightspace MCP Server vs Canvas MCP

get_assignments

Fetch assignments and quizzes for a specific course or all enrolled courses. Shows dropbox submissions and quizzes with due dates, status, and rubric info. Use this when the user asks about assignments, homework, what to submit, quizzes, or assignment details and rubrics.

get_assignment_files

Read the files an instructor attached to an assignment: the spec or instructions PDF, a starter workbook, a rubric document. Call it with just courseId to see which assignments have attachments, then with folderId and fileId to read one. Use this when the user asks what an assignment requires, what the instructions say, or to summarize a handout. Returns the text itself. Use download_file instead when the user wants the file saved to disk.

get_course_content

Fetch the content tree for a course showing modules, topics, files, and links. Use this when the user asks about course materials, lecture slides, uploaded files, content structure, or what's in a course module. Use moduleTitle to filter to a specific module (e.g. 'Labs', 'Staff', 'Homeworks') instead of fetching the entire tree. Use maxDepth to limit recursion depth for a table-of-contents view.

download_file

Download a file from course content or assignment submissions to a local directory. Use this when the user wants to download, save, or get a file from Brightspace course content or dropbox submissions. IMPORTANT: You MUST ask the user where they want to save the file before calling this tool. Never guess or assume a download directory. After identifying the file to download, suggest a clean readable filename to the user (e.g., 'Lecture 7 - Memory Management.pdf' instead of 'L07_CS251_2026SP_v2.pdf') and ask if they'd like to rename it. Pass their preferred name as customFilename, or omit it to keep the original.

get_classlist_emails

Fetch all email addresses for everyone in a course — instructors, TAs, and students. Use this when the user wants a list of emails for a class, needs to email the whole class, or wants contact info for everyone enrolled.

get_roster

Fetch the roster for a course including instructors, TAs, and optionally students with their names, emails, and roles. Use this when the user asks about classmates, instructor contact info, TA emails, professor names, or who's in a class. By default returns only instructors and TAs for privacy. Use includeStudents to get full class list.

get_syllabus

Fetch the syllabus/overview text and optional attachment for a course. Returns the course overview description as markdown. If downloadPath is provided, also downloads the syllabus attachment (e.g. PDF). IMPORTANT: You MUST ask the user where they want to save the file before calling this tool with a downloadPath.