Course build

Skill chaz-clark/canvas-toolbox/.claude/skills/course-build

Use for building and syncing Canvas course CONTENT — mirroring a course to/from local files (canvas_sync pull/push/build), master→blueprint→section propagation (blueprint_sync), module prerequisites/completion settings (module_settings_sync), multi-course orchestration, and offline (.imscc) editing. Load this when the task is "make Canvas match the local source" or "propagate content across sections" — NOT grading and NOT read-only auditing.From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add chaz-clark/canvas-toolbox --skill course-build

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

2 stars2 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

SKILL.md

4.2 KB, as published. Nobody here has run it

Course Build (CI / sync)

Manage Canvas course content as code: mirror to local files, edit locally, and push approved changes back through the Canvas REST API.

The constitution (AGENTS.md) binds you: confirm scope before any write, and Canvas writes go through the toolkit (never a hand-rolled API call). This skill is the content-sync how.

Core principle — local is the source of truth

The local working folder is authoritative; Canvas is the sync target. Pull to mirror, edit locally, push to apply. Canvas has no version history — the local files + git are your history.

The multi-course model

Term	What	`.env` id	Folder
Master	Template course where authoring happens	`MASTER_COURSE_ID`	`master/` (or `course/` legacy)
Blueprint	Canvas Blueprint sections clone from (online programs)	`BLUEPRINT_COURSE_ID`	`blueprint/`
Section	Live per-semester course (S1, S2…)	`S1_COURSE_ID`, …	`s1/`, `s2/`

Confirm scope before every write — master vs blueprint vs section. A stale .env can silently target the wrong course (Canvas API lesson L12); canvas_course_guard defends against it, but naming the target explicitly is on you.

Tools

Task	Tool
Mirror one course (pull/push/build)	`canvas_sync.py --pull` / `--push` / `--build`
Master → Blueprint propagation	`blueprint_sync.py`
Validate a blueprint sync	`validate_blueprint_sync.py` + `blueprint_exception_report.py`
Module prerequisites / completion	`module_settings_sync.py`
Create a custom grading scheme	`grading_scheme_setup.py --title ... --tiers ... --apply`
Multi-course wrapper	`sync_context.sh`
Post-push structural audit	`course_quality_check.py` (then hand off to the `audit` skill)

Always run course_quality_check.py after a push to catch duplicates, floating items, and date-window problems the write may have introduced.

Canvas API write lessons that bite content sync

The full catalog is lib/agents/knowledge/canvas_api_lessons_learned.md. The ones that matter here:

Module prerequisites & published state are FORM-ENCODED, not JSON (L1, L2) — a JSON payload silently no-ops.
Date writes need the due_at/lock_at/unlock_at trio (L3); discussions use todo_date, not due_at (L7).
late_policy PATCH is admin-only — 403 for teacher tokens (L4).
Classic quizzes have two IDs (quiz_id + assignment_id); points_possible reads 0 until questions are pushed (L5, L6).
NewQuiz / ExternalTool items can't be content-pushed via REST (L8) — sync tools warn-and-skip; edit those in the Canvas UI.
Blueprint resync can spawn -N slug orphan Pages and silently revert section page bodies (L13, L14) — blueprint_orphan_pages.py detects both.
Page title collisions auto-suffix -2/-4 (L15).

Adding content is a two-step operation (course item + module item) — a page/ assignment isn't visible to students until it's also a module item.

Offline mode (v1.7)

Tools read a local course/ (from canvas_sync --pull or offline_import of a .imscc) and run identically online/offline. The .imscc is the source of truth; course/ is the working folder. imscc_record patches your course/ edits back into the sidecar .imscc faithfully (quiz questions / files / LTI preserved byte-for-byte) for re-import via the Canvas UI.

Quick command map

Ask	Command
"Pull the course from Canvas"	`canvas_sync.py --pull`
"Push changes to Canvas"	`canvas_sync.py --push`
"Sync master → blueprint"	`blueprint_sync.py`
"Fix module prerequisites"	`module_settings_sync.py`